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Kerry's casebook - how to get a good night's sleep

Posted at 12:02PM, 18 February 2013 by Kerry Torrens - Nutritional therapist

Do you struggle to get a good night's rest? Kerry Torrens explains how a few diet changes can make all the difference...

Insomnia affects about a third of the UK population and, for a male client of mine in his late 40s, it was leaving him drained and unable to manage his business, adding to his already high stress levels.

After having a bowl of sugary cereal for breakfast, my client drank coffee throughout the day, had a sandwich for lunch and ate his main meal in the evening. He often caught up with paperwork or emails before going to bed.

My advice to this client was...

Swap sugary cereal for a wholegrain alternative topped with milk and a sliced banana.

Choose protein foods that are rich in an amino acid called tryptophan. This helps boost the sleep-inducing hormone melatonin. Chicken and turkey, milk and dairy, nuts and seeds are all good choices.

Combine these with rice, pasta or potatoes to help the body get the most benefits from tryptophan. Try a chicken and noodle stir-fry or similar. Drink warm milk with a cracker or oatcake before bed.

Reduce your caffeine intake gradually. Try decaffeinated coffee or caffeine-free drinks like red bush tea.

Build relaxation and exercise into the day to help manage stress.

Avoid using a computer late in the evening as the light from the screen can have a stimulatory effect.

The result?

After a month, my client had made several diet and lifestyle changes, and his sleep quality had improved. However, his stress levels remained high, so I suggested that he visit his GP for this.

Recipes suggestions...

Malted walnut seed loaf
Dippy eggs with Marmite soldiers
Fruit & nut granola
Zingy chicken stir-fry
Spicy turkey & pepper bake
All-in-one chicken, squash & new potato casserole
Thai turkey stir-fry

Do you have trouble sleeping or have you beaten insomnia by making changes to your diet? Let us know below.

Comments

Kate the bake

18 February, 6:26PM
Kate the bake

I can support your regime for a good nights sleep; I would suggest before the client visits his GP he tries getsomeheadspace, available as an online help for anxiety, stress and anything else that causes too much 'thought activity' when trying to go to sleep or in my case waking up after a couple of hours and finding it extremely difficult to go back to sleep.

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Vidya

23 February, 1:26PM
Vidya

A cup of warm milk with turmeric and a spoonful of honey helps me. It also soothes the sudden bouts of mild cough that occurs at times. Being a vegetarian unfortunately I cannot try the fantastic recipes here, but I will try them for my husband.

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YorkshireJen

20 March, 9:35AM
YorkshireJen

Hi, looking for the advice on eating for heartburn/acid reflux but link is going through to this article instead. Is the heartburn advice page available somewhere please? Thanks

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mmjg

9 April, 1:18PM
mmjg

Just wanted to say I would be very interested in the 'help for heartburn' article. You have the 'how to get a good night's sleep' article appearing under two headings !!

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Delish

26 April, 9:09PM
Delish

Have you any advice on what might help with an underactive thyroid? I take levothyroxine but would appreciate ant dietary information that could also help. Thanks.

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tonyzirekefa

15 May, 7:21PM
tonyzirekefa

Love my job, since i have been transportation in $82hâ�¦ I sit reception, music enjoying whereas I add front of my new iMac that I got currently that i am creating it onlineâ�¦ => goo.gl/7OpOa

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