Introduction: Many people want to eat snacks before going to bed, more or less. But after eating, they are afraid of gaining weight, so they would rather go to bed hungry than eat anything. In fact, some foods will not make you fat even if you eat them before bed. After reading this article, perhaps your thoughts will change.
1. Foods Rich in Melatonin
The reason why foods rich in melatonin can improve sleep is because a person's sleep quality is closely related to a substance in the brain called melatonin. At night, darkness stimulates the human body to synthesize and secrete melatonin, which acts on the sleep center through blood circulation to make people feel sleepy. When it gets light, the pineal gland is stimulated by light and its secretion decreases, causing people to wake up from sleep.
Studies have found that after middle age, the amount of melatonin in the human body will gradually decrease. At the age of 40, it is one-quarter of that in youth; at 50, it is one-sixth; and at 60, it will drop to one-tenth. Therefore, middle-aged and elderly people can promote sleep by supplementing with foods rich in melatonin. These foods include oats, sweet corn, tomatoes, and bananas.
Fruit and Oat Porridge
2. Foods that Counteract Caffeine
The stimulating effect of tea can affect sleep. Therefore, if drinking tea during the day affects sleep, you can drink water infused with a few grams of sour jujube seeds before bed, or cook a congee with sour jujube seeds and rice, and drink a small bowl before sleep.
Sour jujube seeds contain saponins A and B, betulinic acid, betulinol, and three sterols. These substances can reduce the level of norepinephrine in the blood, thereby counteracting poor sleep caused by caffeine.
Sour Jujube Seed Congee
3. Foods that Inhibit Serotonin
If you often feel drowsy during the day and have unstable sleep at night, you can eat a steamed bun or a piece of bread before bed. This is because this group of people secretes more tryptophan during the day, which is converted into serotonin. Serotonin has a hypnotic effect and causes drowsiness. However, at night, the body's tryptophan is insufficient, making it difficult to fall asleep peacefully.
Therefore, eating some steamed buns or bread at night can increase the tryptophan level in the body, making it easier to fall asleep.
Sunflower Steamed Buns
4. Foods that Regulate Nerves
If the long-term intake of zinc and copper is insufficient, after a period of time, the human body will be affected by the lack of these two trace elements, affecting the energy metabolism of brain cells and the regulation of the nervous system. The endocrine system is often in an excited state, making it difficult to sleep.
In this situation, eating more foods rich in zinc and copper at dinner, such as oysters, fish, lean meat, shrimp, and eel, can effectively improve symptoms of neurasthenia and ensure good sleep.
Preserved Egg and Oyster Congee
5. Kiwi
The occurrence of sleep disorders is related to excessive central nervous system arousal and excessive sympathetic nervous system excitement, or it may be affected by the massive secretion of stress hormones. Kiwi, rich in calcium, magnesium, and vitamin C, helps the synthesis and transmission of neurotransmitters. In particular, calcium has the effect of stabilizing emotions and inhibiting the sympathetic nervous system.
Mixing golden kiwi with milk, honey, and ice cubes to make a summer smoothie not only helps the body absorb vitamin E from the seeds but also has the effect of increasing skin elasticity.
Kiwi Papaya Smoothie