Reader's Digest

July• 2018 | 33

READER’S DIGEST

TRYPTOPHAN CARBS

HOWTOAVOID
HIDDEN CAFFEINE

Althoughit’soneofthemostfamous
sleep disruptors caffeine can still
sneakuponyou.“It’stastelessso
you don’t necessarily know how
much you’re getting” explains
Dr Neil Stanley a member of the Eu-
ropean Sleep Research Society. “And
it can stick around in your body and
afectyouforhoursifyou’resensitive
to it.” 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.

here’s 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 you’d 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.Howeveritdoesn’ttrigger
changes on its own. To prod your body towards dreamland combine
foodsthatcontaintryptophanwithcarbohydrate-richfoods.Carbs help
tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier and induce sleepiness.