Foods That Make You Sleepy

Foods that make you sleepy include foods that contain tryptophan, dairy or contain high amounts of carbohydrates.

Large meals make you sleepy.

A food coma is the state of drowsiness many people find themselves in following eating large meals or foods that make you sleepy. Tryptophan is an amino acid in foods that actually stimulates melatonin and serotonin production in the brain. These neurotransmitters have a calming effect on the mind and the body. So eating meals heavy in tryptophan can have a narcotic like effect for knocking you out.

In the United States, a traditional Thanksgiving dinner typically includes a large roasted turkey with all the trimmings, several side dishes, pie and more. One eats it between the hours of noon and 3 p.m. give or take. Shortly thereafter, most people who consumed the meal take long naps on sofas and in chairs watching television because turkey is loaded with tryptophan.

Do you think it is weird that some nights before bed you crave a bowl of ice cream or an ice cream sandwich? That’s loaded with sugar right? Well, sure it is. But dairy is also another source for tryptophan, making it a sleep inducing food. The fun part is that ice cream is loaded with calcium because it’s a dairy product and calcium actually helps the body process the tryptophan more efficiently. So eating a bowl of ice cream while not good for the waistline can actually help you achieve the bottom line if that bottom line is sleep.

So if tryptophan elevates the neurotransmitters serotonin and melatonin, other foods that stimulate their production can be a great way to ensure that you get a good night’s sleep. If you’re looking for healthy diet choices to combine it with, check out seafood. Omega 3 is great for helping fight high blood pressure and triglycerides. Many types of seafood also increase serotonin and melatonin in the body.

Some people take fish oil supplements to achieve the first, but there is no research that indicates that fish oil supplements will help you sleep. A seafood dinner can be healthy for the heart, for the diet and for a good night’s sleep.

Whole grain foods that make you sleepy do so because they are high in complex carbohydrates. Imagine that you eat large quantities of whole grains along with dairy products or turkey products (both sources of tryptophan); the whole grains produce insulin which will then remove tryptophan’s competitive amino acids from the blood so that it can work more effectively.

So a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread with a glass of milk before bedtime is not only a healthy snack, but one that’s sure to help you go to sleep better. Beware these types of meals during the middle of the day when you need to be active and alert. For example, if you have a turkey sandwich on whole grain bread, cut back on the dairy or you may find yourself longing for a siesta while in the middle of a meeting.

Warm milk at bedtime is an old remedy recommended by mothers and grandmothers for generations. A glass of warm milk can help you sleep. With what you have learned about tryptophan and dairy products, now you have evidence that backs mom up. Remember, old wives' tales become old wives tales because there is often a whole grain of truth to them.

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