Sleep should occupy about a third of our life. Often seen as a waste of time, it is of paramount importance for our health and well-being, just like diet and physical exercise.

What are its exact functions? What are the sleep cycles? What are the repercussions of poor sleep or too short nights? How to improve it? How can diet and micro-nutrition help?

Find "60 minutes for better sleep", short videos offering practical tools to regain sleep, on formation.bn-nutrition.ch !

Sleep - How to sleep well? Tips to sleep (again) like a log!

We have long talked about the consequences of poor sleep ... But how should we go about sleeping like a log again? Here are some tips for a good sleep hygiene!

A safe and comfortable environment

As mentioned in Lionel Fleury's article, feeling safe at home is particularly important to relax your nervous system and unplug. Similarly, your room should be comfortable, quiet, and you should feel good there: have a good mattress, the ability to darken the room as much as possible (sleep in the dark night), a room temperature between 18 and 20.

Relaxation and quietness before going to bed

If you have difficulty falling asleep, it's best to avoid all screens (blue light) before going to bed. Thus, favor activities such as relaxation, meditation, listening to Theta waves, reading. If you have trouble falling asleep, avoid high-intensity physical activity in the evening. This will have an exciting effect.

Pay attention to your diet

To put all the odds on your side, it would be advisable to avoid all stimulants (coffee, tea, energy drinks, ...) from the late afternoon. Alcohol is a false friend. While we believe to sleep well, deeply, it in fact disrupts sleep cycles and is not a good ally...

In addition, it is always necessary to eat light and a few hours before going to bed, so as not to go to bed in full digestion (nor to be hungry during the night). It is better to avoid red meat, too spicy dishes...

In terms of food, we will always favor:

• foods rich in tryptophan - precursor of serotonin

For example: Brown rice, meat and poultry, soy proteins, peanuts, fish, legumes, bananas, almonds

• foods rich in glutamine - precursor of GABA

For example: Meat, fish, eggs, seafood, legumes, spinach, parsley and oilseeds (walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds ...)

Concretely? Here is a very serotonin snack: cherry, walnuts of Grenoble and dark chocolate and for dinner, a proposal of salad ... zen!

Opt for micronutrition

Micronutrition can be of great help to regain restorative sleep. The 3-2-1 formula was even created with the aim of finding a solution to this problem. It contains:

• 3 grams of glutamine. It allows the good regeneration of the nervous system, but not only. This amino acid is essential for protein synthesis, the proper functioning of the intestine and the strengthening of the immune system.

• 2 grams of magnesium. This strengthens the cerebral nervous system, the intestinal nervous system and the immune system. In addition, it participates in the production of many neurotransmitters, including serotonin.

• 1 gram of taurine, which plays an indispensable role in the production of hormones, including the so important testosterone and the growth hormone which is predominantly secreted at the start of the night and more particularly during deep slow sleep. Taurine easily integrates the central nervous system. Unlike serotonin, it has no difficulty crossing the blood-brain barrier and nestling in neuronal vesicles. It will then reinforce the effect of glutamine, and therefore of GABA, which will contribute to good regulation of food intake, sleep, memory and to reduce the general stress of the nervous system.

And you? Do you have any tips for regaining a good restful sleep?

Feel free to share them in the comments!