Searching for the recipe for a good night’s sleep? It could be as simple as a glass of milk and a few handfuls of nuts. Scientists studied diets and sleep patterns of more than 4,500 adults and found that certain minerals and acids are linked to better sleep.
Lead author Dr Michael Grandner of Pennsylvania University, said: 'These findings suggest potentially natural and common-sense solutions to sleep problems. Although there is still important work that needs to be done on cause-and-effect, there is a lot of research showing that non-medication approaches can be very helpful. Even sleep disorders such as sleep apnea and insomnia can be very effectively treated.'
Researchers quizzed 4,548 adults on their health, diet, lifestyle and sleep. Women on the lowest incomes were most prone to having difficulty in getting a good night’s rest. But even taking into account age, sex, education, salary, weight an mental health, several elements of food were seen to be significantly linked to satisfying sleep patterns.
Odds of having trouble dropping off were reduced by 20% where dietary intake of the mineral selenium was doubled and by 17% for calcium. Greater consumption of carbohydrate, butanoic and dodecanoic acids – both abundant in milk – and vitamin D were linked with experiencing unbroken slumber. Meanwhile, the chances of suffering lingering lethargy or tiredness the following day were cut by 30% where there was twice as much potassium in the diet and 19% for additional calcium.
Poor sleep was associated with two fats commonly found in butter and cheese – hexanoic and hexadecanoic acid – and also salt and drinking lots of fluids.
'The importance of diet is often overlooked when dealing with these sorts of problems'. Dr. Grandner said. 'Diet, sleep, physical activity, and other parts of a healthy lifestyle have an impact on many systems in the body and, ultimately, play a role in how we think, feel, and act'.
Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/