Reading through Youchew over the years, I’ve noticed one trending topic that arouses the displeasure of many a member here: Lack of sleep. Whether it be due to work, school, insomnia, or just an all around fucked-up sleep schedule, quite a few of us tend to be losing sleep, which is not good for young, developing minds. Therefore, I’ve written up some useful tips on getting a better night’s sleep, some of which you may know, and some you may not.
First off, the two key hormones needed to get a full seven hours of sleep are serotonin and melatonin, the former to help relax you and the second to induce sleep. As we leave childhood and enter adulthood, we produce these hormones less and less, so some people may need a little help, partially from what we eat.
It’s a no brainer that you should avoid sugar and high doses of caffeine before bed, but you should also avoid spicy foods before bed as that can trigger acid reflux among other gastrointestinal issues, and immoderate alcohol consumption has been known to rebound insomnia.
In contrast, you can drink chamomile tea to help you relax enough to sleep. It also helps to have a diet rich in vitamin C. But here are some other surprising foods that can help you sleep. The first is tart cherry juice, which contains enough melatonin to cure most insomniacs. It can also be diluted with water or apple juice if it’s too tart for you.
Or, if you want the perfect bedtime snack, have a piece of whole grain wheat toast with peanut butter, and a little bit of yogurt and berries on the side; this combination of protein and good carbohydrates will produce serotonin and help you nod off in no time. Other good sources of these sleep hormones are bananas, tomatoes and kiwi, all of which should be consumed no later than an hour before bed.
In addition to diet tips for a better night’s sleep, it also helps to exercise. And by that I don’t mean you should exhaust yourself right before bed. I mean the best sleepers are active throughout the day so that by the end of the day they naturally feel tired. Sitting in front of a screen for half the day won’t exactly wear anybody out. And speaking of screens, it’s best to turn off any and all electronic devices in our rooms an hour before bed, as the blue light emitting from them can make it difficult for us to fall asleep.
If you don’t feel like changing your diet or daily life habits, here are some rather unorthodox methods of improving your sleep quality that have been proven to be effective. First, give yourself an ankle massage; gently rub up and down each ankle for at least a full minute just before bed. The second is to keep one foot out from under the covers as you lie in bed. As we start to drift off into Dream World, our body temperature drops, so having part of us exposed to the cold can accelerate that process. If all else fails, here is a special deep-breathing exercise to help you fall asleep faster: Simply take four deep breaths through one nostril while plugging the other one, and then repeat with the other nostril. Keep that up for at least a few minutes and it should help you towards a better night’s sleep.
Well, that’s all the tips I have for today. Hopefully these helpful tips will be of some use to you sleep deprived members on here. Now if you’ll excuse me, my bed is calling my name.
Goodnight.
First off, the two key hormones needed to get a full seven hours of sleep are serotonin and melatonin, the former to help relax you and the second to induce sleep. As we leave childhood and enter adulthood, we produce these hormones less and less, so some people may need a little help, partially from what we eat.
It’s a no brainer that you should avoid sugar and high doses of caffeine before bed, but you should also avoid spicy foods before bed as that can trigger acid reflux among other gastrointestinal issues, and immoderate alcohol consumption has been known to rebound insomnia.
In contrast, you can drink chamomile tea to help you relax enough to sleep. It also helps to have a diet rich in vitamin C. But here are some other surprising foods that can help you sleep. The first is tart cherry juice, which contains enough melatonin to cure most insomniacs. It can also be diluted with water or apple juice if it’s too tart for you.
Or, if you want the perfect bedtime snack, have a piece of whole grain wheat toast with peanut butter, and a little bit of yogurt and berries on the side; this combination of protein and good carbohydrates will produce serotonin and help you nod off in no time. Other good sources of these sleep hormones are bananas, tomatoes and kiwi, all of which should be consumed no later than an hour before bed.
In addition to diet tips for a better night’s sleep, it also helps to exercise. And by that I don’t mean you should exhaust yourself right before bed. I mean the best sleepers are active throughout the day so that by the end of the day they naturally feel tired. Sitting in front of a screen for half the day won’t exactly wear anybody out. And speaking of screens, it’s best to turn off any and all electronic devices in our rooms an hour before bed, as the blue light emitting from them can make it difficult for us to fall asleep.
If you don’t feel like changing your diet or daily life habits, here are some rather unorthodox methods of improving your sleep quality that have been proven to be effective. First, give yourself an ankle massage; gently rub up and down each ankle for at least a full minute just before bed. The second is to keep one foot out from under the covers as you lie in bed. As we start to drift off into Dream World, our body temperature drops, so having part of us exposed to the cold can accelerate that process. If all else fails, here is a special deep-breathing exercise to help you fall asleep faster: Simply take four deep breaths through one nostril while plugging the other one, and then repeat with the other nostril. Keep that up for at least a few minutes and it should help you towards a better night’s sleep.
Well, that’s all the tips I have for today. Hopefully these helpful tips will be of some use to you sleep deprived members on here. Now if you’ll excuse me, my bed is calling my name.
Goodnight.