There are certain natural foods, which may work as sedatives by stimulating the activity and levels of neurotransmitters, such as serotonin that calms the brain. Honey and other carbohydrates are considered by some to affect serotonin, inducing tranquillity and sleep in most people. Glucose may also work directly on the neurons in the brain’s hypothalamus. There are certain other foods that contain peptides or release peptides in the gut that can send messages from the intestinal tract directly to the nervous system and brain.
FOODS THAT INDUCE TRANQUILLITY AND SLEEP
Aniseed, Bottle gourd, Celery, Cumin seeds, Dill, Honey, Indian Hemp, Lettuce, Long pepper, Milk, Nutmeg, Oats, Poppy Seeds, Rauwolfia Thiamin-Rich Foods and Valerian.
Aniseed
Aniseed is an annual culinary herb belonging to ajwain or celery family. Its fruit, known as aniseed, is one of the oldest spices. The seed is ground-gray to grayish-brown in colour, oval in shape and 3.2 to 4.8 mm in length. It has an agreeable odour and a pleasant taste.
Aniseed is a calming and sedative food. A tea made from this spice can calm the nerves and induce sleep. This tea is prepared by boiling about 375 ml of water in a vessel and adding a teaspoon of aniseed. The water should be covered with a lid and drunk hot or warm. The tea may be sweetened with honey and hot milk may also be added to it. This tea should be taken after meals or before going to bed. Aniseed should not be boiled too long as it may lose its digestive properties and essential oils during the process.
Bottle Gourd
The bottle gourd, also known as wild gourd, is a common vegetable in India. It is yellowish-green, having the shape of a bottle. It has white pulp, with white seeds embedded in its spongy flesh.
This vegetable is relaxing and sedative food. It imparts tranquillity and a feeling of relaxation after eating it. It is thus an effective remedy for sleeplessness. A mixture of bottle gourd and sesame oil can also be beneficially .massaged over the scalp every night before retiring, to induce sleep. The cooked leaves of bottle gourd, taken as a vegetable, also serve as sedative and calming food. They are thus valuable in insomnia. The bottle gourd should not be eaten in raw form as it may prove harmful for stomach and intestine.
Celery
This vegetable is of great value as a calming and sedative food. It can be beneficially used in sleeplessness. The juice of Celery leaves, mixed with a tablespoon of honey, should be taken at night before retiring. It will help one to relax into a soothing and restful sleep. Celery seeds also exercise calming and soothing effect. The essential oil contained in them has a specific effect on the regulation of the nervous system and has a great calming influence.
Cumin Seeds
Cumin Seeds exercise soothing effect on the nervous system. They are thus valuable in insomnia. A teaspoon of the fried powder of cumin seeds and the pulp of the ripe banana taken as the last thing at night, make an excellent remedy for insomnia.
Dill
Dill is a calming and soothing food. It is derived from dilla, which means to lull indicating its old reputation as a soothing herb. It is an ancient remedy for sleeplessness. The ancient Greeks used to put leaves of this plant in their cap or covered their heads with them to induce sleep. The Hindu physicians in ancient India also knew that keeping few springs of dill leaves near the pillow, while going to bed, induces one to sleep soundly.
In fact, the Hindi name of the plant is derived from the word ‘soya’ which means slept. The green dill plant is used fresh as flavouring for soups, sauces and other culinary purposes. The seeds are used as a substitute for caraway seeds, as flavouring in curry powder and medicinally as a source of dill-water. The leaves can be added to vegetable salads.
Honey
Honey is a valuable food medicine as a calming and sedative food. It has sleep-inducing power and sedative and tranquillising properties and is thus very valuable in insomnia. It has hypnotic action in bringing sound sleep. It should be taken with water, before going to bed, in doses of two teaspoons in a big cup of water. Babies generally fall asleep after taking honey. It should, however, not be given to infants below one year of age, as there is a danger of potentially deadly botulism.