Sleep eludes me, but inspiration does not

Tonight, as some nights go, I laid bed thinking of all that was to come in the near future (FYI there’s a lot). After nearly an hour of tossing and turning, I finally came back downstairs in search of something to do. As I started browsing through shows I could watch, I ran across an episode of Penn & Teller’s Bullshit called Sleep Inc. In it Penn and Teller look at several products sold to us in order to receive a “good night’s sleep”. This episode inspired me to do a little research on getting to sleep.

Common Myth:

• Milk helps because of tryptophan: WRONG

The amino acid called tryptophan can be used as a sleep aid, and the suggested dosage is one to three grams. Since tryptophan is found in milk, some believe that by having a glass of milk before bed can help you sleep. Unfortunately there is only .08 grams of tryptophan per 100 grams of milk. For a full dose you would need to drink 37.5 glasses of milk. Along with your three grams of tryptophan, you just ingested over 100 grams of protein, more than the average adult consumes in a day, and the amount of protein in a single glass of milk can be enough to prolong sleep. The idea of tryptophan making you drowsy has also seen light in the Thanksgiving turkey dinner, and as Penn and Teller point out, “in order to be effective, you have to take tryptophan on an empty stomach. The sleepiness is from carbs, fat, family, and football.” Well said Penn!

Some helpful advice:

• Create a sleep routine
• Exercise
• Don’t eat a heavy meal before bed
• A light snack that is low in protein and consists mostly carbohydrates can help (popcorn).
• Make your room dark
• If you stay awake for 30 minutes, move to another room and do something relaxing for 20
• Don’t nap. While power naps have been shown to help improve cognitive thought, if you exceed 45 minutes or nap after 3:00 PM, it will become more difficult to fall asleep at your normal time. Instead, doctors recommend making yourself laugh or doing some physical activity (exercise).

My personal favorite remedy:
Irish Dark Chocolate Milk
-8 ounce glass
-5 ounces milk
-1 ounce Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Syrup
-2 ounces Bailey’s Irish Cream

Works every time ;)


Cheers, and good night !