Therefore, choosing sleep-assisted foods like sweet potato leaves is practical and healthy.
Sweet potato leaves are a familiar vegetable, rich in fiber and cool. Fiber helps the digestive system work stably, limiting bloating and indigestion - one of the reasons why shift workers have difficulty falling asleep after work. When the digestive system is gentle, the body is more relaxed, creating favorable conditions for natural sleep.
In addition, sweet potato leaves contain many B vitamins, especially vitamin B6, which plays an important role in the process of converting tryptophan into serotonin. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter that helps regulate mood and is a precursor to melatonin - the hormone that controls sleep-wake cycles.
For shift workers, supplementing substances that support melatonin production through foods such as sweet potato leaves can help improve sleepiness and sleep quality.
Sweet potato leaves are also rich in magnesium and potassium, two minerals that help relax muscles and the nervous system. After many stressful working hours, especially manual labor or working in high pressure environments, the body is often in a state of agitation and difficulty relaxing. Magnesium in sweet potato leaves helps calm the nervous system, reduce stress and help the body enter a state of rest more easily.
Another advantage is that sweet potato leaves are easy to prepare, cheap and suitable for the daily meals of workers. Dishes such as boiled sweet potato leaves, cooked soup or lightly stir-fried not only retain nutritional value but also do not cause belly weight if eaten before bed.
Compared to using stimulants or temporary measures to combat fatigue, eating sweet potato leaves is a safer and more sustainable solution.
However, sweet potato leaves are not a sleepover. The effectiveness of it is only well demonstrated when combined with a reasonable lifestyle such as limiting coffee, keeping a quiet sleeping space and maintaining relatively stable rest hours.