Sleep Better with Food and Fitness

Just as sleep is important to our body, what we do with our body in terms of food and exercise plays a major role in the way we sleep (or don’t sleep).  Good nutrition and exercise can help you sleep, but poor sleep leads to poor eating and exercise decisions immediately. A lack of shut-eye is linked with ditching your workout. It’s one thing to skip the workout to get more sleep once in awhile, but if you ditch your workout and cheat yourself of sleep, then you aren’t breaking the cycle. Contrary to what we have all been told, eating prior to bed is not such a bad thing after all.  In fact, a light snack containing 25-35 g of carbs can help release serotonin which contributes to a more restful sleep. Foods rich in vitamin B6 also help boost melatonin production, a sleep-inducing hormone triggered by darkness. Lighter is better when eating a bedtime snack to avoid heartburn. Click here to see my latest appearance on the OWN Show to learn more about this old wives tale and the secrets to keeping weight off. Catch Some Extra ZZZ’s With These Tranquil Eats Magnesium-rich foods like almonds, and calcium rich foods like cheese and crackers help your body use tryptophan and serotonin to get sleepy. 1 piece of raisin toast with 1 Tbsp cream cheese – sweet and satisfying with carbs in the form of grains and dried fruit to help you relax, and calcium from the cream cheese to build your stress-depleted stores will keeping you snoozing through the night. This Re...
Source: Balanced Health and Nutrition Rebecca Scritchfield's Blog - Category: Nutritionists and Food Scientists Authors: Tags: adult health eating healthy food fruits life nutrition recipes food myths hormones sleep sleep inducing foods Source Type: blogs