Sleep, don’t let it be elusive.

Sleep is my friend. If I don’t get enough of it, every aspect of my life suffers. My house becomes more messy, my kids become a little wilder, and productivity creeps to a crawl. Not only do those things suffer but so do my health routines. If I don’t get enough sleep it’s like pulling teeth to get myself motivated to workout. Also, did you know that when you aren’t well rested your willpower tends to slide, which makes choosing junk food even easier. I don’t know about you, but I need all the help I can get with that battle.

Because I’ve been feeling extra sleepy lately, I decided to see what things I can do to help me sleep a little better at night. Apparently, food can have a huge impact on catching good Z’s. Since I love food so much, it seemed that should be the place to focus on. Do you have to cut any of the following items out too?

H20

My kids will see this and think “What?!? Water is the cure for everything according to Mom!” Drinking a glass of water before bed is actually recommended. BUT chugging water in an attempt to get hydrated, before bed isn’t a good idea. Waking up for potty breaks defeats the purpose of a good night’s sleep. If you’re working on getting hydrated, which has many health benefits, try working it in to your routine throughout the day.

Spicy Foods

Salsa, or curry, are known to cause heartburn. Arrow to the heart! Laying down actually makes heartburn worse. I don’t know about you, but I like salty foods with my spicy, like chips. Sodium can also cause more bathroom visits. Sounds like Taco Tuesday may be best as a lunch date.

Chocolate

Have you noticed that I’m listing some of my favorite things first? It’s best to try avoiding chocolate later in the day. It actually contains caffeine and another stimulant called theobromine. Maybe instead of having dessert after dinner, you could try having it as your lunch treat. You could even try having white chocolate instead, it doesn’t have any caffeine in it. Or try substituting carob chips, be warned though, not all carob is created equally.

Ice Cream

Decompressing with a pint of Ben and Jerry’s at the end of the day, is not only bad for your waistline, but it can affect your sleep and cause more midnight wake-ups. Saturated fats and sugar have been shown to result in less effective sleep. That also means if you’re a coconut oil fan like me, it may be a better idea to use olive oil in the evening instead. Bonus to switching to olive oil at night as it has been linked to better heart health.

Booze

I used to be part of the “I’ll have a couple drinks and konk out” club. #3yearssober While alcohol is a depressant, which means it can help make you sleepy, it doesn’t help you get into deep sleep. Deep sleep is where all your recovery happens, without that you probably won’t be waking up feeling well rested. People say some alcohol may be good for you, BUT the “health benefits” they speak of can be received by many other foods. Case in point, whole grapes contain reservatol, just like wine, but without the negative effects of a hangover or hurting your liver.

Tea

Drinking a cup of hot tea is my favorite way to chill out at night. It’s actually one of the most recommended bedtime remedies. Well, be sure that your tea is an herbal one. Chamomile is my favorite. Green or black tea contains caffeine, which not only can keep you awake, it is also a diuretic… Seems like the bathroom is very big on disrupting sleep .

Good Foods for Sleep

Not only can foods disrupt sleep, they can help too. Try munching on some of these foods to help you sleep better at night.

Kiwi

These are amazing at killing a sweet tooth. Kiwi also contains serotonin which helps induce sleep. Two wins in my book.

Pumpkin Seeds

Tryptophan is an important part of pumpkin seeds. Not only does it help with the depression fight, it helps improve sleep quality. Try using these as a topping on salads, or having them as part of your snack-time routine. I love eating mine roasted with a little salt, you can try my recipe here.