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On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, I’m sharing 4 foods that help you sleep better at night so you can make more gains.
If you are not sleeping well, your fat loss results, your muscle building gains, and ultimately your journey to Live Lean is destined to fail.
We all know sleep is important for so many reasons.
When it comes to building muscle and burning fat, sleep is one of the most overlooked aspects of Living Lean.
If you are not getting good quality sleep, you are slowing your gains in the gym and in the kitchen to an absolute crawl.
There are so many factors leading to poor sleep habits.
However for this post, to help you improve your sleep, I want you to focus on eating more of these 4 foods that help you sleep, and supercharge your journey to Live Lean.
All right, let’s do this.
Sesame seeds are high in the essential amino acid tryptophan.
Tryptophan is a precursor to the neurotransmitter involved in sleep, serotonin.
If you’ve never used sesame seeds before, check out my Chicken Tahini Salad recipe.
In this recipe, we use tahini, which is made from sesame seeds, as well as using sesame seeds as a garnish.
Speaking of tryptophan, it’s funny that most people associate it with turkey, because we’re always tired after eating that big Thanksgiving meal.
Even though turkey does provide a good source tryptophan, it provides just about the same amount as other protein sources such as:
What really makes you sleepy after Thanksgiving is the overconsumption of calories and sugary carbohydrates.
Now before moving on to Food #2, I want to address the debate that states foods high in protein and tryptophan won’t help you sleep, since the protein can stop the tryptophan from entering your brain.
Here’s how to overcome this.
When you combine meat along with a healthy carbohydrate option at dinner, the insulin released from consuming the carbohydrate, will help the tryptophan reach your brain, thus providing better sleep.
However, this doesn’t mean you should scarf down a pop tart.
Check out food #2.
This is an example of a healthy carbohydrate that you can have in the evening with your protein packed dinner.
The juice from tart cherries has been shown to naturally produce more melatonin in the body.
If you’re not familiar with melatonin, it is the key hormone that induces sleep.
Try drinking one cup of tart cherry juice at dinner, and you’ll be chilling with your boy Bah-Bah the sheep, in just a few hours.
Eating a banana a day provides a great source of magnesium, which is a natural muscle relaxer.
I like blending a banana in my post-workout protein shake.
Other foods high in magnesium include:
Make sure you get sufficient magnesium in your diet throughout the day, as it is key to a deep and relaxing sleep.
The last one is not really a food, it’s something you drink.
Camomile tea is caffeine free, which makes it a great late night soothing drink to have before you go to sleep.
The camomile actually acts as a natural mild tranquilizer to help you go night night faster, and enjoy a deep sleep.
I also find a warm cup of tea helps stop the nighttime cravings as well, so enjoy a cup of chamomile tea.
So there you have it Live Lean Nation.
I want you to eat and drink these 4 foods that help you sleep better at night, so you can get more gains.
In the comment section below, let me know how many of these foods are you currently eating?
Also, let me know do you actually sleep well?
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This Live Lean Starter Guide includes:
Click here to go download it for free and kick start your journey to Live Lean.
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You also get access to an 8 week meal plan, with recipes, and grocery lists to supercharge your results faster.
You’ll be amazed at the tasty snacks and meals you can come up with, using all real healthy ingredients.
I pity those “dieters” ruining their sustainable chances of Living Lean by eating boring foods.
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.
Very interesting, good job and thanks for sharing such a good blog.
King regards,
Boswell Valenzuela
These are all good things to know and I have all 4 in my home right now.
Thanks for the help Brad.
If i get more than 8 hours of sleep a day…. ill have a headache or a
“sleeping hangover” I normally get 6 hours of sleep a day and feel like its
not enough, but when i do get more i feel like crap… idk what to do =(
There is one more food for easy to sleep.1 cup of warm milk with 1 spoon of
honey.Try it)
I’d say my sleep is varies from 6-8. I don’t eat any of those foods except
I usually have 1 banana after I workout. Gonna go and get some chamomile
tea to try tonight! Thanks for the vid!
Sleep for me is like 4/10. I have been diagnosed with schizophrenia and I
am taking medication. It takes me about a hour or longer to get to sleep. (
I also can’t sleep with any sort of noise.) I usually wake up past noon
when I go to bed most times at 11 pm. Thank you for making this video.
Good excuse to go back to eating bananas again The only problem is they go
bad quickly.
Hi Thanks) B*jamin Aye0=D!)
i eat a huge meal before bed and stay shredded year round! helps me pass
out too!
Guys im 13 and want to start building muscle but im never motivated enough
to continue the routines I start I eat alot of junk food at night as well
so I couldn’t sleep properly this video helped me out alot
Thanks again Brad! You rock! Keep changin lives my man!
Brad, i only have time to make my food at night! Can you make a video about
storing meals at the refrigerator for the week? And commenting how long
each ingredient lasts?
i want to know how long broccoli, sweet potatos, brown rice lasts.
When i reheat my chicken, it goes too dry, and it’s very hard to eat.. how
to deal with it?
I sleep like a baby! But I will start drinking tea at night
I only eat 1 type of food amongst those four, which is banana and quality of my sleep is 7. I need to improve and get myself that herbal tea.
You can just take some ZMA’s they put me rite to sleep
i love sesame seeds! i had no idea they help you sleep though lol
my sleep is 5…… I eat banana and sesame seed
Awesome. Needed this info. I can`t rest at all lately….Thanks !
I have the worst time sleeping!!!
My sleep is 10. Since I started eating healthy and exercising regularly,
going for a walk daily
your videos are dope! thanks for the info in all of them
Kind of looks like you have bed head brother. 🙂 thanks for the great
advice and all you do.
I would say my sleep is 9, and I fo use only two of those 😉
This is some great tips! I have had a bad stream of bad sleeping which was
getting me very depressed because my diet is on point and i been working
out alot but i know sleep is the time gains are being made. I am going to
try these foods out thanks brother!
I have a banana a day with post workout aswell! I think the quality of ny
sleep is good but it’s actually falling asleep that’s the problem will
definitely be trying the chamomile tea I find a cup of tea helps with the
cravings aswell,usually struggle between my last meal and bed!
I would have said 10 two weeks ago but now I’m at 2 or 3. Even the gym
doesn’t help me sleep better and evacuate stress level.
first
4 Foods to Help You Sleep
How many of these foods do you eat regularly? And how would you rate your
quality of sleep on a scale of 1-10 (10 being AWESOME)?