Sleep Matters – Research about Sleep and What You Eat

Yesterday, I shared an infographic about how much sleep you need. If you are getting less than five hours of sleep you need to rethink your sleeping habits.

Why is sleep so important? According to the sleep foundation, if you do not get enough sleep, you disrupt the balance of your hormones that regulate hunger and appetite and put yourself at risk of gaining weight.

If you are having trouble sleeping, it may be the foods you are eating during the day.  if you are following the Metabolic Balance. ^® plan, then you are off to a good start in regards to food choices but, as you enter phase 4 and you are adding foods to your diet, you must pay attention to how those foods affect your sleep.

If sleep alludes you, the following foods which contain Tryptophan can help:

• Lobster (there are 195 different seafoods with Tryptophan)
• Spinach  (there are 60 different types of vegetables with Tryptophan)
• Seaweed Spirulina
• Beef  (58 different Beef products)
• Eggs (29 different dairy and egg products)
• Chicken (223 different poultry products with Tryptophan)
• Sunflower seeds (there are 7 different kinds of seeds/nuts with Tryptophan)
• Basil (the only herb with Tryptophan)

Do you want a complete list?  you can check out this Nutrition Data list of foods high in Tryptophan.

If you enjoy a nightcap before bed, you may want to change your routine.   A review of 27 Research studies has shown that alcohol will not help you get a good night sleep and will disrupt your REM sleep which is considered the restorative part of your sleep.

If you find yourself getting sleepy around 2p.m. you are not alone. It is a biological trait that we become tired at 2pm and 2am. If your body is telling you to sleep at 2 p.m., you can take a short 10 minute nap to get yourself back on track but keep the nap short so that you stay in a lighter phase of sleep and avoid getting groggy and disrupting your normal sleep pattern.  If you don’t like the idea of taking a ten minute nap at work, put on your walking shoes and take a ten minute walk to get a cup of coffee. The walk will give you a quick pick me up and a cup of caffeine early in the afternoon does not interfere with your evening sleep.

Note: We like sharing as much information with you as possible so you can make informed decisions about your life and how to keep on track with Metabolic Balance. ^®  If there is a topic you would like us to cover or discuss, please email me at emmy@usa.metabolic-balance.com. If you would like to share your Metabolic Balance ^®story with us, we are sharing stories and testimonials on livecleanmb.com.  If you like challenging yourself but are not willing to join our Dietbet challenge, you can share your experiences on our Facebook group livecleanmb. I will be making daily posts there and responding to anything you share with me. (I’m not on 24/7 so within 24 hours I will check in and say hello and I hope you will stop by and say hello too.)