That can help...

We used to actually talk about tryptophan

and a snack of tryptophan or L-tryptophan tablets

which have been taken off the market

because of contamination and liver failure problems

but essentially tryptophan is a nice amino acid in protein

in any kind of protein

It's a good snack

It helps that serotonergic pathway and sleep onset

Melatonin and serotonin are working in synchrony

so it's important that you have a good balance diet of protein

When people are mal-nourished, starving

sleep is very disrupted

But when people are well nourished

it's pretty good

Avoid caffeine within 4 to 6 hours of bedtime is very important

Caffeine is a stimulant

But I have some patients who tell me

I can drink coffee at bedtime

it doesn't bother me at all

Then I think, ok, what time did you have your coffee?

Well, 10 o'clock

so what happens when you wake up at 2?

How do you know I wake up at 2?

It's the half life of caffeine

wearing off and kicking in and so on

That's particularly a problem

But if someone is very sleep deprived

of course they can fall asleep whether they had coffee or not

But it's when you avoid it all together is the best remedy

Older people usually have to stop drinking coffee after noon

after 12

because the half life of caffeine is longer and longer

as we get older

Some younger people have shorter half life

so you can metabolize it much faster

Avoid alcohol, especially before bedtime, is important

Alcohol does help you fall asleep

It's a good sedative

It puts you to sleep

but it's very disruptive of the sleep stages

and it suppresses the REM sleep