Food and sleep

Sleep is a blessing to a headache sufferer – but what if you have trouble sleeping?  In the past we’ve talked about the link between serotonin (levels of which have been linked to migraine, cluster, depression and bulimia) and tryptophan.  

But can you increase your serotonin levels by eating tryptophan-rich foods?

Folk wisdom has said that eating turkey (which is rich in tryptophan) makes you sleepy.  And a recent study published in the May 2005 edition of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition seems to confirm the fact that these tryptophan foods really do make a difference in sleep patterns.

In the study, subjects were evaluated overnight after eating either a tryptophan diet or a normal diet.  The subjects who ate the tryptophan rich foods not only slept better, but were more alert in the morning.  This especially applied to those who normally had trouble sleeping.

For ideas on what to eat, check out this page on food and serotonin.