BETTER HEALTH TIPS & INFO

Eating too much of the wrong sort of food, too late in the evening, leads to to sleepness nights. If you are having Sleeping problems sleep action plan

• Try to wind down. You needd to have a routine of relaxation before going to bed such as hot bath, so that the stress hormones produced by activity are allowed to decreased. At the same time the body starts to pump out serotonin and other brain cehmicals that initiate sleep.

• Reduce your caffeine intake. This can be one of the fastest ways to improve your sleep. Ideally, drink no coffee after midday and no tea after 5pm. Limit your caffeine intake from chocolate as well, and eliminate soft drinks from your diet as almost all these contain caffeine. If you have a serious sleeping problem, you may need to eliminate caffeine altogether.

• Reduce your alcohol intake. Most people know that if they drink too much alcohol they will fall into stupor. Hardly a true sleep. But even a small quantities, alcohol can impair sleep in a number of ways. First, it releases adrenalin, a stimulating hormone designed to prepare the body to fight or flight. Second, it impairs the transport of tryptophan into the brain, an important precursor of serotonin. Third, it may adversely affect blood sugar balance.

• Take exercise. Regular exercise also promotes good sleep, but make sure you finish your exercise at least three hours before bedtime.

• Eat earlier (and less) in the evening. Many people now eat their main meal of the day late in the evening. The problem is that by this time our digestive system starts to shut down and is relatively sluggish compared to earlier in the day. We then aggravate the situation by eating foods like cheese, red meat, and saturated fatty food such as chips, which require a considerable amount of time and energy to digest. So in order to get better night’s sleep, eat a lighter evening and finish eating before 8pm. You can also aid digestion and promote relaxation by drinking peppermint or camomile herbal teas.

• Balance your hormones. Women in the menopause have low oestrogen levels, which tend to cause low serotonin levels. Balancing the hormone can be very helpful, as can be antidepressant drugs can raise serotonin levels. However, if this applies to you first try diet, exercise, reducing alcohol, and taking B6, zinc, magnesium, and essential fatty acid, as they help menopause symptoms and raise serotonin levels.

• Get your mineral right. Many of us are deficient in minerals, so checking your intake of calcium and especially, magnesium, two are very important minerals for sleeping could be very helpful. A quick way to increase your calcium is to drink a cup of hot milk before bed. To boost magnesium, try eating more wholegrain, broccoli and cauliflowers at dinner, or take supplement in the evening.

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