“A 2009 poll by the National Sleep Foundation found that only 28 percent of those surveyed regularly got eight hours or more of sleep a night. The average was around six and a half hours on weekdays and seven on weekends. Those who slept less than eight hours a night typically had mood problems, including worry and anxiety, ate more sugar and unhealthy food and drank more caffeinated beverages!”
~ Trudy Scott, The Antianxiety Food Solution
It’s amazing how many people don’t get enough sleep and there is so much we can do from a nutritional point of view to change this. Here are six things to consider:
- One of the first things I think about when a client can’t sleep is low serotonin. Low serotonin symptoms include insomnia, depression, negativity, worry and anxiety, irritability, PMS and afternoon and evening cravings. And low serotonin can be boosted with tryptophan, taken as a supplement and/or in food sources.
- Research has actually shown that a medical or functional food made with pumpkin seeds improved sleep, due to the good sources of tryptophan and zinc. In another study this same functional food was also shown to reduce anxiety and social phobia.Pumpkin seeds can be soaked in water overnight and then lightly roasted with olive oil, sea salt, pepper, turmeric and ginger. Food-wise, pumpkin seeds are a favorite of mine for a healthy snack and my clients love them. Here is an blog post that discusses the benefits of soaked nuts and a roasted pumpkin seed recipe
- When tryptophan is taken as a supplement, some is converted to serotonin and some to melatonin. Melatonin is fabulous for resetting your circadian rhythm so your sleep cycle gets back to normal. If taking tryptophan doesn’t quite get you sleeping through the night then taking additional melatonin may help. Sublingual melatonin helps you fall asleep and the timed-release form helps you stay asleep.
- Other factors that should be considered when sleep is an issue: low blood sugar, addressing low serotonin levels, addressing low GABA levels, checking for parasites and dysbiosis, and making sure you don’t have high cortisol.
- Other nutrients that may be helpful: vitamin B6 (which helps improve mood and reduce anxiety too), zinc (which is also important for skin health, reducing anxiety, improving mood, helping with blood sugar balance and PMS), and magnesium (which is also calming).
- Of course, it also helps to use a comfortable soft eye patch to keep the room dark and to use earplugs to keep things quiet. Also, keep clock radios and cell phones away from your head and don’t use an electric blanket! Having a warm bath with essential oil of lavender is also a great help to help you wind down at the end of a hectic day.
Try some of the above tips and get those eight hours of sleep and you’ll have less mood problems, experience less worry and anxiety, eat less (or no) sugar and unhealthy food and drink less (or no) caffeinated beverages! Sweet dreams!
Trudy, thanks as always for these informative articles. Sleep is so important, and when I get a good quality (and quantity) of sleep, I can control my eating so much better. I love your recommendations for foods/supplements that help sleep. I especially love the additional recommendation for ear plugs and a sleep mask. Anything that blocks out noise/light at night really helps. It’s good to publicize how important sleep is. Keep up the good work!!
Thanks Kamran – I’m pleased this is helpful and that good sleep does help you eat better!
Trudy
Hi Trudy,
I’m going to try the Pumpkin Seeds for anxiety. Sounds great and I love that kind of thing.
I actually sleep pretty well for as much stress and anxiety as I do have in my life. Who knows why?!?
Cool, tips, Trudy! Also, try thinking about positive things as you try to drift off. So often, people use that time to hash through worries or troubles and then wonder why they can’t sleep or sleep fitfully. Send yourself off to dreamland dreaming YOUR dreams, and it also becomes a sort of creative workshop of your future! <3 Katherine
Katherine C. H. E.
CEO and Founder, iaLOAp
http://www.iaLOAp.com
Katherine
Love your ideas to dream your dreams! Super idea if it works but some people find it impossible to switch off the re-hashing of worries and troubles. This is where tryptophan – if there is a serotonin deficiency – does wonders for calming the mind and switching off those ruminating thoughts.
Trudy
I never knew about pumpkin seeds and sleep, that’s a great little tip. Most people seem to be short on sleep, so your tips are useful to just about everyone I know!
Oh, wonderful article! I love the pumpkin seed idea – I’m going to try that one!
