Lindsay Malone, MS, RD, CSO, LD
If you’re like most people, when you think about nutrition (if you think about it at all), your brain goes right to fuel for activity. And activity is certainly one piece of the puzzle. But for optimal performance, it's also important to think about fueling for sleep.
Basic components:
Eat what you need to support repair and recovery
Don’t interfere with good sleep with what or when you eat
Since many tactical athletes work in long shifts, considering sleep in the fuel equation is especially important. Sleep is a non-negotiable item and you need that time to support the important work that is on the other side of your alarm.
Eat What You Need to Support Recovery
Your body and brain are busy all day. Your body is physically taxed with work, commute, sitting for too long, exercising and digesting. Your brain is in the same boat - computing, remembering, making decisions. By the time you go to bed, there is a lot of repair work that needs to be done to get everything in good working order by the time you wake up.
To support this work, you need to prioritize the following:
Water: every metabolic function in the body requires water. So, whether we are talking about muscle repair, digesting your last meal or growing new hairs on your head, you need water. If you can cut this off about 1-2 hours before you actually get into bed you can avoid lots of mid-sleep trips to the commode.
Protein: protein is a fundamental building block of the physical structures of your body, especially your muscles. Make sure you incorporate protein at each meal, I usually recommend about 20-30g per meal. This translates to roughly a deck of cards size piece of chicken, a protein shake, or a few eggs.
Calcium and Vitamin D: bones and teeth are made up of primarily calcium. When you exercise, are very active, or train for an event, the stress on your bones causes them to get stronger. The process of bone formation is constantly in process. To make sure you have enough calcium to support your bones, you’ll need a few servings of calcium-rich foods daily. Not necessarily milk! Calcium comes from lots of foods - leafy greens, sesame seeds, tofu, plant-based milks, even natural mineral water (check out Gerolsteiner if you don’t believe me!).
Phytonutrients: phytonutrients repair and protect cells. Imagine you had a tough shift or hard workout. You’ve likely created some oxidative stress. Oxidative stress essentially damages cells. Phytonutrients from bright colored plant foods can help. Phytonutrients also nourish the gut lining to help you use all the food you’re eating and keep waste products headed in the right direction.
Magnesium: magnesium is the holy grail of sleep nutrients. One of the main jobs of magnesium is to facilitate relaxation of the nervous system. And in turn, relaxes your muscles and your mood! You can get magnesium from leafy greens, nuts and beans. Many people don’t get enough magnesium from food, a little less than half the population. You can also get magnesium from an epsom salt bath or supplements. Magnesium comes in many forms, I usually recommend magnesium glycinate for relaxation (magnesium citrate has more of a laxative like effect).
Don’t Interfere with Good Sleep
What and when you eat can also impact your sleep. Let’s review some basic food rules for sleep:
Eat enough and not too much. Eat enough to support your activity so you won’t wake up from hunger. Don’t eat too much (remember that hunger scale?) because feeling stuffed and uncomfortable won’t do you any favors either.
Stop eating a few hours before bed. Two to three hours is ideal. But, if that is not realistic for you, have a smaller meal before bed.
When eating close to bedtime, choose foods that are easier to digest. Stay away from rich or heavy foods that take a long time to digest.
Eat slowly and chew your food well. Remember, anything that doesn’t happen in your mouth has to happen later. So, if you swallow food without chewing it well your gut will have to mechanically (think contractions) and chemically (think acid) break it down. A churning stomach and heartburn don’t sound like a recipe for good sleep, right?
Keep caffeine as far away from sleep time as possible. Everyone metabolizes caffeine differently so there are certainly people where this rule won’t apply.
Limit alcohol. Alcohol interferes with REM sleep. So while you may fall asleep great after a few beers or a cocktail, the quality of the sleep won’t be as good.
And the final rule ...
Know thyself.
If you fall asleep better after a bedtime snack or you’re used to coming home from your shift, eating and going to bed and it works for you - keep doing it. Don’t fix what’s not broken. However, if you are having trouble in the sleep department and haven’t considered how food fits in, it might be time to implement some of these recommendations.
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