Dietary Management for Insomnia
Anxiety can also cause insomnia. With the college entrance exam just around the corner, many students are under significant psychological pressure, leading to insomnia. While regulating the body, don't forget to relax the mind to ensure a good mental state for the important exam.
For modern people, getting a good night's sleep should be considered a blessing, as so many suffer from insomnia. Survey results show that among 10,000 respondents in six major cities like Beijing and Shanghai, half have experienced insomnia to varying degrees. A recent survey of 150 journalists in nine cities also showed that 40% had experienced insomnia, and 87% believed that sleep problems had negatively impacted their work and lives.
Bad Mood Affects Sleep
Being able to fall asleep and sleep soundly is a desire for many modern white-collar workers. Sleep is not only a basic physiological need but also a psychological one. White-collar workers face pressure, competition, and challenges daily, which can easily lead to sleep problems. The next day, they often feel physically tired, have headaches, experience memory decline, and look haggard, which in turn affects work efficiency and quality of life.
In fact, for most people who can't sleep, it's a natural state, not a pathological one. Zhao Mei says that sleep is more of a mind-body experience and feeling. When the body is comfortable, the mind is naturally calm, and sleep is relaxed, comfortable, and pleasant. Tension and depression can both affect sleep.
Many Foods Can Aid Sleep
Many foods can have a sedative effect. For example, milk contains tryptophan, which promotes the brain's nerve cells to secrete serotonin, a substance that induces drowsiness. Some small snacks can also promote sleep. Nutritionist Liao Xiaohua says that you can eat some sunflower seeds before bed to calm the nerves; mulberries, longans, jujubes, lotus seeds, walnuts, honey, apples, and other fruits are all great for helping you fall asleep. In addition, drinking millet porridge for dinner is very helpful for sleep.
A Nutritional Combination is More Calming
Although these good foods are delicious, nutritious, and most importantly, can help you sleep, Professor Liao Xiaohua points out that a single sleep-aiding food is too personalized and each person needs to choose the right food based on their own situation.
To get a combination of nutrients, you can take nutritional supplements or health products, or you can mix them yourself according to your taste. For example, you can choose supplements containing multiple mineral elements, especially with a calcium to magnesium ratio of 2:1, which is best for relaxing nerves and achieving deep sleep. You can also try Nestlé's "Wanning" milk powder, which combines vitamin B6, magnesium, and longan honey, allowing various hypnotic nutrients to work together. Additionally, various whole-wheat breads are rich in vitamin B and have honey added, which can better help with sleep.
In addition to drinking ready-made nutritional supplements, you can also prepare your own. For example, walnuts can improve sleep quality. To avoid monotony, you can pair them with black sesame seeds, grind them into a paste, which is both delicious and effective. Before bed, you can also brew a "Hundred Fruit Tea" with jujubes, longans, lotus seeds, and add two spoonfuls of honey. You can also add a drop or two of vinegar to taste, making it sweet and delicious.
Wrong Nutrition Can Cause Insomnia
However, not everything can be a sleep aid, and eating the wrong nutrients can also cause insomnia.
Foods containing caffeine can stimulate the nervous system and have a diuretic effect, which is a common cause of insomnia. Eating spicy and greasy food for dinner is also an important reason that affects sleep. Because chili, garlic, onions, etc., can cause a burning sensation in the stomach and indigestion, which in turn affects sleep. Eating too much greasy food can also increase the burden on the intestines, stomach, liver, gallbladder, and pancreas, stimulating the central nervous system to keep it in a working state, leading to insomnia. Foods like beans, cabbage, onions, corn, and bananas can also interfere with normal sleep.
A special reminder for white-collar workers who often socialize: drink less alcohol at night. Drinking alcohol before bed was once thought to promote sleep. Although it can make people fall asleep quickly, it only keeps sleep in the light sleep stage, making it difficult to enter the deep sleep stage. Therefore, even if you sleep for a long time after drinking, you will still feel tired upon waking.