7 Best Foods to Eat to Prevent Insomnia

Do you ever have trouble falling asleep? Insomnia is one of the most frustrating things, as you probably know. A few years ago, I started to have insomnia for a period of a few months. I like to heal any health challenge I encounter in a natural way without drug, so I researched and experimented with ways to heal my insomnia naturally. Foods are a natural way to prevent and reduce insomnia. So incorporating some of the foods I share with you, is a great way to naturally reduce inflammation. I'm grateful to be able to share with you what I have found to be some of the best foods to eat to prevent insomnia. I am grateful because I know that through my sharing, you can learn from my experience, and be on your way to healing your insomnia too!

Before I get into the foods, I would like to share with you a little bit about what Insomnia is, so that you can gain a better understanding. Insomnia is sleeplessness or difficulty sleeping. It is both a sign and a symptom that accompanies sleep and other health disorders. It is often followed by functional impairment of daytime activities. People that have insomnia are not able to get restorative sleep. They have difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep. Insomnia can happen at any age, but is more common in elderly people.

People with insomnia experience poor sleep quality, which refers to the paradox that even though you have slept, you do not feel refreshed when you wake. Insomnia is a common symptom affecting millions of people that may be caused by many conditions, diseases, or circumstances. It may be caused by poor sleep habits, stress, depression, pain, unhealthy habits, anxiety, or a poor sleeping environment.

Insomnia can be caused by a wide range of factors. One of the most common causes is stress. Depression, grief, and other stressful emotions are also big causes. If you are distracted by negative thoughts during the day, it is very likely that you will have difficulty sleeping at night, because your brain will still be mulling over the events and stressors of the day. While the body is trying to rest, the mind reliving stressful past events, and going through a to-do list will give the body a big challenge in falling asleep.

Now I will share with you seven of the best foods to eat to prevent insomnia. If you would like to eat to prevent insomnia, then try incorporating some of these foods into your diet. If you already eat some of them, then include more of them in your diet.

Cherries
Eating cherries or drinking cherry juice can help regulate the body's sleep cycle. According to a study done by the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, tart cherry juice reduced the severity of insomnia for older adults.

Grapes
Grapes are a fruit that contain melatonin. Melatonin has antioxidant qualities, and plays a big role in sleep-wake patterns. Investigators reported that the grape varieties which have high content of melatonin are: Sangiovesse, Nebbolo, Merlot, Cabernet Savignon, and Croatina.

Dairy Products
Dairy products also contain tryptophan the sleep-inducing amino acid. It is used by the brain to make neurotransmitters that induce sleep. It also spurs the production of melatonin and serotonin. Eat some type of dairy at dinner time and see how it helps with your sleep.

Bananas
Bananas contain tryptophan, which is a natural sleep aid and helps to induce relaxation. Also the nutrients in bananas are helpful for other health problems, that may be causing you trouble sleeping. Try to include one banana in your day each day and see how it affects your sleep. I eat a banana everyday, and it is one of my favorite foods to eat to prevent insomnia.

Tryptophan-Containing Foods
Foods that contain tryptophan, which is an amino acid, can cause a person to feel sleepy. Some foods with high levels of tryptophan are eggs, bananas, and turkey. According to the National Sleep Foundation, carbohydrates increase the availability of tryptophan in the brain. So eating a balanced snack of tryptophan and carbohydrates such as cheese and crackers before bed can increase the possibility of sleep. I started eating eggs only at dinner time and I noticed a big difference in my ability to fall asleep. I had been eating 2 eggs in the morning, but then I would feel tired during the day. So by eliminating eating eggs in the morning and only eating them at dinner, I am now able to fall asleep much more easily, and wake up refreshed.

Chamomile Tea
Chamomile Tea is known for being a relaxation inducing tea. It has been used for thousands of years as a natural treatment for many health problems including sleep disorders, digestive problems, and anxiety. Try drinking a cup of chamomile tea before bed and see how it affects your sleep. Chamomile is also available in capsule form for those who would prefer to ingest the herb instead of drinking it.

Green Leafy Vegetables
Green leafy vegetables contain healthy amounts of calcium. It is important to get enough calcium because research suggests that being calcium deficient may make it difficult to fall asleep. So including spinach, kale, collards, or other green leafy veggies in your diet would be very beneficial for your sleep.

I hope you learned from this list of best foods to prevent insomnia. Include some of these foods in your diet and see how your sleep improves. Buy eating these foods I was able to fall asleep quickly again and sleep like a baby. I hope the same happens for you!By Carolyn K. Collins

Too Much Sleep Can Make You Tired - Symptoms of Sleeping Too Much

There are two things that all people like to do, regardless of age, race, height, weight, looks, etc. Those things are eating and sleeping. For this reason, many people become overweight or oversleep too much.

Did you know that sleeping too long makes you more tired?

You would think that if you got a lot of sleep, you would be less tired and could go for longer without needing to sleep again. Unfortunately it doesn't work this way. When you sleep, your mind and body are doing many complex functions such as repairing muscle, organizing memories, putting the things you have learned for the day in the proper places, etc, etc. This process is actually quite strenuous on the mind which is why when you wake up after sleeping too long, you often feel more tired than you did when you first went to sleep.

Symptoms of oversleeping

The most common symptoms of sleeping too long include:

• Headaches that last throughout the day.
• Difficulty focusing and remembering things.
• You feel real slow and out of it.
• Extra tired during the day.

Sleeping too long may indicate that you are developing a sleeping disorder If you are sleeping too long, it may be because your body isn't going into deep REM sleep and tries to make up for it by making you sleep longer during the night. Without deep REM, your body isn't shutting down enough to give you body and mind ample chance to repair and recover.

By Daniel Kooper

What is Insomnia? What is the principal cause of Insomnia?

