Foods to help sleep Quality? Any thoughts?

[simplyme]

Hi all,

I have been doing pretty good with using my vpap, except I just don't feel like I have good quality sleep still.
I do have to try to dial in my best settings to try to reduce AHI, but I think my issue is more about problems with how I sleep.
I take melatonin, but really I am not sure it has made any difference.

I remember reading somthing one time about some foods that help with sleep quality, like pumpkin seeds and soybeans.
Have any of you guys found certain foods that help you sleep better?

[NightSky]

I read in a book (I forget the title) that carbs will tend to relax you while protein will keep you awake and I find that to be true for me generally.

[SleepyonMagnoliaSt]

Have you tried binaural beats? There are apps and you can get them free. I find on nights I listen to them I seem to have a little better quality in sleep

[simplyme]

Have you tried binaural beats? There are apps and you can get them free. I find on nights I listen to them I seem to have a little better quality in sleep

Thanks for your advice, but personally am not interested in listening to binaural beats because of the belief many people have that they can affect things ranging from past life memories to hypnotic or mind altering affects. I do not believe in past life, and I view hypnosis etc. As having spiritistic conections. I am not saying that the beats themselves are bad or have these actual affect, they are after all just sounds, but the conection people have claimed they have is the thing of concern to me. Just like a particular shape star symbol is not itself any big deal, it's just a shape, it is the conection people have given it to spiritism or demonism that makes it bad.
Others probably wouldn't feel like it was any issue to listen to these since they personally know that the beats do not cause these affects, but the fact that my own concience would bother me personally makes me choos not to listen to them for relaxing and sleep.
I am by no means saying that it is wrong to listen to binaural beats… I am just saying my personal feelings about me listening to them.
But thank you SleepyonMagnoliaST for offering the info on what helps you.

Edit- I do listen to music or recorded books sometimes, that helps me fall asleep, but for some reason it wakes me up after an hour or so, then I have to turn it off, gotta find an app to turn it of after an hour.

[simplyme]

I read in a book (I forget the title) that carbs will tend to relax you while protein will keep you awake and I find that to be true for me generally.

I'll have to look up to see if I can find out about the carbs. I wonder if it is all carbs? I'll post here if I find any info on that. Thanks for the suggestion NightSky

[Woody]

I found a little article that even claimed drinking a liquified bananna could help
sleep apnia.

http://sleepeducation.blogspot.com/2009 ... -cure.html

[caffeinatedcfo]

A warm glass of milk, vitamin D3 supplements, sex are just a few suggestions. I hadn't heard about the carb thing - there's a decent write up on carbs here: http://www.livestrong.com/article/49787 ... efore-bed/.

Most nights I read a good old fashioned paper book for a while before bed and that calms me and my eyes.

[RandyJ]

simplyme,

I would consider discontinuing the melatonin, since you say your sleep quality isn't great. After a few weeks, you could reassess and see if things have improved.

It seems that melatonin disturbs sleep architecture for as many people as it helps.

On the food issue, I would simply write down what I had for dinner the morning after a bad night. Over time, you can see if there are trends relating any particular foods to a bad night of sleep. When it comes to foods I don't think there is a one-size-fits-all answer.

Good luck.

[simplyme]

Thanks guys, good suggestions,
The banana one sounds really promising lol very extensive study! Although I have heard banana can help lower blood pressure, who knows it could be a cure all.

Carbs before bed sounds like it helps to reduce wakefuleness from feeling hungry too.

The melatonin causing problems for some is extremely interesting, I definitely think that I will give a try to not taking it for a while to see. And thanks for the suggestion to keep track of possible foods that could be causing poor sleep.

Thanks again everyone
Simplyme

[caffeinatedcfo]

It seems that melatonin disturbs sleep architecture for as many people as it helps.

I am one of these people ... it kept me up half the night.

[RogerSC]

Yeah, the banana thing is interesting. We have them around for other reasons, the potassium they contain seems to be helpful for avoiding muscle cramps. I wouldn't mind eating a banana before bed (or maybe half a banana) to see if that results in less OSA's. Although what I see now in my sleep data are largely centrals, there is the odd OSA as well. Interesting, even though the study itself didn't look at the effect on sleep apnea, maybe someone will get to that.

Thanks for that, I like bananas anyways *smile*.

[Todzo]

Anti-inflammatory foods...

Anti-oxidant foods...

Work with a dietitian for a couple of years. Even Medicare will sometimes pay for this. Learning to eat well - to find the good fuel - is a skill not often taught or pursued.

Eat a wide variety of veggies and some fruits. This helps seed (probiotics) and feed (prebiotics) your microbiome whose bad state may well originate OSA.

You might try eating more fermented foods (microbiome).

Stay away from GMOs and rBHTs. Find organic when you can.

Pursue an active lifestyle. To put good fuel into you but not use it upsets the biological processes that need to occur for health.

[simplyme]

Thanks Todzo,
Good advice, I hadn't thought to see if medicare would cover any visits with a dietitian. But even if not I should see if it would be something I could afford.
I have been looking into finding more food choices that are both local and less proccessed, it is not always easy to afford, you would think by now there would be more options for farmers to accept food stamps… not many farm markets wherei live can. I am finally getting some vegetables planted too.

One thing I have found that is benefiting me a lot is taking a teaspoon of raw honey before bed. It helps me not to get acid reflux so I no longer take meds for that. Raw honey has more health benefits than the ultra filtered and pasteurized ones in the store.

[SleepingUgly]

Not to hijack, but can someone tell me more about the melatonin disrupting sleep thing? I've been on melatonin lately and I'm waking up a ton and also having a flare of RLS and leg movements.

[Todzo]

Thanks Todzo,
Good advice, I hadn't thought to see if medicare would cover any visits with a dietitian. But even if not I should see if it would be something I could afford.
I have been looking into finding more food choices that are both local and less proccessed, it is not always easy to afford, you would think by now there would be more options for farmers to accept food stamps… not many farm markets wherei live can. I am finally getting some vegetables planted too.

One thing I have found that is benefiting me a lot is taking a teaspoon of raw honey before bed. It helps me not to get acid reflux so I no longer take meds for that. Raw honey has more health benefits than the ultra filtered and pasteurized ones in the store.

Hi simplyme!

My daughter mentioned to me that I should consume protein "for weight loss". She was right, I did and I did.

Recently I ran across some research which may explain this. Apparently we seek food until our protein counter is satisfied. So now I am working toward setting a protein goal and meeting it early in the day.

Hopefully "slimmerme"!

Have a great weekend!

Todzo