After a stressful day, we all look for a sound sleep. Don’t we? You are one among billions who want to disconnect from the outer world and feel relaxed, and that is the struggle for many of us! Tossing and turning in the bed, racing thoughts and we just wait for dear sleep to pay us the visit! we have read enough on sleep hygiene and well, that just doesn’t seem to work for us, right? well, here we have something that might work, at least recent study says so!
Contrary to what many people believe, a study has revealed that eating the right kind of food before going to bed is healthy for your body. Foods such as the kiwi fruit can help by calming tension in your body and relaxing muscles. This results in improved sleep while at the same time getting rid of insomnia altogether. In one such study, The researchers found that kiwi fruit has active ingredients that help in improving the quality of sleep, now that’s something interesting, let’s see how!
How Kiwi improves the quality of sleep?
Kiwi fruit is rich in vitamin C, calcium and magnesium that greatly promote synthesis and the transmission of neurotransmitters. Calcium, in particular, has the ability of calming emotions by inhibiting the sympathetic nerves. Kiwi fruits have specific characteristics that make for a good sleeping agent as they contain a high amount of antioxidant and serotonin levels. Serotonin is responsible for both initiating and maintaining sleep throughout the night. It also controls the movement through different stages of sleep.
The study on the effects of the fruit on sleep was conducted at Taipei Medical University in Taiwan. The study revealed that daily consumption of the fruit had benefits in both the quality and quantity of sleep. The volunteers were made to eat 2 kiwifruits about an hour before going to bed. At the end of the research period, there was a significant change in sleeping patterns which includes:
- The volunteers fell asleep faster: The researchers found that the amount of time taken by the volunteers to fall asleep after going to bed reduced by 35.4%. This led to improved sleep quantity as these volunteers had more time to sleep. People slept deeply and also, more soundly. The time spent in a wakefulness state’ after falling asleep fell drastically by 28.9%
- Improved sleep quality: The volunteers slept for longer. The total amount of time spent sleeping increased by 13.4%
Although kiwi fruit consumption is not an alternative cure for insomnia, it offers sleep benefits that go beyond just quantity and quality. The fruit also has other nutrients such as magnesium and calcium that helps the body to function better. So next time you have difficulty sleeping, Go grab a slice of a kiwi fruit!