July⢠2018 | 33
READERâS DIGEST
TRYPTOPHAN CARBS
HOWTOAVOID
HIDDEN CAFFEINE
Althoughitâsoneofthemostfamous
sleep disruptors caffeine can still
sneakuponyou.âItâstastelessso
you donât necessarily know how
much youâre gettingâ explains
Dr Neil Stanley a member of the Eu-
ropean Sleep Research Society. âAnd
it can stick around in your body and
afectyouforhoursifyouâresensitive
to it.â Lesser-known cafeine sources
include chocolate cola soft drinks
some vitamin waters and decaf
cofee which simply contains less of
the stimulant than a regular cup.
HOWTOTAPINTO
THE POWER OF NOISE
Whitenoisehasbeenprovento
mask environmental sounds that
disturb slumber. Sleep scientists
are now interested in pink noise
which resembles the white variety
except that the lower frequencies
are louder than the higher ones.
hereâs evidence that it can enhance
slow-wavesleep.Ina2017study
seniors did better at a recall test af-
ter spending a night with pink noise
synced up to their slow-wave brain
activity. If youâd like to conduct your
own experiment you can download
a pink noise app.
HowtoEatYourselfSleepy
Popular belief has it that the amino acid tryptophan (of turkey fame) makes
youdrowsy.Thebodyneedsittobuildserotoninarelaxingneurotransmitter
andmelatoninasleep-regulatinghormone.Howeveritdoesnâttrigger
changes on its own. To prod your body towards dreamland combine
foodsthatcontaintryptophanwithcarbohydrate-richfoods.Carbs help
tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier and induce sleepiness.