Try a bedtime kiwi to help you fall asleep faster and sleep better

Poor sleep can lead to a myriad of problems, mental and physical, such as insulin resistance, hypertension, weight gain, and stress – so it’s no surprise we’re always on the look out for how to get a restful night.

And now, sleep experts say the answer to a great night’s sleep could be sitting in your fruit bowl.

Great as an on-the-go snack, and even more delicious in a cocktail, it turns out that a kiwi is a lullaby in fruit form.

A spokesperson for BedKingdom.co.uk says: ‘Kiwifruit has been a feature in many people’s bedtime routines for many years, and the science backs up the kiwi’s value as a sleep aid.

‘Studies have shown that kiwifruit can help improve sleep quality, sleep timings, and sleep efficiency after a month of regular kiwifruit consumption before sleep.

‘Kiwifruit contains high amounts of serotonin and antioxidants, as well as vitamins like folate, a B vitamin, which can help to treat sleep disorders as well as help reset your sleep schedule.’

As well as kiwis, the brand says caffeine – not just in coffee, but even down to soft drinks – should be cut from your diet 10 hours before bed, as that’s how long it can take to leave the bloodstream completely.

To lower the chances of having troubled sleep, you should do all of this to a schedule.

The spokesperson added: ‘Structure helps a lot in keeping a healthy sleep schedule because it lets your body stay in tune with its circadian rhythm more easily.

‘Sticking to a set bedtime and wake-up time will help keep your body in order, as well as help prevent your sleep schedule from drifting away from your ideal timings, which will provide the best opportunities to get that seven to nine hours of good quality sleep a night.’

Other things you can try to get better sleep involve adjusting your sleep time gradually.

‘It is tempting to try to reset your sleep schedule in one go by going to bed early, or by staying up all night so you are completely exhausted come bedtime the next day,’ they say.

‘However, this is probably not the most effective way: a 2005 study by C. Eastman et al. found that adjusting one’s sleep schedule by one hour each day was more effective than larger steps in adjusting sleep schedules; the larger steps provided no benefit over the one-hour adjustment group.’

To aid this, adjusting light levels for when you want to sleep and wake up can help, as timed light triggers can reset the human clock within one to three days.

For night, investing blackout curtains or blinds can help, while in the morning a light-up alarm clock can get your body clock running smoothly.

Excuse us while we stock up on kiwis.

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