Food & Peaceful Sleeps

Toddler years are very busy for both children and their parents. This period of continuous exploration and intense movement also requires proper downtime and rest. Ample sleep is critical, this is the time when the body does much of its building and repair work. Toddlers should be averaging somewhere between 12-14 hours of sleep within a 24-hour period.

Unfortunately, in today’s world, many toddlers struggle with sleep issues, either not being able to fall asleep quickly or not remaining in a deep sleep state for long enough. Too little sleep can have an impact on a child’s physical and mental development, her mood, her behavior, and how well she’s able to learn in school. Although diet is not the only cause for sleep issues, it can certainly play a large role in determining the quality of slumber your toddler is getting.

What your child eats before lights out and when she has a snack can sometimes affect how well she sleeps.

Tips For Smart Bedtime Snacking

Make Sure Your Toddler Doesn’t Have An Empty Stomach

This actually is more important than what your child eats. A toddler who goes to bed hungry is going to have a tough time getting to sleep or significant challenges staying asleep throughout the night as hunger cues cause a rise in cortisol which can often wake a little one up. If you’re serving adequate portions at meals and your child consistently says she’s hungry at bedtime, a small snack is reasonable. It is, however, important to know your child. Some toddlers go through a phase of feigning hunger as a way to delay bedtime. This is referred to as ‘behavioral insomnia of childhood’. A child who keeps asking for one thing after another at bedtime may not be hungry at all but simply trying to stay up as long as possible.

Proper Preparation

To prepare a toddler for sleep, it is important to calm the brain by stimulating the proper secretions of specific neurotransmitters. In particular, you want to activate the neurotransmitter serotonin as this brings on the feelings of satiety, happiness, and sleepiness. Serotonin is the main neurotransmitter you want to increase as you approach bedtime. Since serotonin is created from the amino acid tryptophan, it is important to consume tryptophan rich foods with dinner or as a bedtime snack. Good food sources of tryptophan are turkey, chicken, milk, eggs, nuts, bananas, beans, fish, and cheese.

It is also important to choose the right combination of foods as tryptophan has to compete with other amino acids to gain access to the brain. If foods high in other amino acids such as tyrosine or methionine are eaten (as in meat for example), less tryptophan may make its way into the brain. In order to remedy this, eating whole foods that are high in fibre and complex carbohydrates is important as they will also aid in boosting the creation of serotonin and increasing tryptophan absorption. When eating carbohydrates, the body secretes insulin. The release of this hormone will help to minimize the absorption of the other amino acids that compete with tryptophan. Fortunately, tryptophan is not affected by insulin. Therefore, offering a toddler an evening snack such as an apple and cheese or some plain yogurt with banana will assist in preparing her body for rest. If tolerated, whole dairy is a good option as it contains both tryptophan and carbohydrate.

Calcium and Magnesium

Foods that are rich in calcium and magnesium are also helpful for improving sleep. These minerals help calm the nervous system and help your toddler fall and stay asleep. Calcium can be found in dairy, almonds, sesame seeds, leafy greens, oranges, and sardines whereas magnesium can be found in seeds, nuts, and green vegetables. Try and include these foods in her daily diet.

The age-old remedy of offering warm whole milk to children before bed tends to be effective as it contains both calcium and tryptophan. Whole milk also contains melatonin, a chemical the body’s pineal gland releases out when the sun goes down to help regulate the sleep/wake cycle. Warm milk can thus be soothing and may help a child relax.

Foods to Avoid

Just as certain foods will help to prepare your toddler for sleep there are others that will interfere with sleep. Some of the more obvious ones are those that contain caffeine such as pop and chocolate. Toddlers should avoid these foods completely, especially if they are having sleep issues.

High sugar foods are also problematic. It is wise to avoid sugary snacks in the evening as these will also have a negative effect on sleep since they can cause significant fluctuations in blood sugar levels. Immediately after eating a sugary snack, blood sugar levels increase sharply. A short while later the fall significantly. In order to try and re-stabilize blood sugar levels, the body will later force the adrenal glands to release adrenaline and cortisol (stress hormones) which can cause your toddler to awaken once they have already fallen asleep.

Be on the lookout for hidden sources of caffeine, such as chocolate or tea. If your toddler has any sort of caffeine during the day, keep in mind it has a long half-life. Avoid giving her caffeine within six hours of bedtime.

Meal Timing And Sleep

It’s not just what your toddler eats that has an impact on sleep; WHEN she eats has a real effect on how well she sleeps.

Appropriate meal-scheduling can ensure that your toddler sleeps well rather than being kept awake by an ill-timed meal or snack:

· Avoid large meals 1 hour or less before bedtime. A large meal will raise your toddler’s metabolic rate and body temperature. This can increase the challenge of falling asleep. You want your toddler’s metabolism and temperature to be decreasing as they head towards bedtime, not increasing.

· The largest meal of the day should happen at midday. Dinner should be a bit smaller than lunch and should happen at least 2 hours before bedtime.

· A small snack before nap time or bedtime can be a great idea. Ensure it is whole-food based and doesn’t contain refined sugar or caffeine. In addition, offer the snack about 30 minutes before your child needs to go down for sleep.

On a final note, it is also wise to determine if your toddler is suffering with a food intolerance, which can also interfere with restful sleep. The most common intolerances are dairy, wheat, soy, corn, eggs, chocolate and nuts. If you suspect an intolerance, consider doing an elimination diet whereby these foods are all removed from the diet for 10-14 days to see if any improvements are noted. To determine which food is the culprit, each can be added back into the diet, one by one, every four days and any sleep disturbances should be noted.

For more information on determining food intolerances, elimination diets and nutrition protocols to support sleep and optimal functioning, feel free to contact me at michal@michalofer.com

Bio

Michal Ofer is a lifestyle and wellness expert and nutrition consultant. She is focused on assisting clients to take control of their health and happiness through the implementable, sustainable food and lifestyle choices that best support their individual concerns, needs and goals. She uses her training in functional medicine principles to educate people on treating their bodies as a whole system rather than the sum of its parts. Michal has a degree in life sciences and has received training through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, Institute for Functional Medicine, University of Colorado and University of Stanford

Michal consults with clients in both private and group sessions, is a workshop and program facilitator, writer and podcast host and is the nutrition consultant on staff at Better – Medical Center for Complete Living in Calgary, Canada. Michal can be reached through her website michalofer.com