Building a Better Sleep Routine

Are you struggling to fall asleep and stay asleep? Whether it’s your busy schedule, a reliance on caffeine, or high levels of stress that’s keeping you awake, you’re likely aware of how the quality of your sleep can affect you the next day. You may find that you’re hungrier than usual, less likely to exercise, and more likely to choose nutrient-poor and energy-dense foods to compensate for your lack of energy. Keep on reading for some of our top tips to help you build a better sleep routine and catch some more Zs!

Include Melatonin Foods

Melatonin is our body’s “sleep” hormone and is needed for our body’s sleep-wake cycle. Having melatonin-rich foods later in the day may support good sleep, such as cherries, walnuts, tomatoes, pistachios, kiwi, strawberries, and rice.

Include Tryptophan Foods

Tryptophan is an amino acid that is needed to make melatonin and may also support good sleep, as a diet low in tryptophan may lead to inadequate amounts of melatonin. Milk, oats, dates, meat, fish, dairy, seeds and peanuts can help increase tryptophan in your diet and may in return support sleep.

Include a variety of plants

A study in 2019 found that increased gut microbiome diversity was associated with increased sleep efficiency and total sleep time [1]! Aiming for a diverse range of plant foods can help to support your gut health and may help you sleep better.

Limit caffeine and alcohol

How much caffeine are you having throughout the day? It may be negatively affecting your sleep without you realising it! Caffeine has a long half-life (meaning, it stays in your body for a long time), so if you’re having large amounts or having it later in the day, it may be disrupting your sleep. Try limiting your caffeine intake to no more than two cups, and having your last cup earlier in the day. Watch out for other sources of caffeine like certain teas, chocolate, cola, and energy drinks. Regularly drinking alcohol may also impact your sleep cycle. We recommend limiting the amount of alcohol you have to no more than 10 standard drinks in a week, and no more than 4 standard drinks in any one occasion.

Check your portions

If you’re having a big meal before going to bed, your body has a large amount of food to digest, which can leave you feeling uncomfortably full and make it difficult to sleep. Try eating earlier or choosing smaller portions in the evening to help improve sleep.

Check your sleep environment

Do you keep your bedroom well ventilated and is your bedding comfortable? Have you found a comfortable sleep temperature setting? Are you able to eliminate as much light as possible and block out distracting noises? Making your bedroom inviting and comfortable is important to helping you soundly fall asleep but also stay asleep!

Build a bedtime routine

Are you winding down before bed or are your night-time activities the opposite of relaxing? Try to avoid using your phone or watching TV before bed and build a routine that allows you to relax, such as lighting candles, meditating, and going to bed at the same time daily.

Reference

[1] Smith RP, Easson C, Lyle SM, Kapoor R, Donnelly CP, Davidson EJ, Parikh E, Lopez JV, Tartar JL. Gut microbiome diversity is associated with sleep physiology in humans. PLoS One. 2019 Oct 7;14(10):e0222394. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0222394. PMID: 31589627; PMCID: PMC6779243.