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IS POOR SLEEP THE NEW KILLER? DIET CAN HELP

September 4, 2015 6 Comments

avocado on toast

I’ve been a poor sleeper for over a decade now, often getting by on five or six hours a night. The recent spate of research showing the importance of sleep isn’t helping. Ironic, I know.  But I’m not alone.  The other day a girlfriend confessed to having lain awake all night worrying that if she didn’t get back to sleep she’d get Alzheimer’s.

Three new reports have highlighted the significance of sleep for ageing. Neuroscientists at the University of California tracked the sleep patterns and memories of a group of older people and subsequently described sleep as ‘the missing piece of the Alzheimer’s jigsaw’.  They believe poor sleep creates a channel through which beta-amyloid protein attacks the brain’s long-term memory.  Those of you who follow our blog know too much beta-amyloid is thought to trigger Alzheimer’s. Apparently sleep washes away these toxins before they build up into memory-destroying deposits. Read more here http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/294760.php

This was followed by a report from Florida’s Scripps Research Institute which studied the crucial role of sleep in laying down long-term memory.  And then came another report from Russia, linking poor sleep with a greater risk of heart attack and stroke (twice the risk of heart attack and four times the risk of stroke to be precise).  The report’s author, Professor Gafarov, went further by putting poor sleep in the ‘killer’ category – along with smoking, lack of exercise and poor diet. Additional reports have linked poor sleep to obesity, depression, poor immunity and anxiety. This ain’t rocket science – anyone who’s had a few sleepless nights knows you do less exercise, you eat more and you worry more – when you’re tired.

All in all it’s enough to keep anyone tossing and turning. But the key to sleep is melatonin – a hormone we produce less of as we age.  Recent research now suggests that poor supplies of melatonin may be linked to certain cancers and a shorter life span too.   So how can we help our bodies produce more melatonin – and sleep better? The good news? Diet can help! If you’ve already tried the obvious (cutting out caffeine after 2pm, no alcohol or heavy, greasy suppers, plenty of exercise etc.) and it’s still not working, take a look at what you’re eating in the evening.

Firstly, we need plenty of B6 in our evening meal (to be eaten no later than three hours before bed, say the experts) as B6 makes the sleep-inducing hormone, melatonin.  Good sources include sunflower seeds, tuna and wild salmon, avocado, chicken, cooked spinach, bananas and prunes. We’ve written about the sleep-inducing amino acid, tryptophan, before.  Tryptophan produces serotonin which produces melatonin (the three primary ingredients for good sleep). There’s lots of tryptophan in fish, nuts and seeds, eggs, soya beans, whole-grains and dairy.  Magnesium is also important for sleep (lots in almonds, leafy greens, bananas, fish) and calcium (leafy greens, yogurt, cheese).  A friend of mine swears by the 80mg magnesium supplement she takes before bed each night.

So the perfect pre-bed meal might look something like this: grilled salmon or tuna with our almond dipping sauce and wilted spinach topped with diced avocado.  Follow this with last week’s banana ice cream or a few prunes and perhaps a small piece of Swiss cheese (interestingly you can forget the old wives tale about cheese preventing sleep – one piece of research found that people eating a small piece of cheese before bed actually slept better than those who had no cheese.)  Give the wine a miss and see if you sleep any better.

There are also foods to avoid in your evening meal: aubergines, tomatoes, pineapple, chocolate, fermented/cured foods and wine all contain tyramine, a brain stimulant.  So Moussaka with a glass of wine followed by a chocolatey pudding isn’t an ideal evening meal if you find it hard to fall asleep.  Read more about diet and sleep at http://www.sleepcouncil.org.uk/how-to-sleep/diet/

And you can forget about using electronic devices in the evening – studies show that being exposed to backlit devices (including TV) stops the body producing melatonin. Indeed, the issue of light and dark is critical.  You need to be exposed to sufficient light during the day and darkness at night to help induce melatonin (your body only produces it when it’s dark).  If you’re spending your days in a windowless office and your evenings in front of your laptop or on your iphone, your body will become confused and stop producing melatonin.

I’m particularly excited about a new spray product from a Stanford University start-up called Sprayable Sleep. Melatonin can be bought over the counter in America but is only available by prescription here and only as pills which contain far more melatonin than our bodies actually need.  Sprayable Sleep is the first product enabling melatonin to be applied topically.  I’ll report back once my spray arrives. You can read more at http://sprayable.co/

Avocado on toast is hardly a recipe but this is my version and I often have it for a light supper (followed by a banana) as it contains the winning combo of B6, tryptophan, calcium and magnesium.  Add a poached egg if you want extra protein and extra tryptophan.  Don’t miss out the toast though – the carbohydrates help the brain absorb tryptophan.

