Sleep is important to your physical and mental health. Most people need between 5 to 9 hours sleep a night. The ideal amount is 8 hours, but everyone is different. There are several things that can disrupt sleep including: Asthma, breathing problems; pregnancy; stimulants like caffeine and nicotine; some types of medication; some forms of the contraceptive pill; pain and cold relievers; jet lag; stress and worry. To give yourself the best chance for a decent night’s sleep look at the following tips with reference to your current personal situation.
Certain nutrients including Magnesium are required to help with your circadian rhythm – otherwise known as your ‘body clock’. When your body clock is out of sync, this has an impact on you. It can cause circadian rhythm disorder (CRD) and can even trigger depression. Poor general nutrition can deregulate the clock system so a multi vitamin such as Multi Complex may help to counter any nutritional imbalances in your diet.
In other parts of the world melatonin or its pre-cursor 5-HTP are commonly recommended for sleep. Ireland takes a much stricter approach with regard to their use as a medicine, but they may be available on prescription in some cases. Natural sources of melatonin include tomatoes, almonds, strawberries and grapes. Almonds are great sources of melatonin and contain magnesium also. As stated above, magnesium is great to help with your internal body clock, but it also helps reduce levels of cortisol which greatly influences sleep patterns.
Pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, mushrooms and leafy greens contain a high level of tryptophan. Tryptophan is important because it can be used to produce serotonin and melatonin. Serotonin influences your mood, cognition and behaviour, while melatonin influences your sleep-wake cycle. A good evening snack is a handful of roasted nuts and seeds. It’s easy to prepare a batch and then eat a handful or two in the evening. Soak some almonds in warm water for 30 minutes. Drain, then roast in the oven for 10 minutes. Add in some pumpkin & sunflower seeds and coat everything in soya sauce or liquid aminos (available in health food stores and some supermarkets). Roast for a further 5 minutes. If soya sauce is not to your taste, other flavouring options include paprika & chilli, Herbamare (again available in health food stores) or garlic salt with black pepper.
For some people this is easier said than done! Simple suggestions include having a bath, lighting a candle or burning some essential oils, listening to music or just simply reading. Meditation and deep breathing can also help. For some keeping a journal can be quite relaxing, even if its purpose is to simply write tomorrow’s ‘to do’ list rather than have something playing on your mind as you try to sleep.
The obvious ones to avoid are caffeine and nicotine, but we also need to be conscious of physical stimulants such as blue light from screens/phone/television, noise and environment. Try to have your bedroom coloured in a pale or neutral palette rather than bold or bright colours. Caffeine should be replaced at least two hours before bed with an alternative. Chamomile tea may help with sleep as it is widely regarded as a mild tranquillizer and sleep-inducer. It is thought to be because of its natural flavonoid (apigenin) content which binds to benzodiazepine receptors in the brain. By introducing chamomile at night instead of your usual caffeine fix you are not only removing a stimulant, but you are actively trying to induce sleep.
It may be a combination of the above issues that are disrupting your sleep. Hopefully these tips can make you take a look at your personal situation and evaluate where you can improve your wind-down techniques. Please note this blog is not a substitute for medical advice. Patients are advised to consult a licenced health care professional before starting a nutritional supplement, especially if you are on medication.
Sources
Cagampang FR and Bruce KD. 2012. The role of the circadian clock system in nutrition and metabolism. British Journal of Nutrition 108; 381-392
Zagajewski J, Drozdowicz D, Brzozowska I, Hubalewska- Mazgaj M, Stelmaszynska T, Laidler PM and Brzozowski T. 2012. Conversion of L-tryptophan to melatonin in the gastrointestinal tract: the new high performance liquid chromatography method enabling simultaneous determination of six metabolites of L-tryptophan by native fluorescence and UV-VIS detection. Journal of Physiology Pharmacology 63(6); 613-21
Hardeland R, Pandi-Perumal SR and Cardinalo DP. 2006. Melatonin. International Journal of Biochemical Cellular Biology 38(3) 313-6
Iriti M, Varoni EM and Vitalini S. 2010. Melatonin in traditional Mediterranean diets. Journal of Pineal Research 49 (2); 101-5
Srivastave JK, Shankar E and Gupta S. 2010. Chamomile: A bright medicine of the past with a bright future. Molecular Medicine Report 3(6): 895 – 901
