10 to 20 grams during the evening meal would allow you to fall asleep quickly.
Are you having trouble falling asleep right now? Getting a full night’s sleep and feeling truly rested the next day? The summer/autumn season change is particularly conducive to fatigue and sleep problems. Before resorting to “medication”, several natural remedies, taken in the evening, can help you sleep better.
One of them is particularly rich in zinc and magnesium, two minerals known to improve sleep. Above all, it is extremely well provided with tryptophan (there is 0.17 g for a portion of 30 g, which represents 53% of the recommended daily intake), an amino acid involved in the synthesis of melatonin, the sleep hormone, we can read in the results of a study conducted by Italian researchers (University of Milan) and published in the scientific journal Molecules.
“Melatonin is an important “neurohormone” with multiple biological effects that include circadian regulation of sleep“, explain the researchers. When everything is going well, melatonin is secreted according to a very specific rhythm: its production increases at the end of the day shortly before bedtime, which contributes to falling asleep. It reaches its peak secretion between 2 and 4 a.m. then decreases in the second part of the night until it becomes almost zero in the early morning, after waking up. But in some people (too much exposure to screens, taking medication, etc.), the secretion of melatonin is disrupted, which leads to problems falling asleep and insomnia.
This food with incredible sedative effects is none other than the pumpkin seed. Consuming 10 to 20 grams (or 1 to 2 tablespoons) during the evening meal would regulate the secretion of melatonin and improve falling asleep. These small green seeds are ideal sprinkled on a soup, a salad, in guacamole, hummus, yogurt or cottage cheese with muesli. Moderately caloric, they provide about 40 calories per tablespoon, are excellent for digestion and satiety. For your information, researchers note a similar effect with sesame seeds.