Nutrition For Sleep & Recovery
Have you ever heard that sleep helps you heal? Well, this is definitely true, because during sleep, the brain is less active. It therefore requires less blood and oxygen. This allows more blood to travel to different muscles and tissues throughout the body. This extra blood provides the muscles and tissues with more oxygen and nutrients which helps them recover faster. So yes, sleep does accelerate the healing process.
Many people have a difficult time falling or staying asleep, and this can be problematic especially when trying to recover from an injury. It is important to get 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night as this is optimal for healing. Luckily, there are some foods that have been shown to improve sleep duration and quality. We all have a hormone called melatonin which promotes sleep. Many foods help to improve sleep by increasing melatonin production.
Almonds have many nutrients, such as phosphorus, B vitamins, and magnesium. These all assist with muscle recovery and relaxation. However, almonds are also a source of melatonin. So, consuming them before bed may help with falling asleep and staying asleep throughout the night.
Turkey is well-known for making people feel sleepy! It does this because it contains tryptophan. Tryptophan increases melatonin production in the body and therefore increases sleepiness. This is why people often need a nap after eating turkey, especially after a big thanksgiving dinner!
Kiwi consumption before bed has also been shown to improve sleep duration and quality. This is often attributed to its serotonin content. Serotonin is a hormone that controls the sleep-wake cycle. It is a precursor to melatonin. This means that consuming serotonin increases melatonin production. Eating 1-2 kiwis before bed might just do the trick and make it easier to fall asleep.
Chamomile tea is a very common tea used for its calming effects. It was observed that people who consumed chamomile tea before bed were able to fall asleep faster and stay asleep for longer throughout the night. This is probably because chamomile tea contains an antioxidant called apigenin which promotes sleepiness.
Passionflower tea is used for a variety of health conditions. It is often used to treat anxiety as it helps to ease mental restlessness. Similar to chamomile tea, it has a calming effect due to its apigenin content. There is also some evidence that it increases the production of GABA (a brain chemical that induces sleep).
There are many food products and natural ways to improve sleep quality and ultimately accelerate the body’s healing processes. This is especially useful when trying to recover from an injury. It is also very common for people to take melatonin supplements before bed as these are safe and are very effective at inducing sleep. Please remember that everyone is different, and it is important to consult with your physician before adding any supplements or new foods to your daily routine.
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