subject: What You Eat Affects Your Sleep! [print this page] Eating Affects Sleep Eating Affects Sleep
It has been found through research that what you eat can affect your sleep. One of the ways to a restful sleep at night is to keep the brain calm rather than agitated. Tryptophan, an amino acid, helps to make serotonin and melatonin which are important neurotransmitters that affect sleep. Tryptophan-rich foods include milk, curd, oats, banana, dry dates, peanuts, fish, sesame seeds. Coffee, chocolate, aerated drinks, alcohol, smoking and vigorous exercise 2 to 3 hours before sleep can work against a peaceful night.
The two main stages of ones sleep are:
REM (Rapid Eye Movement) - contributes to mental consolidation
Non-REM - Aids physical repair and rebuilding
Usually during normal sleep you alternate between the two stages approximately 4-5 times.
Insufficient number of hours of sleep contributes to -
Mental irritability (5-6 hours of sleep) due to lack of REM sleep
