Food recipes for good sleep
As the baby turns 1 year old, cow milk can be slowly introduced while your baby can gradually taste most of what the rest of the family eats (but less salt, fat and sugar in their meals).
Dr. Bill’s before bed smoothie: sleep-ade, recommended by Dr. William Sears and Martha Sears, in their book “Baby sleep book, How to help your baby to sleep and have a restful night” because of its sleep inductive nutrients like tryptophan, calcium, magnesium and healthy carbohydrates, consists of:
- 1 cup of milk
- 1 banana
- ½ cup of yoghurt
- 100 g tofu
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed meal
- 1 tbs. Cinnamon
Blend and drink it 1 h before bed!
*Usually recommended for adults & children > 1 year old
Other sleep-inductive food (reach in tryptophan)
- Dairy products: cottage cheese, cheese, milk
- Soy products: soy milk, tofu (could be an allergen thou)
- Seafood (not recommended before 1 year old)
- Meats, poultry
- Whole grains
- Beans
- Hummus
- Lentils
- Hazelnuts, peanuts (not recommended for children < 3 years old) / better nut butters or grind up nuts
- Eggs
- Berries (blueberries, raspberries etc.), pineaple, banana etc.
Sleep food combinations:
- Milk & whole grain biscuits (raisins, oatmeal) or cereals
- A hard-boiled egg & a slice of whole-grain toast
- Whole grain bread with peanut butter
- Homemade apple pie with ice-cream
- Tofu & fruits Chilli with beans (not spicy)
- Sesame seeds ground and spread on a salad with tuna fish and whole-wheat bread
- Tuna salad on whole wheat sandwich Tofu stir-fry with hazelnuts (>3 years old)
- Scrambled eggs with cheese
- Meat or poultry with vegetables
- Hummus with whole-wheat pita bread
- Seafood (>1 year old), pasta and cottage cheese
- Whole grain pasta with parmesan cheese
There are of course many other factors which influence our sleep, but since “we are what we eat”, we can also assume that “we are how we sleep”. This is another reason to make sleep a priority in order not only to shape our daily mood, but also our health and development.
Remember also that a good sleep encourages a good appetite and a stronger immune system!
If you would like to find out more about how to help your kid fall asleep by himself, sleep through the night and be the sleep hero of the family, click the button below.