What Kept Me Awake

Photo: Unsplash

Alyssa

After a month of travel and standing on the edge of an international move, my anxiety decided to make itself at home the moment I got into bed.

During the day I could manage my thoughts. But at night they lived rent free, and I refused to rely on melatonin pills indefinitely. The quality of my sleep was showing up all over my face and in my energy levels throughout the day. Something had to change. So I started looking at my habits, including what I was eating.

Food has always done more than fuel us. So there was no reason, I thought, why it couldn't also help me sleep.

The summer season in Milan had just begun, brushing the last of the flowers away to make room for bright rays. And with it came my absolute favourite fruit: cherries.

What I later learned is that tart cherries contain small amounts of naturally occurring melatonin and other compounds that may support sleep. One small clinical trial found that a concentrate made from them raised participants' melatonin levels and modestly improved how long and how well they slept.

The amount of melatonin in the fruit itself is small, but I ate a kilo of them over two weeks last summer, and I slept better than I had in months.

Beyond fruit, I started paying more attention to what I was eating throughout the day too. Walnuts, pistachios, mushrooms, oats, eggs and whole grains became regulars, and I found that eating more balanced meals throughout the day helped my body settle into the evening.

But magnesium did something I didn't expect.

As an anxiety-ridden person, I noticed a difference in how easily my mind could slow down as I slipped under the covers. There is some research behind magnesium and sleep, although the evidence is still mixed, particularly when it comes to supplementation. Several studies reported improvements in sleep or anxiety, but the researchers also noted that the studies were small and varied considerably in their doses and formulations.

I share what I noticed.

Some other good food sources of magnesium are almonds, pumpkin seeds, peanut butter and edamame. A favourite of mine is dates filled with organic almond butter, topped with pumpkin seeds. Quick, easy and soo satisfying. Don't say I didn't warn you.

For context, I have been in Italy for so long, I'm “quasi” Italian because I've adapted some of their habits. I won't deny that the Mediterranean diet is as fabulous as most claim it to be. Fresh tomatoes tossed with olive oil? Divino.

Despite such luscious dishes, I wouldn't say everything is divino.

I love coffee, specifically espresso, black and with no sugar to truly taste the richness of it. But coffee is where I had to be honest with myself. Some days I was having four espressos, and this had become my standard.

Caffeine works by blocking adenosine, one of the signals involved in making us feel sleepy. And it can linger in the body for hours. In one study, caffeine taken even six hours before bedtime significantly disrupted sleep.

So I cut back to two espressos a day and kept them to the morning. This made a real difference for me. My brain could finally start winding down naturally by evening.

And it's not just espresso. Tea contains caffeine too, depending on the type. After lunch, I switched to herbal infusions instead, particularly ones I enjoyed after eating.

Which brings me to digestion, because it plays a more direct role in sleep than most people realise.

This is where I learned the hard way to avoid spicy food and late dinners. I had to accept that my body wasn't as young as I believed it to be.

Late dinners and spicy food were no longer things I could get away with. I started having dinner at least three hours before I planned to sleep and keeping it relatively light.

This was particularly helpful for me because late meals can aggravate reflux and other digestive symptoms, which can then interfere with sleep. Research has found more reflux when people with reflux symptoms ate closer to bedtime.

Not everyone has a sensitive stomach, of course. But I learned that my body was giving me information, and perhaps I should listen to it.

I am still on my sleep journey. But what I can say is that it has been an instrumental shift in my daily life. I feel more ready and capable to tackle the day's challenges, and I'm able to feel more emotionally present.

Clearly, getting good sleep isn't just about lavender candles and cotton sheets.

It's also about what we put into our bodies, and when.

And how we live through our days.