There is much importance placed on mealtimes and the portion size of those meals — breakfast with its ability to kick-start the day, and lunch as an opportunity to take a break to re-fuel and re-focus the mind. So what about dinner? Well, just as important — dinner has a number of essential functions for our body and mind.
Fuel for the body
Since it's the last meal of the day, it's important to make the right choices because you won't eat again for at least another 8 hours or so. Ensuring a steady supply of glucose for the body to use as fuel while we sleep is critical.
A common cause of waking in the night, often seen in insomnia, is when levels of sugar in the blood fall. The body then has to release stored glucose, and this action can cause you to wake — and sometimes it's difficult to get back to sleep.
To counteract this, it's essential to eat a good dinner that combines both protein and carbohydrates, which ensures a steady release of glucose into the bloodstream, helping prevent disturbed sleep. Skipping carbohydrates at dinner is never a good idea.
Food that makes you sleep well
As well as eating to balance blood sugar, we also need to eat correctly to get the right amino acids. Part of the building blocks of the body, they also work as neurotransmitters, transporting messages around the nervous system and playing an essential role in promoting well-being and mood.
Serotonin is one such example — a deficiency is associated with mood disturbance, sleep problems, and aggressive or compulsive behaviour. We get serotonin after it's converted in the body from foods containing the amino acid tryptophan. It's worth remembering that tryptophan is carried into the brain via carbohydrate — another reason to have protein and carbs at dinner.
A few of the dinner options that you can try:
- Baked tofu with quinoa, chickpeas and spinach
- Thai curry with tofu and rice
- Black bean and veggie quesadillas
- Paneer bhurji roll with veggies
- Moong dal vegetable khichdi + curd
Let us know in the comments below what your favourite dinner option would be.
