That snacks to eat for better sleep.

That snacks to eat for better sleep.

Many people chug coffee packed caffeine or a scarf on a bar of energy to wake up, but what to eat to relax?

More than a third of adults in the United States do not get enough to close their eyes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Therefore, to ensure that their refreshing can be effective in promoting sleep, some experts say it must contain an essential amino acid: tryptophan.

"There is a real lack of studies showing that specific nutrients can affect sleep, better or peor.Existen some excepciones.El tryptophan has been shown to induce sleep," said Michael Grandner, director of the University of The Arizona College Medical Research Program on Sleep and Health.

Tryptophan, an amino acid, can help sleep because once in between its body becomes two brain chemicals associated with sleep: melatonin, which helps to regulate the natural cycles of sleep and body serotonin and the state Which causes relaxation and drowsiness.

"Is the reason for Tryptophan why it is widely perceived as a somnolence cause Thanksgiving dinner because of tryptophan in turkey. However, other foods contain tryptophan, and some have more tryptophan than Turkey, "said Dr. Donald Hensrud, Mayo Clinic's healthy lifestyles and specialist nutrition and preventive medicine.

Snacks that contain high amounts of tryptophan include egg whites, soybeans, low-fat cheese, poultry, and seeds such as pumpkin or sesame seeds, Hensrud says.

Foods rich in carbohydrates, lean and low-fat proteins can also increase the production of serotonin and melatonin, such as granola, unsweetened cereals or biscuits with milk, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center.

It may also be linked to an increase in melatonin levels, according to a small study published in the 2012 Pineal Journal of Research.

On the other hand, foods low in dietary fiber but high in saturated fat and sugar is associated with lower quality sleep, such as difficulty falling asleep or not spending as much time during your cycle Of sleep in a deep sleep. This is according to a small study published last year in the Journal of Medicine Clinical Sleep.

Spicy foods and caffeine before bedtime also associated with sleep disorders - and not just what you eat, but when you eat can play a role in how you sleep. A small study published in the Journal of Medicine's Clinical Sleep in 2013 suggests that it should avoid consuming caffeine within six hours before bedtime.

The CDC recommends avoiding large meals too close to bedtime. Grandner says that people can eat a large meal about four or five hours earlier.

What about night snacks? "It's never too late to eat a little snack," he said. Maybe you have a small snack an hour before going to bed, but not many nights.

People with gastroesophageal reflux disease, or acid reflux, should be careful not to be within three hours after a meal. This could cause symptoms of reflux that could interfere with sleep, Hensrud said.