3 Foods That Will Help You Sleep Better Tonight
By Jihan Thompson
Photo: Sarah Gerrity/iStock/Thinkstock
Breakfast: Eggs
Amino acids in eggs may stimulate neurons that produce orexins, which play a key role in regulating REM sleep and daytime wakefulness.
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Lunch: Tart Cherry Juice
Researchers from Louisiana State University found that insomniacs who drank tart cherry juice twice a day for two weeks began sleeping approximately 85 minutes longer each night.
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Dinner: Jasmine Rice
A small study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when subjects' dinner consisted mainly of jasmine rice—a food high on the glycemic index—they fell asleep roughly twice as fast as those whose meal included rice low on the index. High GI foods can trigger the release of the sleep-promoting amino acid tryptophan. The index ranks how much carb-containing foods raise blood sugar. The lower a food is on the scale, the less its effect.
Next: 6 Foods That Keep You Up at Night
Next: 6 Foods That Keep You Up at Night
From the September 2014 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine