What Are the Best Natural Supplements for Sleep?
It’s estimated that almost every human spends about a third of their life sleeping or attempting to do so. The purpose of sleep is for our bodies to recharge so we feel more alert and full of energy when we wake up. Healthy sleep gives our body a chance to recover and fight against illness, and it can also ensure that our mind can think and concentrate clearly. Most adults need around seven to nine hours of sleep a day, hence why you typically see people quoting that we spend a third of our lives sleeping.
However, modern lifestyles can tend to disrupt the quality of sleep that we get. This is then amplified by the poor diet and lifestyle habits that some of us have, eventually leading to a chronic lack of sleep which causes long-term health issues. In order to improve the quality of our sleep, it’s important to look at issues like everyday stressors and find ways to overcome them. To complement this, we also need to take a look at our diet and how it affects the quality of sleep that we get.
How does our diet affect our sleep?
Our diet has a number of effects on our sleep. Nutrition and sleep both play a vital role in the overall quality of our health, but the connection is often overlooked and ignored. Human nutrition is typically broken down into three categories; macronutrients, vitamins, and minerals.
- Macronutrients include the main nutrients such as carbohydrates and protein.
- Vitamins refer to the 13 different vitamins that your body needs.
- Minerals mean macrominerals and trace minerals such as calcium, iron, magnesium, and zinc.
A balanced diet will attempt to balance these three categories, but how much we need can vary depending on our bodies, our lifestyles, and also our existing diet. When our diet is balanced and we get the energy that we need to function, it helps to provide us with more energy when we wake up. Dietary choices can also regulate our circadian rhythm, the 24-hour cycle that our body naturally follows. As we alter our eating patterns and shift our diets, it can change the internal clock that our bodies run on.
Bad sleep patterns, poor diet quality and energy balance have all been linked in various studies. An insufficient amount of sleep is often related to increased caloric consumption and obesity. Insufficient sleep also increases the likelihood of snacking, raising your caloric consumption each day and disrupting your mealtimes. This creates a cycle that disrupts your sleep pattern and ultimately causes poor sleep quality. Thankfully, there are a handful of ways to improve your sleep quality, including the use of natural supplements.
Natural supplements to improve our sleep quality
Now that we understand the link between our diet and our sleep quality, we can start to explore the various different natural supplements that could help and how they should be taken.
To start, Krill Oil supplements are a great option for improving your quality of sleep. Studies have shown that DHA, an omega-3 fatty acid, has many benefits such as improving your mood and reducing the effects of anxiety and depression. Fish oil aids in the secretion of serotonin which promotes feelings of wellness and can lower stress hormones. Together, these effects can be combined to help improve your quality of sleep when taken shortly before bedtime.
Similarly, Omega-3 Gummies can be a good replacement for Krill Oil supplements. Omega-3 is generally a bit cheaper than Krill Oil and taking them in gummy form can be a lot more convenient for people that don’t like to swallow larger supplements. This can make it a great option for people who are looking to supplement their existing diet that may already be high in omega-3 fatty acids from fish.
There are also Sleep Well Gummies that are designed to aid people in falling asleep. This contains Passionflower (passiflora incarnata) which is a natural supplement that is traditionally used for mental conditions such as anxiety, stress, insomnia, and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The gummies also contain Melatonin which is a naturally occurring hormone that triggers the feeling of sleep. This is normally released by the brain but can also be taken in a supplement form. This combination of ingredients can aid people in getting a better night of sleep, especially if they’re having trouble getting a long session of sleep each night.
As you can see, there are a number of excellent choices for natural supplements that can improve our sleep quality. While some supplements are designed to offer holistic benefits, others are targeted at improving sleep quality as a priority. Both of these supplement styles work, but it’s important to understand how to take supplements and when you should be taking them.
Tips for making the most out of natural supplements
Supplements can be used at specific times. For example, the aforementioned Sleep Well Gummies are designed to help people get a better night’s sleep, hence why they’re typically taken shortly before bedtime. However, something like omega-3 supplements can be taken throughout the day because they’re not designed specifically to be taken at night.
Taking supplements at the proper times can drastically improve the rate at which they’re absorbed and may yield better results. It’s also good to remember that supplements are designed to supplement your existing diet. They’re not made to replace food and it’s generally recommended to get your nutrition from your meals. The ideal use case for something like an omega-3 supplement is when you don’t eat much fish due to personal reasons, but still want the benefits of omega-3 fatty acids. Perhaps you don’t like the taste of fish or maybe you find it difficult to consume enough to get the nutrients you need.
In short, supplements are best taken when they can help improve your main diet. However, some supplements may be designed to be taken shortly before bed, so it’s best to read the label before you start taking a supplement.