The Wall Street Journal - 28.03.2020 - 29.03.2020

D6| Saturday/Sunday, March 28 - 29, 2020 **** THE WALL STREET JOURNAL.

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GOOD NIGHT’Ssleep
is the new kale,” chef
David Bouley said re-
cently. “Everyone
wants it and it’s good
for your health.” He was address-
ing participants in “The Chef and
The Doctor,” a popular educational
dinner series at his Manhattan
restaurant Bouley at Home.
During the event Dr. Youlan Tang,
a physician in the BronxCare
Health System and research
scholar at Columbia University,
explained the connection between
what we eat and how we sleep.
Diners listened keenly while en-
joying a meal that highlighted
sleep-friendly dishes, such as
homemade walnut tofu with wal-
nut dressing, sprouted brown rice
with wild shiitake mushrooms,
and kombu dashi with clams, lob-
ster and miso.
For nearly a decade, Mr. Bouley
has been hosting events in collab-
oration with medical doctors and
nutritionists to explore how diet
affects wellness. Past topics have
included food and disease preven-
tion and food and mental health.
Dr. Tang’s presentation is the
third dinner/seminar at Bouley
about food and sleep. The big
takeaways: Doctors say that sleep
disruption stems from issues with
anxiety or digestion. Epidemiolog-
ical studies show diet affects both,
and link sleep deprivation to a
weakened immune system, weight
gain, obesity and diabetes.
To understand how food affects
sleep, you need to understand
what happens to the body when it

slumbers. Body functions slow

while the brain remains active.

Body temperature drops; pulse,

breathing and blood pressure

slow. Muscles relax. The brain-

stem and the hypothalamus pro-

duce gamma aminobutyric acid

(aka GABA), an amino acid that

calms the nervous system. The

body produces and regulates hor-

mones. The stress hormone corti-

sol, for example, dips, while ghre-

lin and leptin, which regulate

hunger and satiety, balance out.

Insulin levels spike, regulating

blood sugar while melatonin and

serotonin synchronize circadian

rhythm, the sleep/wake cycle.

Your diet can determine that

these functions work normally for

an undisturbed sleep.

Recent research, such as a 2016

study supported by Columbia Uni-

versity and New York Obesity Re-

search Center, reveals which foods

can optimize sleep. In his recently

published book, “Boundless,” nu-

tritionist Ben Greenfield devotes a

chapter to sleep and diet, with a

list of “sleep-enhancing” foods.

(See “Zzzlicious,” below.)

As important as what you eat:

when you eat, said Dr. Charles

Czeisler, chief, Division of Sleep

and Circadian Disorders, Brigham

and Women’s Hospital at Harvard

Medical School. Dr. Czeisler has

twice presented at Mr. Bouley’s

“The Chef and The Doctor” series.

Dr. Czeisler’s research in conjunc-

tion with his colleague Dr. Frank

Scheer has found that eating while

following an abnormal sleep/wake

cycle (sleeping during the day and

working at night, for example)

leads to “50% increased risk of

transitioning to diabetes as a re-

sult of disrupted sleep rhythms

and diet shifts.” Dr. Czeisler cited

a 2016 study by the University of

Chicago, which concluded that

eating too late causes the body to

“work” the digestive system while

it should be resting, causing body

temperature to rise and blood

sugar to drop too low, shifts that

will ultimately disturb sleep.

Dr. Czeisler has also been look-

ing closely at studies done by the

Salk Institute regarding “time-re-

stricted eating”—compressing the

hours in which one eats—which

Dr. Tang also endorses. “Re-

stricted eating recognizes the im-

portance of circadian rhythms,”

Dr. Czeisler said. The study con-

cludes that food intake for the day

should occur within a 10-hour

window, with the first meal of the

day taken an hour or more after

habitual wake time and the last

meal of the day finished three to

four hours from bedtime.

So, what does the ultimate

sleep-friendly diet look like? Dr.

Tang recommends a large break-

fast one to two hours after wak-

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Zzzlicious

Sleep-friendly fare

In “Boundless,” Ben

Greenfield recom-

mends these foods

that are easily digest-

ible and can help calm

the brain, lower body

temperature and

maintain a low glu-

cose metabolism

when you turn in.

