Introduction
Getting a good night’s sleep is essential for our overall health and wellbeing. Unfortunately, many of us struggle to get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep each night. The Surgeon General has recently released a report on how to sleep right, and it includes advice on how to make sure you get the rest you need. In this article, we’ll look at the Surgeon General’s recommendations and how to make sure you’re eating the right foods to help you get a good night’s sleep. We’ll also look at some of the foods you should avoid if you want to get the best sleep possible.
Surgeon General Says Here’s How to Sleep Right — Eat This Not That
Getting a good night’s sleep is essential for your overall health and wellbeing. But with so many conflicting opinions on what to eat and what not to eat before bed, it can be hard to know what to do. Fortunately, the U.S. Surgeon General has weighed in on the matter and has some advice on what to eat and what not to eat before bed.
Eat This
The Surgeon General recommends eating foods that are high in complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains, fruits, and vegetables. These foods are digested slowly, providing a steady supply of energy throughout the night. Additionally, foods that are high in protein, such as lean meats, fish, and eggs, can help you stay full longer and provide your body with the essential amino acids it needs to repair and rebuild itself.
Not That
The Surgeon General recommends avoiding foods that are high in sugar and fat before bed. These foods can cause a spike in blood sugar levels, leading to a restless night’s sleep. Additionally, foods that are high in caffeine, such as coffee, tea, and energy drinks, should be avoided as they can interfere with your body’s natural sleep cycle.
By following the Surgeon General’s advice, you can ensure that you get a good night’s sleep and wake up feeling refreshed and energized. So, the next time you’re getting ready for bed, remember to eat this, not that!
As hosts of the Smartless podcast, actors Jason Bateman, Will Arnett and Sean Hayes usually have people on who know more than them. That was perhaps never truer this week, when they invited the U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy as a guest. He talked about Big Topics—climate change, the pandemic—but also a daily habit we could all improve. “I’ve never been somebody who’s been consistent about sleep across my life,” admitted Murthy. “There’s been a kind of a lifelong struggle. I generally have operated as a night owl most of my life, but I have to get up very early, so that doesn’t make for a good combination.” His young son also sleeps with him, for comfort. “But half the night he’s like punching me, kicking me. … just making sure I’m still there.” So what should Dr. Murthy be doing better, and how can his advice work for you? He shared the ideas with the hosts. Read on for five key tips—and to ensure your health and the health of others, don’t miss these Sure Signs You’ve Already Had COVID.
“What I really should be doing is I should be sleeping somewhere around eight hours a night—seven to nine is what most people need,” he said. “As all of us know health is deeply intertwined with culture: what we eat, how active we are, how much we sleep. These are rooted in cultural norms. When I was training in medicine for example, there was a culture in medicine that strong people didn’t need sleep, that the less you slept, the more you just powered through a tough call night on no sleep, the stronger you were. That is not helpful to have a culture that supports unhealthy practices like that,” he has said in the past.
“I should be sleeping at a consistent time each night and I should be keeping distractions away from me when I sleep like phones all the time,” said Murthy.
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“I haven’t prioritized” sleep hygiene, admitted Murthy. Arnett does. “Admiral, and I’m sorry, I hate to pull rank on you, literally,” he said, “but I’m like a field marshal of sleep over here because once I put the kids to bed about…. 9, 9:30, I’m in bed, I read a little bit—old school, actual book, I put my device away—and I go to sleep and it’s very important. My sleep is very, very important to me…And I’m just saying that, because I want to flex that I have better sleep hygiene than the surgeon general. And these are things you don’t often get to do.”
“Get yourself in the right place,” agreed Murthy. “Like when you start sleeping. Because our minds are just like going a thousand miles an hour and a thousand directions. Right? And like how to like quiet in our mind and calm our minds.”
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Sleeping right can improve your immune system, never more important than during this terrible pandemic. Follow the public health fundamentals and help end this pandemic, no matter where you live—get vaccinated ASAP; if you live in an area with low vaccination rates, wear an N95 face mask, don’t travel, social distance, avoid large crowds, don’t go indoors with people you’re not sheltering with (especially in bars), practice good hand hygiene, and to protect your life and the lives of others, don’t visit any of these 35 Places You’re Most Likely to Catch COVID.