Understanding why we need sleep and knowing the root cause of insomnia is the first step in coming to terms with and treating it.

How do we define insomnia?

Insomnia is the term used to describe a lack of quality sleep; either taking ages to get to sleep, difficulty in staying asleep or waking up too early and being unable to get back to sleep.

What are the effects of insomnia?

People who suffer from poor quality sleep tend to be irritable, inattentive, lacking energy and accident prone.They are more likely to suffer from depression, heart disease and strokes.Continued sleep deprivation brings about changes in the activity and timing of important hormones such as melatonin, cortisol, leptin, thyroid hormones and prolactin. It has been shown in studies that this pattern of hormonal changes has also been witnessed in sufferers of depression and in age-related chronic conditions such as obesity, diabetes and hypertension.

This is just a taste of the negative effects of insomnia and that's without mentioning the adverse effect it has on our immune systems or the incredible impact from daytime fatigue on the occurrence of "accidents"; remember Chernobyl or Exxon Valdez.

What is sleep for anyway?

Nobody really knows exactly how sleep works. For centuries it was believed that sleep was just a neutral state of mind and body but modern science is beginning to identify the many positive affects a natural, good night's sleep has.

Moods

The brain's metabolic rate and temperature is reduced allowing the mending of certain brain cells which would otherwise have difficulty in regenerating.In our deepest sleeping, during the rapid eye movement (REM) phase we do most of our dreaming. It's at this stage when the receptors of the essential drugs serotonin, histamine and norepinephrine take a rest, restoring them to the appropriate level of sensitivity. This restorative measure is believed to be important in regulating our moods during the waking hours.

Sleep and weight loss

If you're trying to lose weight and believe that sleep loss won't adversely affect weight loss, think again. In childhood, human growth hormones (HGH) are responsible for tissue production, but as we grow into adults HGH becomes responsible for, amongst other things, weight regulation. HGH is only released when we sleep.

Sleep to learn

Many studies have been conducted and they have shown that whatever we take in and learn during the waking hours needs to be processed and consolidated before it is put to memory and reflected in our abilities. The process of sleep enhances this in an inestimable way.

So what is the main cause of insomnia?

There may be many reasons why we don't sleep well but the main cause of insomnia is simply stress.

Our lives, like that of any other organism, are kept for the most part at an optimum state of balance. Our hormonal secretions, fluid levels, temperature and so on are kept in balance so that the mind and body can perform at its peak.

The "flight or fight" response when being confronted by a predator is the most common example of a stress response but it can also be triggered by much less profound events such as crowding, noise or darkness. But even less obvious is that a stress response can happen to events such as fear, anger and even extreme pleasure.Sometimes we can live in a permanent state of stress response and prolonged states of stress can leave the body in a constant state of alarm and imbalance.

The process of sleep runs contrary to the effects of stress response. Falling to sleep involves the gradual shutting down of systems, a decrease in metabolism and the cessation of the readiness for action. Going to sleep makes us less alert and decreases arousal. The stress response increases arousal and makes us more alert.

Stress is the main cause of insomnia

The hormones secreted as a result of stress responses excite the body's systems. When stress is chronic we are hyperaroused.When we are hyperaroused we can't sleep.

If you are susceptible to the stresses brought about by daily life which impact on your night time sleep there are sleeping techniques using the senses that can maximize the quality of sleep, bringing enrichment to your waking days.

By: Lelliot Peters

The Angry Guy on the Phone..

Health problems Caused by Anger:
The constant flood of stress chemicals and associated metabolic changes that accompany recurrent unmanaged anger can eventually cause harm to many different systems of the body. Some of the short and long term health problems that have been linked to unmanaged anger include:
Headache
Digestion problems, such as abdominal pain
Insomnia
Increased anxiety
Depression
High blood pressure
Skin problems, such as eczema
Heart attack
Stroke.
Anger just isn't worth the effort.
Let me explain...
The guy on the other end of the phone was having a terrible day.
He was angry with a capital A.
Apparently, someone had failed to meet him for a pre-arranged appointment and he was on the telephone, letting me have it with both barrels.
I listened.
Tried to get a word in edgeways.
Failed.
Waited whilst he raved on about "the importance of sticking to appointments"
Then I said something that stopped him dead in his tracks.
"My name is Chris. Not Dave."
"You have the wrong number."
After he hung up the phone (Just in case you are wondering, no - his didn't apologise) I went into the kitchen and put the kettle on for a cup of coffee.
And I thought; I wonder if, after he calmed down, he would have realized how utterly pointless his anger was and how in the big scheme of things it wasn't worth it.
You see, somewhere in this world a child is dying of cancer.
Somewhere a baby is taking his or her first breath.
Somewhere a man is sat by the bedside of his wife of 50 years, watching her fade away.
Somewhere, a teenager is falling in love for the very first time.
A couple are getting married.
Another are being torn apart by the pain of divorce.
A kid is learning to ride a bike.
A refugee is hiding in a ditch with soldiers searching for her, ready to shoot to kill.
When you compare THOSE things with the fact that some guy missed an appointment - our angry friend really has nothing much to worry about now does he?
What about YOU?
Are you getting stressed out over the little things?
Things that in the scheme of things really don't matter.
Next time you feel like getting angry - stop and make sure that it is something worth getting angry about.
9 times out of 10 you'll see that it isn't.
Use your energy for better things.
Go outside and look up at the stars and stand amazed at the beauty of God's creation.
Let go of your anger. The proverb says "Anger rests in the bosom of fools"
100 years from now all that will matter is how you have lived your life.
Choose the path that says; "I'm not going to give in to anger. I'm going to see things in perspective. I'm going to 'let it go' and choose to be calm.

Chris Bloor