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Did you notice struggling to sleep after eating too much food at a wedding or dinner night? A recent study revealed a direct connection between healthy eating and deep sleep.
The anti-inflammatory qualities of ginger and turmeric enhance the quality of sleep.
Eating healthy food helps with weight management, resolves skin-related issues, and boosts overall health. However, a recent report has suggested a direct link between a healthy diet and deep sleep. For instance, many of us have likely experienced difficulty sleeping after a late-night party or wedding. On the other hand, we often enjoy deep and soothing sleep after having homemade, light food. This phenomenon is explored in a new cookbook that offers insights into the connection between diet and sleep. Let’s dive in and find out more.
Years of research on the connection validated it for Marie-Pierre St-Onge, director of Columbia University’s Center of Excellence for Sleep and Circadian Research. “Eating a lot of saturated fat and simple carbohydrates made it harder to get deep, restorative sleep,” she added, citing data from large-scale population studies.
According to St-Onge, it was also the other way around. She explained that obesity was more common among those who don’t get enough sleep. A messed-up sleep schedule causes bad eating choices, which causes poorer dietary quality and bad sleep.
She co-wrote a new cookbook with Kat Craddock, editor-in-chief of the food magazine Saveur, “Eat Better, Sleep Better.” Her research reflected that people who eat a high-fiber diet report improved sleep.
Foods that enhance the quality of sleep
Melatonin is found in nuts, seeds, and whole grains like barley, buckwheat, and kasha. Which the body naturally produces to control the circadian rhythm. According to research, the phytochemicals in vibrantly colored fruits and vegetables like squash, cherries, bananas, and beefsteak tomatoes, as well as the anti-inflammatory qualities of ginger and turmeric, enhance the quality of sleep.
According to the research, recipes were created for all daily meals as well as snacks and sweets. After that, the two organised them into a 28-day eating schedule that will help you sleep better. According to Craddock, creating the dishes was easy because the research emphasised using some ingredients that she loves cooking. However, making sure that the recipes met the nutritional requirements was a difficult part. “It was a bit of a dance back and forth between my more restaurant approach to making foods delicious and her nutritional goals,” she added.
In the end, the book is a useful manual for enhancing your nutrition in general, along with a plethora of charts and scientific studies. However, according to Craddock, it also exposes people to foreign foods and components, encouraging them to look beyond the foods they typically eat.
