Comments on: 9 Vegan Foods To Help You Sleep

By: Monet

Monet — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 13:30:59 +0000

I found out that if I have soy products (milk or tofu) before bedtime, I have lousy sleep. I also found out that soy milk is much, much higher than cow milk in aluminum, which is counterproductive to sleep.

I experimented with lactose-free cow milk (Lactaid) and had no problems sleeping well. I wonder if anyone else have the same sleeping problems with soy before bed? Tea is also high fluoride and aluminum, which I have abandoned.

Tastewise I prefer soy over cow milk, but the link between high tofu consumption & dementia in Haiwai study, and the correlation between Alzheimer and aluminum deposists in the brain bother me.

Anybody have additional info. to clarify the above, I’ll appreciate very much.

By: Vegan Traveler

Vegan Traveler — Mon, 13 Sep 2010 23:57:40 +0000

Thanks for the tips on vegan foods that make you sleepy. I’m going for the chamomile tea and banana. I just read a post of all the side effects in the drugs they are pushing for sleep. They are very scary! I’ve also found that when I eat more raw food and my greens that I sleep better.

By: Jotto

Jotto — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 04:24:30 +0000

I’ve had pretty bad insomnia nearly all through my teenage years, at 18 I just finally found the thing that works for me.

A cup of chamomile tea and a banana before bed. I’ve known about chamomile tea for a while already, but coupled with a banana and I not only get a nice high quality sleep, but falling sleep is just so much easier.

I just never felt tired at night, even if I’d gotten up early and had a full day of school and whatever else. But chamomile and a banana makes me feel sleepy.

By: Vickey

Vickey — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:18:47 +0000

I’ve found avoiding certain foods to be just as important as consuming others. Spinach, for example, contains compounds which increase alertness. So does soy. So these are breakfast, lunch, or afternoon snack foods for me – not for dinner or dessert. Likewise chocolate.

If I can stay away from those and similar foods, and have a couple of bananas before bedtime, I usually sleep pretty well. Carob, plums, dates, and nuts are also helpful.

The other thing that is tremendously helpful, quite frankly, is when I stay on a raw foods diet – tons of energy, and blissfully sound sleep.

By: Lane

Lane — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 05:09:34 +0000

Hi everyone,
Thanks for the tips. I actually did finally manage to get a good nights sleep, but in all honesty, I’m not sure it was the snack that did it. I think I was simply exhausted and my body just took over.
As I rarely have difficulty falling asleep (I know how lucky I am), I don’t know that I’ll have the occasion to try your suggestions, except perhaps for the chamomile.
Again, thank you everyone!

By: Becky

Becky — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 13:50:54 +0000

Maybe you’ve already tried this, but I find a nice, hot cup of camomile tea helps me sleep. The problem with this method, though, is I need to wake up earlier than usual to go to the bathroom! No lying around listening to the clock radio for 20 minutes!

By: Nikki

Nikki — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 12:13:28 +0000

Yes I eat like that often and it has no effect on my sleeping. I am sympathetic having suffered from insomnia for 25 years! I highly recommend Bach Flower Remedies spray called “Sleep”. I think an herbal remedy could be helpful too.

By: Val

Val — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 11:00:55 +0000

Hmmm….but the only problem is, I eat those things nearly every single day and I don’t feel it’s had any effect on my sleep either way. Or did they mean you should have an extra serving of some of those foods closer to bedtime? Because going to sleep after eating beans sounds like a gastric disaster to me!!

By: Maija Haavisto

Maija Haavisto — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 06:46:27 +0000

The truth is that banana is the best source of tryptophan, because other amino acids (protein) reduce the ability of tryptophan to convert to serotonin, and pretty much all sources of tryptophan but bananas are high in other amino acids, as well. Some doctors have even claimed that eating a few bananas a day can work as an antidepressant treatment.

Turkey is of course high-protein too, but it’s so high in tryptophan that some of it still gets to tickle the brain in the form of serotonin – or so they claim, while other researchers think that turkey meals make people drowsy simply by being heavy and containing plenty of carbs.

But there could be some individual variation, of course. I know no food has ever made me tired.

Have you tried melatonin? It solved my problems falling asleep which had lasted for 18 years! Tryptophan is also available as supplements, which might make it easier to get enough of it to actually produce noticeable effects.