Overcoming insomnia with diet

Insomnia

Some people with insomnia may fall asleep easily enough but wake up too soon. Others­simply can’t fall asleep, or they have trouble both falling asleep and staying asleep.

The result is low-quality sleep that doesn’t make you feel refreshed when you wake up. Often, insomnia is a symptom or a side effect of some other problems like:

• Illness, such as heart or lung disease

• Pain, anxiety, or depression

• Drugs that delay or disrupt sleep

• Caffeine, tobacco, alcohol, and other sub­stances that affect sleep

• A poor sleep environment or a change in sleep routine

If the cause of the insomnia is known, then the insomnia should improve once the underly­ing cause is treated. However, there is a type of insomnia (primary insomnia) which is not as a result of any underlying disease and usually last at least one month.

Nutrition and lifestyle changes go a long way in the battle against insomnia.

Below are some of the foods that may help:

• Melatonin rich foods such as oats, nuts, fish and berries.

• Tryptophan rich foods such as spinach, eggs, and crabs.

• Niacin rich foods such asmushrooms, tuna, turkey, and anchovies.

• Vitamin B6 rich foods such as avocados, car­rots, bananas, and organ meat.

Lifestyle changes

• Avoid late night watching of movies, TV shows, social media, etc.

• Have a separate bedroom away from all sorts of destruction

• Change uncomfortable beds, pillows, and sheets

• Avoid late night eating and drinking of water

• Take warm baths in the evening

• Add some forms of exercise to your lifestyle routine

It can be very unsettling dealing with insomnia, especially when we don’t know the cause. But applying the dietary and lifestyle changes men­tioned above can not only treat insomnia, but also improve our quality of life in general.

Going to sleep should be a breeze in no time, with sweet dreams just around the corner.

By Dr Bernice Korkor Asare

Kind courtesy of:

Holistic Health Consult

“Your diet your health, your health your wealth”

E-mail: info@holistichealthconsult.org