Fish rich in Omega-3,

vitamin B and D

Salmon, mackerel, an-

chovies, sardines and

herring

Serotonin foodsKiwi

Melatonin foods

Tart cherries, oatmeal,

walnuts

Tryptophan-rich

foods

Turkey, tofu, miso,

bananas, chicken,

eggs, almonds and

milk

Medium-chain tri-

glycerides (MCT)

Coconut oil

Fructose foods

Gelatin and raw honey

Magnesium- and

zinc-rich foods

Oysters, clams, lob-

ster, walnuts and dark

leafy greens

GABA foodsSprouted

brown rice, white rice,

miso, kimchi; chamo-

mile, passionflower

and lemon balm teas;

reishi and wild shii-

take mushrooms

Give Breakfast an Indulgent Twist

15

ing, a nutrient-dense lunch and a

light dinner, all during compressed

eating hours. Dr. Czeisler advises

to never go to bed hungry. “If we

don’t have enough food, our brains

go into starvation mode. You’ll

wake up in the middle of the night

craving food,” he said. Dr. Czeisler

added that if you enjoy a bowl of

ice cream, it’s best to have it in

the middle of the day to keep your

blood sugar in check. And he

warned about two major sleep-

wreckers: caffeine and alcohol.

“Caffeine has a six- to nine-

hour half-life that can delay circa-

dian rhythms and increase next-

day sleepiness,” Dr. Czeisler said.

“Every glass of wine and every

shot of liquor takes two hours for

the liver to metabolize, and that

disrupts your ability to maintain

Research bears out what our grandparents said:

Don’t eat too close to bedtime if you want to sleep

well. Plus other recipes for a solid eight hours

Dine, Drink,

Drowse

EATING & DRINKING

consolidated sleep. It may help re-

lax you, but you’ll wake up in a

couple of hours.” His solution:

Perhaps enjoy that glass of wine

at lunch instead of dinner. “I am

not suggesting that everyone be-

come a day-drinker,” he said. “But

it will metabolize by bedtime if

you indulge midday.”

Mr. Greenfield, Dr. Czeisler and

Dr. Tang recognize that nobody’s

perfect and recommend some

sleep-aid hacks that can help after

indulging in a feast too close to

bedtime. Mr. Greenfield recom-

mends a postprandial stroll or

taking a cold or lukewarm shower

before bed to help cool the body.

They all agree, if you slip, don’t

lose sleep over it. Every day pres-

ents an opportunity to reset slum-

ber-friendly eating habits.

ALEX LAU FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, FOOD STYLING BY PEARL JONES, PROP STYLING BY VANESSA VAZQUEZ (MILK); THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, STYLING BY ANNE CARD

ENAS (CHALLAH, TEA); ISTOCKPHOTO (KIWI, SARDINES, CHAMOMILE); ENZO PÉRÈS-LABOURDETTE (ILLUSTRATION)

Golden Milk Elixir

This delicious drink aids digestion,

relaxes an amped-up nervous

system and helps you get into

the mood for a night of restful

sleep. The recipe only yields

about^1 / 3 cup, but that’s all you’ll

need for a nighttime nip.

Total time12 minutesServes 1

(^1) / 2 cup full fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon ginger powder or
2 tablespoons grated fresh
ginger
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
or 2 tablespoons grated
fresh turmeric
(^1) / 4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 whole peppercorns, crushed
2-3 drops organic liquid stevia,
or 1 teaspoon raw honey or
molasses
1 teaspoon coconut oil
Pinch of ground cinnamon
(optional)
1.Place all ingredients except co-
conut oil and cinnamon in a
saucepan over medium heat.
Bring to a simmer, then reduce
heat to low.
2.Simmer until slightly thickened,
5 minutes, then remove pan from
heat. Let cool 5 minutes.
3.Strain liquid through a fine-
mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a
glass.
4.Add coconut oil. Sprinkle with
ground cinnamon, if using. Serve
warm.
—Adapted from “Boundless”
by Ben Greenfield
WHAT A YAWN
Consider replacing your
evening cocktail with this
soporific sipper.
14
If you enjoy a bowl of ice cream, it’s best
to have it in the middle of the day to keep
your blood sugar in check.
16