― N U T R I T I O N ―
― N U T R I T I O N ―
D
ami Niederhauser is a qualified health and nutrition advisor. In recent years she has continued to expand her knowledge, and now practises a holistic approach that takes
into account both individuals’ physical particularities and their emotional state. Dami believes there is a direct link between diet, sleep and health.
Is there a magic formula for good sleep?
It’s difficult to make universally applicable recommendations! We’re all individuals, each with
different metabolisms. What I focus on is helping people get to know themselves better. We all have sleep intelligence and we need to get back in touch with it. Flatulence, acid reflux and migraine headaches after a meal are all signals sent by the body to say that something’s not right; you just need to listen to them.
Do some eating habits encourage sleep?
In general, I can recommend not eating after 8pm; most people don’t sleep well on a full stomach.
LETTING GO TO FIND REST Dami Niederhauser gave a talk about the effects of diet on sleep at our Elite Gallery store in Basel. On that occasion, she emphasised that relaxation also plays a key role in a good night’s sleep and offered a few tips to help with that, including writing: “Those who need to empty their minds can keep a diary or write a to-do list for the following day. Writing is a way of putting down and ordering things we’re stressed about, helping us get to sleep faster.”
When the body is busy digesting, it’s following a biological cycle. At four o’clock in the morning, the liver and kidneys get to work on purifying the body, and a lot of people wake up at that time. If you then find it difficult to get back to sleep, placing a hot water bottle on the right side of your body can soothe your liver and help you do so. That said, you shouldn’t go to bed on an empty stomach, either.
HOW DOES OUR DIET AFFECT OUR SLEEP ?
Do certain foods have a negative impact on our sleep?
Raw foods have the reputation of being difficult to digest, and therefore being harmful to the quality of our sleep. However, I’m
DAMI NIEDERHAUSER - NUTRITIONIST
one of those people who can eat a salad at 10pm without experiencing any difficulty at all. It’s true though that animal proteins (amongst other things) are more difficult to digest, as are spicy foods which can cause heartburn and reflux; what’s more, they heat the body from the inside just when we need to lower our temperature in order to go to sleep.
Diet has a direct effect on our sleep. While sleep is a personal matter and there are no one-size- fits-all recommendations, a few good ideas and habits can put the odds in your favour when it comes to deep, healthy sleep.
Text - Simone Liedtke, Picture - © Neven Kromarek
‑ 36 ‑
‑ 37 ‑
Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software