Subscribe to our Newsletter:
Healthy Diet Plans >>  Articles >>  Diet and Wellness

Foods That Induce Sleep

April 13, 2011

Home remedies to induce sleep

Sleep is an important part of our daily lives and if we sleep more or less than the amount we need, it affects the quality of our life. What we eat can make a difference on the amount of sleep we get. Foods that induce sleep are quite common and are inadvertently an important part of our diet. Foods that induce sleepiness are usually very rich and can play havoc on your system. Foods that cause sleeplessness can be completely opposite and increase hormonal and adrenal activity in your body making it difficult for the body to wind down and go to sleep.


Sometimes we  consume foods that induce sleep, thereby constantly making us feel lethargic. Foods that induce sleep often contain tryptophan, which is an amino acid, and affects our body clock, changing the sleep cycle.  If your food contains more tryptophan, it is likely to make you sleepy rather quickly.

Milk contains tryptophan and an excess of milk can make you sleepy.


Food like potatoes, grains and cereals can also influence how sleepy you feel, depending on how much is consumed closer to your bed time. Food can be tricky and food can also cause insomnia or trigger insomnia.  You can also use food to induce sleep.

One of the most common foods that cause insomnia and should be avoided is caffeine, as it is responsible for altering  sleep patterns. Caffeine is a stimulant that keeps you awake and can therefore lead to many sleep problems.


Instead of relying on medication, you should use natural foods that induce sleep in order to get rid of insomnia.
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder. In order to keep insomnia at bay, you should avoid eating rich or heavy meals just before bed time. Eating a light meal makes it easier for your digestive system, which in turn lets you fall asleep easily.


Avoiding junk food and chocolate also makes a difference in dealing with insomnia. If you suffer from insomnia, you should eat foods rich in tryptophan so that the body is able to regulate its body clock. Other foods that can remedy insomnia include foods that are high in carbohydrates but low in protein. Some of these foods include fruits like oranges or strawberries, whole wheat toast, with peanut butter and jam perhaps, tofu and other similar snacks. Sometimes dieters face experience insomnia regularly because they consume little fat and insubstantial  meals.  The lack of nutrition keeps them up at night and can sometimes lead to night time binging.

Home remedies to induce sleep

You can tackle sleeplessness with home remedies. Home remedies induce sleep and are a healthy way to tackle sleeplessness. There are many natural remedies and ways to induce sleep. Home remedies for sleeplessness are easy and safe to do and can be easily converted into a habit. Insomnia can be caused due to multiple factors, ranging from a bad lifestyle to a chronic illness to stress and tension extreme exhaustion. Excess uric acid in the body can often lead to insomnia. Sometimes excess tension produces more acids which lead to a lack of sleep.

Natural home remedies for sleeplessness include soothing drinks and habits which encourage the body to calm down as you fall asleep. One of the best remedy for insomnia is drinking a mixture of apple cider vinegar and honey. Home remedies for insomnia in children often involve warm milk. Milk has particular amino acids that help induce sleep. Not all home remedies for insomnia are healthy. Sometimes eating little fat can change sleeping patterns. A home remedy to reduce insomnia includes consuming raw egg yolk mixed with avocado. While this cure will definitely cause you to fall asleep, it should be taken with some discretion.  You could also eat ripe bananas, pecans, honey, grapefruit or even soy. All these items  induce sleep. Foods like artichokes, spinach and black beans can help combat anxiety and eventually relax you enough to fall asleep. Bell peppers, tuna, chicken and fish such as halibut can also induce sleep. Increasing your intake of thiamine or vitamin B can also help. Lettuce has also been known to help in combating insomnia, so, a whole wheat lettuce sandwich is perhaps a good early dinner option that you could consider.  Juice of fenugreek leaves, raw onions and celery juice with honey are all effective home remedies.

You can try massaging some curd into your scalp. Sleeping at the same time every night and waking up at the same every morning, no matter what, is a good step towards regulating your body clock and slowly doing away with insomnia. If you are combating insomnia, you should most definitely avoid caffeine from tea and coffee, alcohol, fast food and/or junk food.  All  of these foods have many additives and preservatives which tend to keep the body unnecessarily alert, therefore not letting you sleep.

A natural remedy for sleeplessness is also getting regular exercise which will ensure that your sleeplessness becomes a thing of the past. You should also consider improving your sleeping environment to make it most relaxing and conducive to sleeping.  This could be done by investing in a  comfortable bed, pillows, relaxing scents and painting the walls of your sleeping area/bedroom in soothing colors. All these elements add to slowly relaxing your mind and eventually help you combat insomnia. You could practice relaxation exercises and meditation techniques in order to calm your mind and reduce the tension before you fall asleep. You can also try taking a relaxing bath with soothing aroma therapy fragrances and oils to give your brain and body an opportunity to relax before you sleep.  All these are simple remedies you can do within the confines of your home to combat insomnia.

There are drugs that can be used to combat insomnia but there is always a flip side to that. Using chemically enhanced methods always runs the risk of a dependence on a substance you cannot control. It is easier to attempt home remedies, usually a combination of a few of them, to see which works best in dealing with insomnia.

Read more articles from the Diet and Wellness Category.