If you, like many people out there, fall short of the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep, it may be time to hit reset on some lifestyle factors.
Foods such as chamomile tea and warm milk have a reputation as being sleep-inducing, but “it’s more beneficial to focus on the whole dietary pattern rather than focusing on one magic food”, said Erica Jansen, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health, US. Certain diets, including plant-rich diets, can have a positive effect on sleep quality and duration, research shows.
Fruits and vegetables, nuts, seeds, fish, eggs and milk, for instance, contain melatonin, a hormone produced by our bodies that regulates our sleep-wake cycles and tells us when to sleep. Turkey, chicken, fish, cheese, egg whites, nuts, seeds and dairy are high in tryptophan, an amino acid that the body can convert into melatonin. Since our bodies are unable to create it, we must obtain it directly from foods, said Marie-Pierre St-Onge, a professor of nutritional medicine.
It’s equally important to avoid foods and beverages known to hinder sleep, such as ultra-processed foods and those containing caffeine, alcohol or high amounts of sugar.
Some studies also suggest that breathing techniques can help facilitate sleep by slowing your heart rate, lowering your blood pressure and reducing anxiety. One technique, called the 4-7-8 breathing method, involves inhaling through your nose for four seconds. Then, hold your breath for seven seconds. Finally, exhale through your mouth for eight seconds. Repeat as many times as needed.
If you wake up in the middle of the night and your mind begins to wander, your sympathetic nervous system, which controls your fight-or-flight response, can become activated, making you feel alert and anxious. Breathing exercises can help you calm down.
Cognitive shuffling, a technique intended to mimic “dream-like” thinking that happens naturally as you’re dozing off, may also help trick the brain into falling asleep, said Luc Beaudoin, the cognitive scientist who developed the technique.
Beaudoin’s team of researchers found that cognitive shuffling was as effective at helping people fall asleep as journaling before bedtime and had the added advantage of being something you can easily do, even in the dark.
Most of us tend to sleep better when we are cooler. Fans will not only keep you cool while you sleep, the white noise they produce is also found to be beneficial.
Ironic as it sounds, wearing socks is one way to keep your body cooler. “When we warm up our feet by wearing socks, the blood vessels under the skin dilate, not just in the feet but everywhere,” said Indira Gurubhagavatula, a spokeswoman for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. “This allows warm blood to come to the surface, and as it keeps circulating, body heat is shed and core temperature drops.”
“It is the drop in core temperature that signals the brain to get ready for sleep,” she added.
Other things you can try are a shower or a warm, non-alcoholic, non-caffeinated beverage before bedtime.
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