Falling asleep can be very hard for many of us. Our daily stress and emotional issues or just not feeling well, can interfere with sleep. Others have breathing issues that can stop you from normal breathing and others who snore so badly that no-one else can get any sleep!
The two best products to help are the amino acid, Tryptophan and the hormone, melatonin and then boost their effects by eating them with a carbohydrate
An hour before bed, indulge, eat some turkey with whole grain bread, banana, a piece of cheese and cracker, beans, pumpkin seeds or oatmeal. ! Eating something with Tryptophan will convert to Serotonin, which then will convert to melatonin in the body and adding a carbohydrate with that, helps the conversion to work.
Or have a little honey, research at MIT says it increases serotonin in the brain and settles down brain activity! Nosh on nuts, seeds or leafy greens to increase your magnesium which helps relax muscles and increases serotonin. Eating whole grains; like rice or oats during the day can help generate the melatonin that triggers sleep at night.
Whole grains, seeds, nuts, beans and eggs provide B vitamins galore. They help calm the nervous system and bring down the stress level; this also helps with sleep by helping the body produce serotonin.
Eat a trail mix with dried cherries and Brazil nuts, the sleepy nut, (due to its serotonin). Both will convert to melatonin, the hormone that actually regulates the bodies sleep-awake cycle. Walnuts if you look at the convoluted body of the whole nut; it looks like a little brain, that is the signature or sign of what it benefits most.
Sleep Aid Soup
Before bed, simmer corn, rice, barley and oats in turkey broth and milk.
Sprinkle in crushed walnuts and some chickpeas.
Enjoy a cupful in a darkened room about 30 minutes before bed!
Suggested by Dr. James Duke
Or a Classic Combo
A slice of whole wheat toast with almond butter drizzled with honey.
Enjoy with a mug of warm milk.
Welcome to a night of restful sleep!
References:
Guide to Healing Foods by James Duke, PhD
Cynthia Burrows, from Austin, Texas, owns Cindy Burrows, Natural Health Consultant; assisting individuals with health issues they would like to change. She will set up a program giving choices of foods, herbs, teas and homeopathic suggestions. Cindy is past owner of Nature’s Healing Herbs, an Herbal, Green Tea, and Tincture product line, and a rare product line of Green Tea Foods. She has certificates for Herbalist at East West School of Herbology, and as Wellness Consultant with the Wellness Forum in Ohio.
Cindy is also a Medical Technologist, with a B.S. degree from Mansfield University in Mansfield Pa., she has been in healthcare for over 30 years. In 2005, she started using a new device founded in Europe, Quantum Biofeedback, “an energy rebalancing of the body”, by using our bodies electricity or frequency waves it can detect stress points in the body, she has added this to her consulting practice. She now has her Certification as a Biofeedback Specialist. She helps her clients by working with the synergy of herbs, food, homeopathy, and aromatherapy within her practice. She is a speaker, writer, and teacher. Cindy has been interviewed on TV; about the benefits of Green Tea and has been on radio about her small business tour to Ecuador.
Cindy has been an herbalist for over 20 years and has spent 6 years learning through the East West School of Herbology with Michael Tierra. She has studied Western, Chinese and Ayurvedic Herbs with a strong emphasis on nutrition. Along with many other continued studies of alternative and complementary medicine. She is a Certified Wellness Consultant, through a special program, The Wellness Forum, which has its nutrition program, now part of the curriculum at Ohio State University, providing educational seminars and workshops designed to impart relevant nutrition information to individuals to take control of their own health. These programs give healthier options and choices that can impact your longevity and quality of life. Cindy has been a speaker to many groups and has conducted many of her own classes on food and healthy life style programs.
Cindy has been involved with a hands-on healing program for the past 4 years and offers energy healing, through donation only, to anyone who needs her services.
She is Co-president of the Austin Herb Society and a member of the American Herbalist Guild. Cynthia has been a board member on many programs in the past including; La Sertoma, Arthritis Foundation, Toastmasters International, National Association of Female Executives, Handicapped Equestrian Learning Program, Entrepreneurs Association, and Austin Integrated Health Care Program.
Cindy also loves nature, animals, reading, blending teas, juices, etc.; likes to hike, and work with plants and, of course, cooking., mostly vegetarian.
Cindy has an adventurous streak.
She has organized and taken tours with business and artists groups to Big Bend, Texas, New Mexico, USA, and Ecuador, South America.
