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Improve your Sleep Through Diet & Exercise

SCOFA Diet and Exercise

 
Medically reviewed by
Dacelin St Martin, MD
Triple board-certified in Sleep Medicine,
Internal Medicine, and Pediatrics.

 
 
Sleep Hygiene  |  Diet & Insomnia  |  Exercise & Sleep 

 

Overview

Insomnia or an inability to sleep well can make you prone to several physical and mental health disorders.

It can increase your risk of depression and anxiety disorders and cause cognitive distortions by impairing your memory and rational thinking. The risk of diabetes, hypertension, heart attacks, and stroke are also linked to chronic insomnia. 

It’s possible to avoid these consequences and improve your sleep hygiene by adopting healthy lifestyle habits. Read on to learn about the most effective diets and exercises that can help you overcome insomnia and improve your sleep. 

 

Sleep Hygiene

Sleep hygiene refers to steps taken before bedtime to improve the quality and duration of sleep in order to avoid the development of sleep disorders, like insomnia.[1] Paying attention to your sleep hygiene is one of the most effective ways to set yourself up for fighting insomnia. 

Sleep hygiene involves maintaining a stable sleep-wake schedule, making your bedroom environment comfortable and free of disruptions, and following a relaxing pre-bedtime routine. It also involves building healthy lifestyle habits related to your diet and physical activities during the day. 

Here are a few dietary recommendations and exercises that will improve your sleep quality and prevent insomnia. 

 

Diet & Insomnia

1) Avoid a Heavy Dinner

It’s in your best interest to forgo the triple-stacked cheeseburger and opt for a lighter option for dinner. Try choosing foods that are rich in fiber and low in fat, like grilled chicken and a leafy salad. 

If you have an insane craving for chicken vindaloo, try having it at least 4 hours before bed. Greasy or spicy foods can lead to indigestion, making it hard for your body to relax, and drift off to sleep.

An early dinner allows time for the food to pass from the stomach to the intestine, which helps prevent acid reflux. This will provide relief from gas and heartburn that usually become worse when lying down.[2]

SCOFA Diet and Exercise Fights Insomnia

 

2) Limit Sugar Intake

Foods rich in carbohydrates can interfere with your sleep. An increased intake of simple sugars in food, like cakes, pastries, soft drinks, and chocolate, may create imbalances in your blood sugar levels.  A spike in your blood sugar levels before bedtime will increase the level of alertness, which stimulates your brain and prevents you from falling asleep. It’s advisable to limit your intake of carbohydrates, especially before bedtime.[3]

3) Snack on Almonds

Snacking on almonds can improve your sleep quality. Research studies show that almonds can improve sleep by providing a natural source of a sleep hormone called melatonin. This hormone regulates your body’s internal biological clock, letting your body know when it’s time to prepare for sleep, which can reduce the time needed to fall asleep.[4]

Almonds also contain a rich amount of magnesium that can improve sleep quality, especially if you suffer from insomnia due to mental stress.[5] [6]

4) Eat Turkey 

Turkey may provide a long-term solution to your poor sleep pattern. It contains an amino acid called tryptophan that increases the production of melatonin in the nervous system, enhancing your sleep quality and duration. It may also reduce frequent awakening throughout the night.[7]

5) Drink Chamomile Tea

Chamomile tea is known for flavones, which are natural antioxidants that boost your immune system, reduce stress, and soothe your mind. Drinking chamomile tea about an hour before bedtime relaxes your muscles, relieves mental stress and anxiety, and helps you sleep well.[8] Chamomile tea also contains an antioxidant called apigenin that can bind to certain receptors in the brain and promote sleepiness.

6) Other Foods Known to Promote Sleep

  • Walnuts are linked to improved sleep quality. It is believed to help by providing a natural source of melatonin.[9]
  • Passionflower tea contains an antioxidant called apigenin that can produce an anxiety-reducing effect. Apigenin may also produce a calming effect on the mind and body by binding to the receptors in the brain, helping you enjoy undisturbed sleep.[10]
  • Tart cherry juice makes you feel sleepy due to its ability to stimulate the secretion of melatonin.[11]
  • Fatty fish, like salmon, tuna, and mackerel, have the potential to improve sleep quality by reducing inflammation in the muscles and bones, and increasing the production of feel-good hormones, like serotonin. It can reduce muscle pain and body aches and relieve stress and anxiety, allowing you to sleep well.[12]

 

Exercise & Sleep

Aerobic exercises

Aerobic exercises like walking, cycling, and swimming have been shown to improve sleep and prevent insomnia. Just remember that exercising 1 to 2 hours before your bedtime can interfere with your ability to fall asleep.

