Are you tossing and turning in bed at night, unable to blissfully fall asleep? You are not alone. Resmed’s 2025 Global Sleep Survey, spanning 13 countries with over 30,000 survey respondents, revealed a world struggling with poor sleep. The fifth global survey conducted by Resmed showed that even if people get seven hours of sleep at night, only four nights out of seven are restful or considered good quality sleep. Furthermore, approximately one-third of people have trouble falling asleep (34 percent) or staying asleep (29 percent) three or more nights per week.

Women have poorer sleep quality than men. Women’s brains work harder as multitaskers. Therefore, they require more restorative sleep according to a study conducted by the Loughborough University Sleep Research Center. In addition, hormonal fluctuations from the menstrual period, pregnancy, and menopause can also cause sleep disruptions. According to a study on sleep and women’s health, menstruating women report poorer sleep quality and more sleep disruptions during the premenstrual week. As for women with menopause, sleep disorders affect 51 percent of women.

Striking a balance between self-care, home and family life, work, and social obligations or expectations often leaves sleep at the bottom of one’s priority list. According to Resmed’s 2025 Global Sleep Survey, the top five contributing factors to a poor night’s sleep include stress at 57 percent, anxiety at 46 percent, financial pressures at 31 percent, mental health conditions at 17 percent, and family or relationship issues at 15 percent. Moreover, research from the Journal of Public Health found a significant increase in the risk of bad sleep quality and intermittent or anxious sleep patterns among social media users.

While we cannot totally control these factors that affect our sleep, there are lifestyle factors that we can mindfully change to help us get better sleep quality. The first thing is diet and nutrition. If you do not eat well, then your body will not have enough nutrients to supply the brain for sleep hormone production.

The body utilizes the essential amino acid tryptophan to make the sleep hormone melatonin. It is essential because the body cannot naturally produce it, so it must come from the diet. Tryptophan is abundant in animal protein like meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs. Unfortunately, animal protein sources also contain high amounts of cholesterol, saturated fat, and none of the fiber, phytochemicals, or plant nutrients and antioxidants that plant food sources have. Simply put, obtaining tryptophan from animal sources is unhealthy compared to vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and seeds. Here are some plant sources of tryptophan that you must include in your daily diet: Green leafy vegetables like malunggay, kangkong, spinach, soybeans, and soy products like soymilk, tofu, mushrooms, banana, broccoli, peas, rolled or steel cut oats, pumpkin, and sunflower seeds.

The Philippines is abundant in green leafy vegetables, mushrooms, legumes, and bananas. We will not have any problems incorporating these as staples in our meals. We just have to be intentional in making them available and learning how to prepare them. Vegetables do not require longer cooking time as compared to cooking meat. It will not only be time-efficient, but it will also be a healthier source of tryptophan.

Tryptophan-rich food must be paired with carbohydrates that are wholesome or minimally processed. Carbohydrates will spare the body from using protein as energy. Thus, the building block of protein, in this case, tryptophan, can do its job in making melatonin. Pair tryptophan-rich food with wholesome carbohydrate sources like brown, red, or black rice, oats, adlai, and quinoa. To make it simpler, having rice and a main vegetable dish from leafy greens, mushrooms, and legumes will boost your tryptophan stores and melatonin production to help you sleep better.

There are other plant food sources that can help promote sleep. Chamomile tea, lavender tea, and valerian root tea have sedative effects. You can take these one to two hours before bedtime. American ginseng, also known as Panax quinquefolius, has an adaptogenic property for stress and can promote better sleep quality. The root of this flowering plant can often be taken in freeze-dried or liquid form. Make sure that the label indicates the part of the plant that was used. Consult a registered nutritionist or dietitian practicing functional nutrition to be guided regarding taking functional food like American ginseng, especially if you are on medication.

Aside from diet and nutrition, enhancing sleep quality can be achieved by being more physically active during the day. Walk, stand, pace, schedule exercises, or even pockets of movement several times in a day. More often than not, we aren’t physically exhausted at the end of the day to prompt the brain to sleep. We may be mentally and emotionally drained, but we have a lot of energy stored at the end of the day, which keeps us awake. Furthermore, exercise makes the body produce the mood-stabilizing hormone serotonin, which helps in sleep hormone production too.

Avoid strenuous exercises and large meals at least three hours before bedtime. It is also important to get sun or light exposure in the morning. Sunlight that enters the eyes helps produce serotonin and melatonin later in the day.

When it’s bedtime, put all gadgets away. Turn off the lights or wear a sleep mask. Exposure to light will prevent you from producing melatonin. This is one of the reasons why melatonin supplements don’t work when you’re still browsing on your phone even after taking the pill.

If you are struggling with sleep problems, it is time to step back and reflect on your lifestyle. See where you need to make small changes that are sustainable to help you sleep better.