Melatonin—your obsessive best friend on Monday mornings, late work evenings, and weekend afternoons—is the hormone that plays cupid between you and the snooze button. Not only does it induce sleep, it also plays an important role in your sleep duration. And because sleep is the first step towards a healthy lifestyle (often underestimated), you need foods that boost your melatonin level, which is already out of gear, given the erratic lifestyle you lead. “Older people struggle more with sleep as the production of melatonin reduces as we age,” explains celebrity nutritionist Suman Agarwal.
She says, “There are two groups of food: one which are high in melatonin and other rich in tryptophan that inducse production of serotonin, which is required in the production of Melatonin.” This means, without tryptophan, there will be no serotonin, and without serotonin, no melatonin—so your diet should have a balance of foods that provide all of the above.
Foods rich in Melatonin: Orange, oats, rice, sweet corn, tomato, radish, red wine, pineapple, ginger and morelo cherries.
Foods rich in Tryptophan: Dairy (not cheese), banana, soy, nuts, seafood, turkey, chicken, whole grains, beans and pulses, rice, eggs, sesame seeds and sunflower seeds.
Nutrients required: There are 4 micro nutrients (present in food or as part of supplements), Vitamin B6, Zinc, Magnesium and Folic acid, which help in production of melatonin.
Agarwal selects six important foods that will help you sleep better:
Milk/Curds: Milk and curds are good sources of amino acid tryptophan. Calcium in dairy helps the brain to use tryptophan, and produce melatonin. Try: Fruity Praline Yoghurt Banana: Apart from being rich sources of tryptophan bananas are also rich in calcium and potassium that helps in relaxation. Try: Banoffee Pie Fish: Fish like tuna and halibut are full of vitamin B6, which helps in production of melatonin. An addition of garlic and lettuce to the salad along with tuna also induces sleep as lettuce has lactucarium which acts as a sedative. Try: Tuna Salad Rice: Rice has a high glycemic index which helps in slashing the time to get sleep. A study in Japan also stated that consumption of high glycemic food like rice promotes good quality sleep. Try: Rice and Vegetable Bake Eggs: Eggs are rich source of tryptophan. But when tryptophan foods are had alongwith carbohydrates like rice, the conversion to melatonin is even better. Hence, have a meal that includes eggs and a helping of rice for better sleep. Try: Egg and Mushroom curry Nuts: Magnesium component in almonds helps in relaxation and promotes sleep; just handful of nuts are enough to give you uninterrupted snooze time. Try: Apple Almond Rabdi
