Health Preservation Wisdom: Proper Diet Leads to Better Sleep
To address sleep disorders caused by work or study stress, besides changing lifestyle habits, relaxing the mind, and physical exercise, appropriately selecting food that helps calm the spirit and improve sleep is also an effective method.
Eating Right Leads to Better Sleep When choosing glutinous rice, look for grains that are large, uniform in size, white in color, fragrant, and free of impurities. Store it in a dry place.
Preparation Method: Cook glutinous rice with water into a porridge, and consume it before bedtime to aid sleep. Adding lilies or lotus seeds to the porridge enhances its sleep-promoting effect. However, glutinous rice is difficult to digest, so it should not be eaten in excess; those with poor digestion should avoid eating too much.
Lily: Choose lilies with thick flesh and evenly sized petals. They can be stored in a rice bin to extend shelf life.
Preparation Method: Boil lilies until soft, add sugar, and serve as lily soup, which has calming effects. They can also be cooked with glutinous rice, lotus seeds, red dates, and others to make an eight-treasure porridge. Fresh lilies have a natural bitterness; peeling off the thin outer layer can reduce this bitterness.
Lotus Seeds: Choose large, uniform, plump seeds with a white appearance. Store them in a sealed, dry place.
Preparation Method: Cook lotus seeds until soft, add sugar, and serve as lotus seed soup; alternatively, cook them with red dates to make lotus seed-red date soup. Both have calming and sleep-enhancing effects. The core of lotus seeds is very bitter, and many discard it. However, lotus seed core has blood pressure-lowering properties, so discarding it would be wasteful.
Sour Jujube Seed: Sour jujube seeds are typically purchased from herbal pharmacies. Opt for large, full seeds with a deep purple outer skin and no shell.
Preparation Method: Boil sour jujube seeds with water to make a decoction, which can help treat insomnia. However, avoid using it if suffering from diarrhea.
Red Dates: Choose red dates with thick flesh, small pits, bright red color, and sweet taste. Store in a dry place.
Preparation Method: Boil red dates with water to make red date soup, or add them to porridge to make red date porridge—both help promote sleep.