Make it your own by adding chopped spring onions, fresh coriander, shredded greens etc.

AVOCADO AND SEEDS ON TOAST (serves 1-2)

  • 1 avocado
  • 2 tsps olive or avocado oil
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • Juice of ½ lime or a good squirt of lemon
  • A good handful of toasted pumpkin and sunflower seeds (I use the Food Doctor’s Savoury Seed Blend when I’m in a hurry) and/or toasted walnut pieces.
  • 2 slices wholemeal toast

Mash the avocado with the oil, coriander and seasoning and spread it over the toast.  If you’re having a poached egg, add it now. Sprinkle over the toasted nuts and seeds. Devour…and sleep well!

PS As I sign off, I’m reading an article on food for sleep that appeared in yesterday’s Daily Mail and lists the top slumber foods as: tuna, pumpkin, avocado, walnuts, almonds, halibut, peaches, oats, potatoes, buckwheat and bananas. Catch up at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-79360/Eat-way-better-sleep.html

PPS And if you didn’t see Susan looking gorgeous in last week’s Sunday Telegraph, take a peek here www.telegraph.co.uk/dovehair and read our top tips for diet and ageing. Who says middle and old age are boring!

Annabel

  • Meal Types: Dinner, Soups and Salads
  • Conditions: Ageing, Brain and Dementia, Insomnia
  • Ingredients: Avocado, sunflower seeds
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Comments

  1. Susie says

    September 5, 2015 at 7:09 am

    I was a dreadful sleeper until I gave up drinking. I’d got into the middle aged thing of reward drinking every night, you know … ” I deserve this”. Oh how I didn’t deserve the consequences. If you have unfathomable worries that are keeping you awake I would suggest buying a set of ear phones, the little bud kind, on as long a lead as you can get and tuning in to radio 4 extra. I end up having my ‘phones in most of the night, which is no bother. But listening to a good comedy show or trying to concentrate on the plot of a story or play works wonders for the busy brain that won’t shut up. Otherwise a visit to a homeopathic practitioner may be advisable.

    Reply
    • Annabel Abbs says

      September 5, 2015 at 10:04 am

      Hi Susie – thanks for your comment. Funnily enough i had a paragraph on something similar but cut it because the post was getting too long! My saviour has been Audible. I have listened to hundreds of novels over the last decade in the middle of the night, on my iphone. Either they lull me back to sleep or they are so good i stay awake and listen – but feel it’s been time well spent! The only downside is that if i go back to sleep i then spend a while re-finding my chapter the next day or else i have the most bizarre dreams about the characters in my novel. Perhaps i will try R4 Extra, as you suggest!

      Reply
  2. Su says

    September 10, 2015 at 8:07 am

    Thanks so much for this article. I have MS, Fibromyalgia & CMT & for ten years I have somehow got by on around 2 to 3 hours sleep a night. I’m 51 & 5 years ago I did have a heart attack. I had a lot of investigations done to try & establish why but they couldn’t find a cause. My arteries were relatively clear for my age. Now I’m wondering if it could have been sleep related. I’ve just hit the menopause & the hot flushes actually wake me up so what little sleep I do get is now broken. I’m so glad I found this site & will enjoy reading lots more. Many thanks, Su

    Reply
    • Annabel Abbs says

      September 12, 2015 at 6:41 am

      Hi Su. Glad you enjoyed it… it sounds as though you’ve had a very tough time. We all know how important sleep is – but knowing this sometimes makes it worse. And it seems people are sleeping less now than ever before. Good luck with your sleeping! i’m a huge fan of lavender oil by the way and use it extensively in my bedroom. Do get back to us if you discover anything that helps you sleep better.
      Annabel

      Reply
  3. Kiran says

    November 9, 2015 at 4:11 am

    Just got introduced to your site and I love it. The food is so inspirING. Thanks. Do you have a diet plan to follow for my age i am 66 and need to loose 5 to 10 kgs. Thanks

    Reply
    • Annabel Abbs says

      November 9, 2015 at 9:30 pm

      Glad you’re enjoying it and thanks for your comment. We’d recommend the Mediterranean diet – it’s not really a diet as such, more a way of eating. I think this, with smaller portions and plenty of exercise should help you lose weight. Good luck!

      Reply

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