With the transition todaylight savings time about 12 million Italians who suffer from sleep disturbances accentuated by the change of time are at risk. That’s what it says Coldiretti in reference to the insomnia alarm determined by the obligation to move the hands of the clock forward by an hour which causes a change in the sleep cycle accompanied by anxiety, nervousness, moodiness, headache and muscle tension.
Nutrition – reports Coldiretti – is closely related to sleep, in fact, it is difficult to fall asleep on an empty stomach or in any case not full, but also in cases of food excesses, in particular with heavy foods or with stimulating substances.
Bread, pasta and rice, but also lettuce, radicchio, garlic and fresh cheeses, boiled eggs, hot milk and sweet fruit promote sleep and help the body to relax, even in conjunction with the transition to the spring season, while – underlines the Coldiretti – foods seasoned with curry, pepper, paprika and plenty of salt and also pretzels and soups with stock cubes make it more difficult to fall asleep.
Coldiretti has drawn up a handbook of useful foods to reconcile good sleep and those to be avoided to beat pillow jet lag such as chocolate, cocoa, tea and coffee due to the presence of caffeine, in addition to spirits which induce poor quality sleep with waking up in the morning.
First of all – warns Coldiretti – at dinner it is essential to avoid foods with excess sodium for which foods with curry, pepper, paprika and salt in abundance should be banned, but also pretzels and dishes in which cooking stock cubes have been used. Instead, there are foods – Coldiretti highlights – that help to relax: first of all pasta, rice, barley, bread and all those that contain an amino acid, tryptophan, which promotes the synthesis of serotonin, the neuromediator of well-being and the brain neurotransmitter that stimulates relaxation.
Legumes, boiled eggs, meat, fish, fresh cheeses are also ok in the evening diet. Serotonin increases with the consumption of foods with simple sugars such as seasonal sweet fruit. Among the vegetables – Coldiretti still recalls – lettuce takes first place, followed by red radicchio and garlic, because their marked sedative properties induce sleep, but also pumpkin, turnips and cabbage. A glass of hot milk, right before going to bed, which, in addition to decreasing gastric acidity which can interrupt sleep, enters the circulation during digestion which promotes good sleep due to substances, also present in fresh cheeses and yogurt, which are able to alleviate insomnia and nervousness.
Finally – concludes Coldiretti – a good sweet rich in simple carbohydrates has an anti-stress action, as do honey-sweetened infusions and herbal teas that create an atmosphere of relaxation and pleasure that relaxes the mind.?
