If you’re an active individual, it can be difficult to get enough quality sleep. But it’s during those eight hours of rest that your body heals and rebuilds after a long day of physical activity. Whether you’ve been training for a marathon or just trying to stay healthy, getting sufficient rest is essential to perform your best. Fortunately, there are certain foods that can help promote better sleep. Let's take a look at the top 10 sleep-promoting foods for active individuals and how sleep aids in recovery!

Physiological Benefits of Quality Sleep

Sleep helps to restore and repair muscles and other tissues throughout the body. This means that athletes need to get enough restful sleep to perform at their peak levels during practice or competition. Without proper rest, muscles don’t have enough time to recover after intense workouts, making them more prone to injury or fatigue during activities. In addition, research has found that quality sleep boosts performance by improving coordination and reaction times as well as helping with focus and concentration when engaged in physical activity.

Quality sleep also plays an important role in maintaining a healthy immune system and regulating hormones like cortisol which can be elevated due to stress or physical activities like exercise. Researchers have even found that quality sleep can help reduce inflammation throughout the body which may help prevent illness or injury from occurring in the first place.

Foods that Aid in Better Sleep

Foods play an important role on how well you sleep at night. Taking the time to make sure your diet includes these foods will be beneficial to ensuring better sleep quality:

1. Almonds

Almonds are rich in magnesium and contain melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate your body's natural sleep cycle. Eating just a handful of almonds before bed can help you drift off into a peaceful slumber.

2. Walnuts

Walnuts are full of omega-3 fatty acids which have calming properties and can promote relaxation and reduce stress levels. Eating walnuts right before bedtime can help ease anxiety and promote better sleep quality throughout the night.

3. Bananas

Bananas are packed with magnesium and potassium, two essential nutrients that can help reduce stress levels and improve overall sleep quality. They also contain tryptophan, an amino acid that helps produce serotonin which plays an important role in regulating our natural sleep cycle.

4. Oranges

Oranges house high amounts of vitamin C which helps boost the immune system and reduce inflammation associated with exercise or activity-related fatigue or soreness. Additionally, oranges provide us with antioxidants that can fight oxidative stress caused by free radicals and potentially improve our overall health as well as our ability to fall asleep quickly and remain in deep sleep longer during the night.

5. Cherries

Cherries contain melatonin which helps regulate our internal clock to ensure we get enough restful sleep each night. Just eating a handful of cherries before bedtime can encourage more restful REM (rapid eye movement) cycles throughout the night so you wake up feeling refreshed instead of groggy in the morning! 

6. Salmon

Salmon is packed with omega-3 fatty acids which have anti-inflammatory properties that may reduce inflammation associated with exercise or activity-related fatigue or soreness while promoting more restful deep sleep cycles throughout the night as well as fewer disturbances from tossing and turning during these cycles. 

7. Tart Cherries

Tart cherries have melatonin which helps regulate our internal clock so we get enough restful sleep each night but additionally they also provide us with antioxidants called flavonoids that may further improve our overall health as well as our ability to fall asleep quickly and remain in deep sleep longer during the night time hours! 

8. Whole Grains

Whole grains such as oatmeal, wheat breads, quinoa, etc., provide us with complex carbohydrates which break down slowly over time providing us with sustained energy throughout the day but additionally they’re rich sources of fiber that can help keep us regular (which is important for overall health!) while aiding digestion before bedtime resulting in fewer disturbances from tossing and turning during our deep REM cycles! 

9. Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate is made up of compounds called polyphenols which have been shown to relax muscles after physical activity helping us fall asleep faster at night time hours. Dark chocolate also contains tryptophan an amino acid used by our bodies to form serotonin--an important neurotransmitter responsible for regulating both moods and sleeping patterns! 

10. Chamomile Tea

Lastly chamomile tea has long been used to aid those suffering from insomnia due its calming effects. Drinking chamomile tea prior to retiring for the evening increases GABA levels (a neurotransmitter responsible for relaxing muscles) helping us drift off into dreamland more quickly without having difficulty staying there until morning arrives!  

With this list of top 10 sleep-promoting foods under your belt, you should be able to achieve quality sleep no matter how active you are! Make sure you're taking care of yourself inside too by fueling your body correctly throughout the entire day—especially at nighttime when it comes time for some good quality ZZZ's! Don't let fatigue slow down your progress—start incorporating these top 10 foods into your daily diet today for healthier living tomorrow!

The Role of Your Mattress—Visit Orange County Mattress Today!

It goes without saying that getting quality sleep is essential for active individuals who want to perform at their best each day—but what does this have to do with your mattress? The answer is simple: if you don’t have a high-quality mattress that offers adequate support for your body while you sleep, then chances are you won’t be getting restful sleep each night. An old mattress may not provide enough support for your neck, back, hips, and shoulders while you slumber which can lead to aches and pains during the day as well as fatigue when engaging in physical activities like exercise or sports.

Is it time for a new mattress? We can help! Get more restful sleep with a new mattress from Orange County Mattress. Shop our collection of top brands today and get the perfect sleep set up for you! Call us at (949) 566-0109 or visit us online to get started!