Eat Your Way to Better Sleep

With all of the information out there about how much sleep can impact your weight and your overall health, it’s no wonder that so many people are trying to find the secret to getting more shut eye. While we focus in on trying to establish healthy sleep hygiene habits, establishing regular bedtime routines, avoiding electronic devices for two hours before bed and eliminating the distractions caused by noise and light, there are also simple things that we can adjust in our daily diet that will help us get to sleep more easily. According to the authors of the Bulletproof Diet, eating foods that have anti-inflammatory properties is a great way to get the sleep that you need. Try these diet additions and see whether you don’t find yourself falling asleep more easily and staying asleep more soundly.

Eat healthy fats with dinner

Foods that contain fats that are considered to be healthy, including grass-fed butter, coconut oil, animal fat are all effective, though the book’s author recommends MCT oil, an extra concentrated type that is said to convert more easily into the ketones that fuel the brain. MCT oil is also said to help your body burn fat while you sleep, and true believers in the diet insist that when they consume MCT oil at night, they think more clearly in the morning.

Fish oil and low-mercury krill

We’ve all heard of omega-3 fatty acids that are found in salmon and other heart-healthy foods. The specific nutrient known as DHA is said to counteractive the impact of fructose on brain processes, and has been touted as a mood enhancer that inhibits anxiety and depression. Consuming fish oil that contains DHA has also been shown to increase the production of serotonin, one of the body’s most important neurotransmitters for feeling positive and lowering stress.

Protein packs a punch

Consuming protein before bed is an essential step to helping with muscle repair and improving the strength and health of our immune systems. All of these restorative processes take place at night while we’re in our deepest sleep, so making sure that you have enough protein means that your body will have plenty to fuel the job. Unfortunately, too many of the proteins that we eat are so heavy that they are difficult for the body to digest. Even protein powders can take valuable energy from the body and raise the levels of orexin, which makes you feel more alert and makes it harder to fall asleep. The book’s authors suggest taking a supplement known as hydrolyzed grass-fed collagen peptide. It is easily digestible.

Honey, Honey

Raw honey is a great aid to your brain, as it provides you with the energy needed for the nighttime processes that this most important organ goes through each night while we’re sleeping. The body normally pulls glycogen from the liver to fuel the brain, then turns to muscle glycogen. If you provide honey before you go to sleep, your body will have less to worry about and will fall asleep faster.