Dedicate 30-40 minutes each day to aerobic exercises to relieve mental stress, induce muscle relaxation, and help you have a sound sleep at night. Plus, a healthy diet and exercise regimen will help prevent you from developing conditions linked to obesity, like sleep apnea. 

Yoga

Yoga involves relaxing poses and stretching of different muscle groups in your body. It can help to induce relaxation mentally and physically. Controlled breathing while performing yoga poses can also ease mental stress and prevent insomnia.[13]

 

Conclusion 

A sleep-friendly diet should be rich in fresh fruits and vegetables, and proteins from whole grains.

A healthy diet and exercise regimen helps you sleep well and reduce the risk of complications associated with insomnia. If you continue to have issues with sleeplessness, do not hesitate to contact your doctor.

 

References:

  1. O’Donnell, S., & Driller, M. W. (2017). Sleep-hygiene Education improves Sleep Indices in Elite Female Athletes. International journal of exercise science, 10(4), 522–530.
  2. Nakajima K. (2018). Unhealthy eating habits around sleep and sleep duration: To eat or fast?. World journal of diabetes, 9(11), 190–194. https://doi.org/10.4239/wjd.v9.i11.190.
  3. St-Onge, M. P., Mikic, A., & Pietrolungo, C. E. (2016). Effects of Diet on Sleep Quality. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 7(5), 938–949. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.116.012336.
  4. Meng, X., Li, Y., Li, S., Zhou, Y., Gan, R. Y., Xu, D. P., & Li, H. B. (2017). Dietary Sources and Bioactivities of Melatonin. Nutrients, 9(4), 367. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9040367.
  5. Zeng, Y., Yang, J., Du, J., Pu, X., Yang, X., Yang, S., & Yang, T. (2014). Strategies of Functional Foods Promote Sleep in Human Being. Current signal transduction therapy, 9(3), 148–155. https://doi.org/10.2174/1574362410666150205165504.
  6. Abbasi, B., Kimiagar, M., Sadeghniiat, K., Shirazi, M. M., Hedayati, M., & Rashidkhani, B. (2012). The effect of magnesium supplementation on primary insomnia in elderly: A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Journal of research in medical sciences : the official journal of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, 17(12), 1161–1169.
  7. Halson S. L. (2014). Sleep in elite athletes and nutritional interventions to enhance sleep. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 44 Suppl 1(Suppl 1), S13–S23. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-014-0147.
  8. Srivastava, J. K., Shankar, E., & Gupta, S. (2010). Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future. Molecular medicine reports, 3(6), 895–901. https://doi.org/10.3892/mmr.2010.377.
  9. Peuhkuri, K., Sihvola, N., & Korpela, R. (2012). Dietary factors and fluctuating levels of melatonin. Food & nutrition research, 56, 10.3402/fnr.v56i0.17252. https://doi.org/10.3402/fnr.v56i0.17252.
  10. Elsas, S. M., Rossi, D. J., Raber, J., White, G., Seeley, C. A., Gregory, W. L., Mohr, C., Pfankuch, T., & Soumyanath, A. (2010). Passiflora incarnata L. (Passionflower) extracts elicit GABA currents in hippocampal neurons in vitro, and show anxiogenic and anticonvulsant effects in vivo, varying with extraction method. Phytomedicine : international journal of phytotherapy and phytopharmacology, 17(12), 940–949. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.phymed.2010.03.002.
  11. Zeng, Y., Yang, J., Du, J., Pu, X., Yang, X., Yang, S., & Yang, T. (2014). Strategies of Functional Foods Promote Sleep in Human Being. Current signal transduction therapy, 9(3), 148–155. https://doi.org/10.2174/1574362410666150205165504.
  12. St-Onge, M. P., Mikic, A., & Pietrolungo, C. E. (2016). Effects of Diet on Sleep Quality. Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.), 7(5), 938–949. https://doi.org/10.3945/an.116.012336.
  13. Bankar, M. A., Chaudhari, S. K., & Chaudhari, K. D. (2013). Impact of long term Yoga practice on sleep quality and quality of life in the elderly. Journal of Ayurveda and integrative medicine, 4(1), 28–32. https://doi.org/10.4103/0975-9476.109548.
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