How does food impact your sleep? – Health and Wellness Nashville

Food not only fuels our bodies during the day, it also plays a vital role in how well we may sleep at night. Nashville-based Registered Dietitian, Karman Meyer, and the author of Eat to Sleep: What To Eat & When To Eat It for a Good Night’s Sleep (available at Barnes & Noble and on Amazon.com) will be at this year’s Nashville Winter Wellness Fest on January 18th to discuss the essential nutrients your body needs for great sleep, certain foods that can wreak havoc on peaceful sleep, and how you can include more sleep-benefitting foods into your daily routine! She will also be sharing one of the recipes from her book, Cauliflower Cranberry Superfood Salad.

To give you a sneak peek into the book and what will be shared during the demo, here are a couple of tips from Karman that you can start now!

Enjoy yogurt as a bedtime snack
Rather than digging into an ice cream sundae as a nighttime treat, try making a yogurt parfait to get better ZZZ’s. Yogurt contains calcium, potassium, and magnesium, all of which are important for drifting off to sleep. These three nutrients help with electrolyte balance, blood pressure control and easing muscle cramping. Calcium also plays a role in melatonin production. Top your yogurt parfait with other sleep-benefiting foods like chopped almonds, pistachios, pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), dried tart cherries, strawberries, or sliced bananas.

Drink tart cherry juice
Tart cherry juice not only will provide hydration, but it will also give your body a natural source of melatonin, the hormone involved in the regulation of the sleep/wake cycle. A study published in the American Journal of Therapeutics found that Montmorency tart cherry juice was found to help prolong sleep by 84 minutes in a group of 8 study participants ages fifty and older who reported having insomnia. Enjoy an 8-ounce glass of 100% tart cherry juice with breakfast and two hours before bedtime to help with sleep & hydration.

About the author:
Karman Meyer is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist in Nashville, TN specializing in nutrition communications and recipe development. She is passionate about sharing the facts about food and nutrition with the public and works to encourage others to feel more confident about cooking healthy, delicious meals at home. Connect with Karman on Instagram @karmanmeyer!