Food or drink that helps you sleep.

[buckytom]

does anyone have favourite foods or drinks that they like to consume before bedtime to help them sleep?

i've only been getting about 3 hours of sleep at home and another on my lunch hour at work, but i could definitelly use a coupla more zzz's.

i've found a big glass of ice cold milk and a bit of chocolate helps to send me to dreamland when i get home in the morning. and when i say a big glass, i mean i drink almost a litre from a chilled beer mug.

gotta love ice cold milk.

so, what helps you sleep?

additionally, what foods can you not eat right before bedtime if you want to sleep?

i've found deep fried foods, more than a single slice of pizza, and things with lots of cheese and spicy meats tend to keep me up, or at least tossing and turning.

alcohol, especially red wine knocks me out initially, but after an hour or two insomnia sets in.

what foods/drinks do you avoid if you need to sleep?

 

[Chief Longwind Of The North]

Bucky my friend, I have taught myself some mild self-hypnosis and relaxation techniques that have become so ingrained in me that it doesn't matter what I eat or drink. No matter what time of day or nignt, if I want to sleep, I simply lay my head on a pillow, after nearly instantly relaxing my body and brain, and I'm asleep in less than five minutes, usually less than a minute. Let me explain it to you,

When you lie in your bed, lie on your back and close your eyes. Wait for you wife to sneak up with a large, rubber mallet...

I'm only kidding. Seriously, this is what I did, and now don't have to consciously do, as it happens automatically. Lay on your bed, facing the ceiling. Concentrate on every part of your body, starting from the soles of your feet, and ending at the top of your head. Relax each part, one at a time, until you are completely relaxed.

This is the first step that take your brain out of word and idea processing mode, helping you achieve the alpha state. Next, watch the spots that form in you view whenever you close your eyes, as if you were watching a good movie. Don't think about them. Simply watch them. You will find that they begin to take on shape and color, and turn into pictures and sounds. At that point you are dreaming.

As you practice these two techniques, you will train yourself to simply relax your brain and body, and over time, it will take no effort. You will lie down and get comfortable, close your eyes, and sleep like a baby. My wife is so jealous of me that I can fall asleep so easily, and so soundly.

Oh, and it really helps to have a dark room. Ambient room light interferes with your ability to watch the spots, especially if the light amplitude is changing.

Hope this helps you.

Oh, and sometimes I drink a glass of ice-cold milk before going to bed, but only because I love the flavor and texture of cold milk.

Seeeeeeya; Goodweed of the North

 

[buckytom]

<<<<snooooore>>>> gurgle, gurgle... ppfffrrrrtt!

ok, nevermind everyone. i just figured it out. i'l just read one of gw's posts...

lol, just kidding big bro. i'll try it, but disciplined techniques aren't exactly my strong suit.

i know, no one could have ever guessed that.

 

[sparrowgrass]

While not a food, melatonin tabs are a natural way to improve your sleep.

 

[buckytom]

thanks, sparrowgrass. i've tried melatonin, but it knocks me out for about 12 hours, and even then i wake up groggy.

my brain must be severely defficient in those "tonins" after working so many odd hours for years.

 

[4meandthem]

If wine works for you just increase the dosage! A drink or two will do it for me no matter how much pain I am in.

 

[Andy M.]

Following this thread eagerly.

I've never had a problem falling asleep but these days I wake up numerous times during the night and can't fall back to sleep readily. In my case it's age related. Most people sleep less soundly as they age. I guess I'll be pacing the floors in a couple of years.

I've tried melatonin and found it was a waste of time for me.

I try not to go to bed with a heavy meal sitting in my stomach. That's a guarantee of a fitful sleep.

 

[4meandthem]

My Grandmothers doctor prescribed her 2 shots of brandy before bed and she lived to 96. Just sayin!

 

[Caslon]

I stopped taking melatonin because of the vivid dreams or vivid nightmares.

 

[Andy M.]

My Grandmothers doctor prescribed her 2 shots of brandy before bed and she lived to 96. Just sayin!

...but did she sleep???

 

[babetoo]

While not a food, melatonin tabs are a natural way to improve your sleep.

i agree, i take about an hour before i want to sleep. a lot of the time, i am still not sleeping. i have been that way all my life. no clue why at all.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

6 pints of Larger and a good Ruby does the trick for me, I sleep like a baby.
Over to you Tom.

 

[Snip 13]

I use a natural lavender room spray and spray it in all the bedrooms just before bed or a dried lavender sachet in your pillow case. Lavender is a natural sleep aid and works wonders. A mug of warm milk with lavender infused honey or malt also helps.
Foods containing the following will also aid sleep:
Milk, cheese, potato, wheat, seafood and banana.
Avoid alcohol and caffeine before bed. The alcohol might knock you out at first but alcohol interferes with sleep patterns and won't work long term.
Red meats are no good either, there is a reason Grannies say don't eat meat before bed you'll get nightmares!

 

[cara]

don't eat too heavy before going to bed..
try to calm down, however you do that.. GWs yoga lesson, a nice book, some music to relax..

that lavendel thing as snip suggested works well, too, as well as valerian

and my Mom always gave us hot milk with honey.

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

When driving to Croatia we stay over night in an amazingly "camp" private hotel in Nurnberg, Adolf the owner oversees the restaurant wearing very tight lederhosen , his female chef has a way with dumpling.
Vier litre's of larger and braised shoulder of schwein mit drei dumpling makes me sleep like a baby.

 

[cara]

I don't think it's the pork and the dumplings, I really think that's the four litres of beer.. they have good beer in Franken!

 

[GB]

I came in to sat Melatonin, but I see that will not help you bucky. I find warm drinks sometimes help me. Non-caffeinated teas would be my favorite way to go. There are many that promote sleepiness. I don't drink milk, but warm milk is supposed to help too. I remember reading something a while ago about the reason it works. I do not remember the specifics, but the fact that the milk was warmed was important.

 

[sparrowgrass]

Try a smaller dose of melatonin--break a tab in half, maybe?

 

[purple.alien.giraffe]

Celestial Seasonings makes an herbal tea called Sleepy Time tea. Mom used to make us drink it when we were kids if we had trouble sleeping. Even though I hated the taste and had to choke it down, it did seem to work. Chicken broth with celery also seems to work alright for me and tastes much better in my opinion than the sleepy time tea. Herbal peppermint, spearmint and chamomile teas also help sometimes, especially if part of my problem is tummy restlessness. Those three also have other health benefits so they might be something to try. There is one type that I really like that has spearmint and chamomile and it seemed to work better than most. I can't remember which one it is though so I'll have to see if I can find it and let you know. We ran out and the stores up here quit carrying it. It's still available, I was able to find it online, just not up here.

As for foods not to eat, I avoid anything too heavy or greasy. That's about it.

Being a natural night owl and having a brain that literally never shuts up (I'm a verbal thinker with ADHD. Think constant internal monologue(s)), I've found telling myself bedtime stories or singing myself lullabies in my head helps. The stories don't really even have to make sense and, in fact, sometimes seem to work better if they don't. Maybe it's along the same lines as dad's watching the dots. I've tried his technique and it doesn't really work for me, but again, my brain never shuts up and since I'm not a visual thinker it takes way to much concentration to focus on the dots looking like anything to be relaxing. The whole "picture yourself in a tranquil setting" bit doesn't work for me for similar reasons. Dad's method works great for him though so it might be worth trying. In fact, it works so well that once he's soundly asleep with his mouth wide open and doing his funny little snore, we can stick rolled up strips of paper and dandelions in his mouth and get a good three or four pictures of it before he wakes up spitting and giving us evil looks.

I find the lavender also works so long as it's not too strong. I have a friend that drinks a lavender tea that she says works well, but that kind of sounds like drinking something that tastes like smelly soap so I've never tried it.

I also have very vivid dreams and apparently don't "finish my dream cycles" so it's not uncommon for me to wake up a couple times while trying to sleep. Deep breaths, some good stretching of my back and legs, and then more bed time stories seems to work about the best for me. If I wake up and feel twitchy, squirmy or wiggly I find jogging in place for a minute or two followed by stretching and then more bed time stories helps. Once I leave the bedroom I'm up for a good while so getting up to grab some sort of sleep aide food type deal doesn't work for me. Maybe if it was something I could keep in the room with me but I can't think of anything that I could just leave sitting in the room in case I wake up and need something food or drink related.

 

[Snip 13]

Another herbal tea that works wonders! My kids drink this when they can't sleep well.

3 leaves of Rose scented geranium, one stalk and flower of lavender a splash of lemon and honey to sweeten in a cup of boiled water. Steep for 5 mins and sip while warm.
Celery and lemon balm also help for insomnia.
You can also add the geranium leaves, lavender and honey to hot milk but leave out the lemon.
Or make a simple syrup with rose-scented geranium leaves and lavender and just add some to tea when needed.