Trudy,
The importance of sleep and your points are well taken.
One might add that there are so many distractions pulling us : ipods, ipads, cell phones, email that many people do not
disconnect and allow themselves to sleep for 7 or 8 hours straight.
Absolutely Mitch! these should be avoided a good few hours before going to bed so as not to disrupt sleep
You can also download a free program that turns the color temperature on your computer to an amber color after sundown, blocking the blue light that tells you it’s daytime, thus helping your circadian rhythm. It’s called F.lux (note that there’s a dot in there).
Go to https://justgetflux.com/
Very cool! thanks so much for sharing this Beth! do you use it on your computer? and have seen good results?
Yes, I do use it and I think I have noticed a difference. I also got a pair of orange-amber colored glasses to wear when I get up at night, so any household light doesn’t trigger more wakefulness. There are glasses specifically for this purpose.
Thanks for sharing Beth – who did you get your glasses from?
Hi Trudy. I got them from Amazon. There are various ones but these are the amber glasses I got:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003OBZ64M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
Trudy –
Thanks so much for the great suggestions. This is an area I have struggled with forever. Even as a teenager, I only slept 5-6 hours a night (and am currently up at 1:20 am even though I have to catch a flight at 6:50 am).
Will definitely try some of these out!
Phil Dyer
Chief Visionary | Broughton Advisory
http://www.broughtonadvisory.com
Wow Phil, that’s amazing! Some people can actually do with less sleep and the clue would be this: you feel great, you bounce out of bed in the morning, you have tons of energy and are not drawn to sugary foods/drinks or coffee to keep you functioning. If not, then do try some of these tips and get help if you are not seeing success. Keep in mind that there are many causes of insomnia – here are a few more: food intolerances, gut dysbiosis and parasites and high cortisol levels.
Trudy,
I know what a difference it made when you put me on tryptophan. Love the simple, easy to access suggestions.
Wonderful Terry – I love success stories!
Ahhh … it makes sense that the same thing that makes us all sleepy on Thanksgiving Day can help us sleep throughout the rest of the year 🙂
Jennifer Bourn, Bourn Creative
All the sugar and carbs on Thanksgiving Day plays a big role in that too! 🙂
I find that 7 hours of sleep is enough for me. 8 hours makes me more tired, does it mean it’s too much for my body? Generally I’m a good sleeper. I can sleep anytime and anywhere. My favorite strategy is afternoon nap. Helps me recover unbelievably fast 😉
Some people do fine on 7 hours so you’re probably doing just fine as long as you have energy, focus and are not drawn to caffeine and sugar for a pick-up.
I am just loving your blog. Learning so much. Can’t figure out though, why my adrenal saliva test, showed overly elevated melatonin levels last thing before bed. I thought usually people have problems with too low melatonin, but mine is too high at 64 pg/ml (double the upper limit). Do you think that is a problem? Any idea what the cause could be? I can’t fiind any onformation about it anywhere.
Anxiety wise, I am much better after working on gut infections, food sensitivities, adrenals, but now I get nervous feelings on waking up in the mornings. This nervous feeling starts before my brain stars to even think about things. No idea why as there is nothing in my life that should be causing me to feel nervous. I am happy with my life. It wears off once I get up and get going with my day.
Just can’t figure this one out. Any ideas or points in the right direction?
Can you recommend a particular brand of Tryptophan or melatonin? Going through a very rough patch of insomnia and am desperate to try simpler remedies before my docs put me on Trazadone or Lunesta.
Amy
You can find my supp recommendations here https://www.everywomanover29.com/blog/amino-acids-pyroluria-supplements/
Dear Trudy,
I close my eyes, exhausted, but my brain is wide awake. After hours of fighting it for hours, taking every supplement known to mankind and perhaps sleeping 2 hours on average, OCD decided to hijack the insomnia topic. The second I put my head on the pillow my mind starts racing in fear and dread. Obviously, this increases cortisol and adrenaline, making it harder to drift to sleep. I’m stuck in this vicious cycle of insomnia and fear. I don’t want to use benzos. Please help me! I beg you!