Food Combinations that Promote Sleep

Christmas Dinner.

Turkey and roast potatoes are an example of a protein-carbohydrate combination that is thought to make us sleepy. We only need to think of Christmas dinner and its sleepy aftermath as an example. Turkey is indeed very rich in tryptophan but if eaten on its own, brain tryptophan levels will decrease as explained earlier. It is actually the high-carbohydrate foods eaten with the turkey (potatoes, Brussels sprouts, Christmas pudding) that have the effect of getting the tryptophan into the brain.

Choosing the right protein food is actually quite challenging initially.

Many people are aware that milk is rich in tryptophan but may not be aware of how tryptophan is required to induce sleep. Milk contains approximately 40mg of tryptophan per glass. In chronic insomnia people may require 2000mg or more of tryptophan, which would require rapidly drinking 50 glasses of milk to get the required tryptophan, however it would result in their tryptophan levels decreasing!

So it’s important to combine protein-rich foods with a fairly high glycaemic index carbohydrate to increase insulin levels and increase tryptophan-serotonin-melatonin levels.

High Glycaemic Index Carbohydrates

Some carbohydrates, referred to as high glycaemic carbohydrates, break down quickly into glucose in the body, inducing a rapid rise in insulin levels which speeds the increase in brain tryptophan levels.

Normally it is advisable to avoid high glycaemic carbohydrates since it is usually better to have a lower, more gradual increase in insulin levels, especially for those who suffer from diabetes or for weight control. However because the ideal way of eating your way to better sleep is consuming a high glycaemic carbohydrate combined with a high protein food, it’s important to know the best combinations in order to avoid weight-gain . That way, the carbohydrate has a chance to shunt the competing amino acids away in favour of tryptophan, allowing it to get into the brain to trigger sleep.