UK and Spain

Sleep - (Or, the lack of it, termed as insomnia) - and sleeplessness - The 'father' of all medicne, Hippocrates, the father of medicine, prescribed lettuce for its sedative qualities. Wild lettuce (Laduca virosa) is a mild narcotic and is often used in herbal preparations. You can make your own lettuce tea to help you to go to sleep (see the recipe on the health-giving page - link below).
Since sleeplessness is often caused by worry and anxiety, the recommendations on the 'good thinking' page, for worry and anxiety (link further down below) apply equally well here. Other herbal preparations that offer more refreshing sleep, include ingredients such as valerian root, hops and pulsatilla.

Between 1971 and 1978 Dr Ernest Hartman of Boston State Hospital carried out a series of experiments on the amino acid tryptophan under double-blind conditions. These showed that it enabled the subjects to go to sleep more quickly and that the sleep was deeper. This amino acid is converted into the neurotransmitter serotonin which is concerned with sleep. Most protein foods contain tryptophan, including milk, cottage cheese, almonds, peanuts, sesame, sunflower and pumpkin seeds, poultry, pheasant, tuna and beef. However, it needs the presence of vitamin B6 and a small amount of carbohydrate to work. Therefore the ideal bedtime snack consists of, say, a slice of wholemeal sunflower-seed bread with peanut butter and a cup of warm skimmed milk with a little honey. Buy your peanut butter without salt as the sodium acts as a stimulant on the adrenal glands. Otherwise a handful of pumpkin seeds mixed with sultanas and almonds, together with lettuce or camomile tea, is suitable for vegans. Do not drink ordinary tea or coffee after 5pm, if at all.

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We're not doctors, just people who have completed many, many years of research into health-related items, foods, their nutritional values and how they can affect all of us in different ways.

We genuinely want to help as many people as possible and so the medical information on this website is for informational purposes, but it's not a substitute for a consultation with a doctor. Please consult your doctor with respect to your own symptoms and conditions.

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