Tag Archives: Sleep

January 8, 2024

WHY MIGHT WE FEEL TIRED DESPITE SLEEPING WELL?

Even if you have had a good quality and refreshing sleep, you can still feel tired in the day because of imbalanced blood sugar levels.

This is normally due to not eating regularly enough, or not having a great composition of meals, for example not combining carbohydrates and protein in every single meal.

Introducing a few protein snacks throughout the day is a great idea, including lean meats, a small yogurt, a piece of cheese or a hard-boiled egg (or plant-based equivalents like nuts and seeds).

These protein-heavy snacks will keep our energy levels nice and balanced throughout the day.

November 1, 2021

HOW DIET AFFECTS YOUR SLEEP.

Our diet has a huge impact on how well we sleep, but what should we be eating – and avoiding – to ensure we get a good night’s rest?

Sleep-friendly foods:

Oily fish
This is a high in omega-3 fatty acids and vitamin D, which increased levels of serotonin. This is later converted into melatonin, the sleep hormone. Sardines, mackerel and tinned salmon are excellent sources.

Whole grains
A low-fibre diet is associated with lighter, less restorative sleep. Fibre helps balance blood sugar and is good for your gut flora and cardiovascular system, in turn helping sleep. Try to eat wholegrains like wholemeal bread, brown rice and wholegrain cereals.

Nuts and seeds
Many, like sunflower seeds and Brazil nuts, are high in magnesium, which is commonly referred to as the sleep mineral.

Probiotics
Fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi and yoghurt are thought to help promote good gut bacteria. This correlates with better quality of sleep.

Protein
Protein-rich foods like turkey and peanuts contain tryptophan, and amino acid that helps us doze off more easily. Protein also makes us feel fuller for longer, meaning we are less likely to give in to snacking!

Nighttime no-nos:

If you’re struggling to sleep soundly, you should avoid the following…

Caffeine
Coffee, tea and most energy drinks contain caffeine, a stimulant that affects our ability to nod off. Have a couple of cups of coffee in the morning but switch to herbal teas after midday.

Alcohol
You might feel it’s easier to drift off after a glass of wine but alcohol is proven to disrupt sleep because it can cause us to skip the vital first stage of sleep, known as REM (rapid eye movement). Worse still, alcohol upsets our blood sugar levels and leads to dehydration. There are all sorts  of mechanisms by which alcohol disrupts sleep.

Sugar
White carbs and sugar-based foods reduce sleep quality. If you’re having blood sugar highs and lows, your body’s constantly trying to balance everything, which is a stress on your system.

Snacks
High-fat foods like cakes and crisps are harder to digest and can cause issues at bedtime when our digestive system should be winding down.

March 19, 2018

TIPS FOR FALLING ASLEEP QUICKER.

  1. Go green
    Magnesium can improve how quickly you fall asleep. Up your intake with leafy greens, such as spinach.
  2. Picture the scene
    Visualising a relaxing place, such as a beach, has been shown to help insomniacs drop off 20 mins earlier than normal.
  3. Eat right
    Eating more fibre leads to better and deeper sleep, while meals high in saturated fat and sugar have the opposite effect.
  4. Be consistent
    Having a set time to go to bed and get up helps to regulate your body clock.
  5. Breathe easy
    Breathing exercises relax your mind and body making it easier to switch off.
  6. Take a tech break
    Looking at your phone or laptop before you go to sleep could be stopping you from falling asleep and affecting your sleep quality. The blue light from screens can interrupt your melatonin production, which helps control your sleep/wake cycles.
  7. Never exercise before bed
    Heavy workouts release adrenaline, elevate cortisol levels and raise body temperature – not good for sleep.
November 14, 2016

HOW TO GET A BETTER NIGHTS SLEEP.

Sleep

When light levels drop in the evening, the pineal gland switches on the production of the sleep-inducing hormone Melatonin. It’s then released through the night, keeping you asleep until the morning, when levels drop again.

The blue light from smartphones and other technology can suppress Melatonin, disrupting your sleep-wake cycle. Turn off two hours before bed and keep your room as dark as possible.

