Dairy good for good night's sleep

Maybe the bedtime milk our mums gave us was beneficial after all.

Dutch researchers have explored a possible link between a certain protein (lactalbumin) in milk, sleep quality and morning alertness, and found that lactalbumin, which is high in tryptophan, improved the sleep quality and morning alertness of the people studied.

Tryptophan is an amino acid needed by the brain to produce serotonin, a natural sleep regulator. The improved morning alertness in the subjects studied was most likely a result of improved sleep, according to the researchers.

Source: American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, May 2005