The ones you eat before going to bed not only affect your digestion but also your sleep, as well as alcohol is not the ideal drink to have a restful sleep . Bananas would not only be a sweet, satisfying and healthy snack for the night, it is one of the foods that can help you fall asleep and sleep better.
Bananas contain nutrients that together promote sleep , relax your body and brain: magnesium, tryptophan, vitamin B6, carbohydrates and potassium. Each of these components works to reduce insomnia and sleep better.
Magnesium and potassium
Magnesium regulates muscle and nervous system function, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure. Psychologist Michael J. Breus explains in Psychology Today that maintaining healthy magnesium levels leads to deeper and deeper sleep by maintaining healthy levels of GABA, a neurotransmitter that promotes sleep.
Potassium and magnesium help relax the muscles. Potassium is necessary for the proper functioning of muscle contraction and nerve transmission.
Tryptophan
Tryptophan is an essential amino acid. The body uses tryptophan to help make melatonin and serotonin. The US National Library of Medicine explains that melatonin helps regulate the sleep-wake cycle and serotonin is believed to help regulate appetite, sleep, mood, and pain.
WebMD notes that research trials have shown that tryptophan has potential benefits in the treatment of sleep disorders.
Carbohydrates
According to an Australian study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, carbohydrates can increase tryptophan and serotonin, two brain chemicals involved in sleep.
For nutritionist Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, a banana with peanut butter is the best snack for better sleep , as shared through Well + Good.
Peanuts are also foods that contain They contain more tryptophan than bananas. When eaten together, they add more tryptophan, and the carbohydrates in banana can make the tryptophan more available to the brain. Lockwood says that banana with peanut butter “is a wonderful sleep aid.”
An extra benefit of bananas, in addition to their nutrients, is that they are a fruit that provides fiber and contains inulin that acts as a prebiotic, a substance that stimulates the growth of good bacteria in the intestine , which in turn promotes a healthy microbiota.
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