January 17, 2014

5 HEALTHY PLEDGES FOR 2014.

Pledge

Make 2014 both a happy and healthy new year, with these 5 pledges to help you to look and feel greater than ever.

1. Get enough shut-eye
It is recommended that you get at least seven to nine hours sleep a night. This gives your body enough rest to repair, burn fat and ward off stress.

The main three factors causing lack of sleep are caffeine, stress and alcohol. As well as reducing these, try the following foods to help you get a goodnights sleep:

  • Eggs – provide tryptophan, which our bodies convert to serotonin, then store as the sleep chemical melatonin. Start your day with eggs to reap the benefits at night.
  • Kiwi – research shows that eating 2 kiwis an hour before bed increases the average nightly kip and boosts sleep quality.

2. Eat a healthy, balanced diet
A balanced diet starts with eating lots of fresh vegetables, protein, good fats and carbohydrates (yes some carbohydrates are actually good for you!).

Not all carbohydrates are an enemy. Many of us fear the consequences of this food group and their associations with weight gain have stuck with many dieters. It’s the refined carbohydrates (like white bread, white sugar, and sweets) that you need to avoid.

Complex carbohydrates, like whole grains, help to maintain well-controlled blood sugar levels. Keeping you energized, slim, and healthy.

And if you need another reason not to curb the carbs, this macronutrient is in fact the only fuel that our brains can utilise, so without this our brain health and memory deteriorate.

3. Get active
Hit the gym, take a walk or go for a bike ride. Whatever you do, just get moving!

Regular exercise is not only good for your physical health (helping to reduce the risk of cancer, heart disease and strokes, as well as maintaining bodyweight), but it can boost your mental health too.

When you exercise, your body releases chemicals called endorphins, which trigger a positive mood making you feel happier and increasing your self-esteem.

4. Drink more water
Staying hydrated is one of the easiest things you can do for energy. When you skimp on water, the cells in your body shrink, so they can’t function as efficiently. This triggers feelings of fatigue.

The signs of mild dehydration, such as low energy and sleepiness, can dupe your brain into craving food. Many people confuse that empty-pit feeling in your belly as hunger, but in fact it’s quite often triggered by thirst.

Water is the perfect hydrator and drinking plenty of it helps flush away toxins that build up in our cells. You should aim to drink at least 1.2 litres of fluid (six to eight 250ml glasses) a day.

5. Stand Tall
Good posture is probably the world’s simplest beauty secret. It makes you instantly look taller and slimmer. You take in more oxygen, improving your skin and creating a wealth of new energy.

The perfect poise will help you look and feel more confident. To improve your posture, just follow these simple steps:

  • Look in a full-length mirror, from the front and the sides.
  • Firstly, observe and get to know your natural stance. Check if you have slipped into bad habits (i.e. is your pelvis sticking out?, is your back arched?, are your shoulders rounded?, etc)
  • Correct any deviations so that your feet are slightly apart, with toes pointing forward. Imagine pulling your body upwards, starting at your neck and pulling up through your chest to your waist and hips. Feel the gap between your shoulders and ears lengthening, and each vertebra spreading out from its neighbours.
  • Now focus on engaging your abdominal muscles. Pull your navel back towards your spine, whilst continuing to breath normally and tucking your bottom in.
  • Correct your posture every time you think of it. Soon your body will retrain and good posture will become automatic.

 

July 26, 2013

SLEEP-BETTER FOODS.

Sleep

When sleep deprivation hits, it sends your hormones on a roller-coaster ride in search of sugar. For each 30 minutes of sleep lost a day, we eat, on average, an extra 83 calories.

The main 3 factors causing lack of sleep are caffeine, stress and alcohol. As well as reducing these, try the following foods to help you get a goodnights sleep.

  1. Eggs – provide tryptophan, which our bodies convert to serotonin, then store as the sleep chemical melatonin. Start your day with eggs to reap the benefits at night.
  2. Kiwi – research shows that participants who ate 2 kiwis and hour before bed saw an increase in average nightly kip and a boost in sleep quality.
  3. Cherry juice – juice from the Montmorency cherry is rich in melatonin. It can be hard to get hold of fresh cherries, but you can buy them dried or in juice or capsules.