A good night's sleep is essential for a healthy living. It helps us restore our body and mind. More than 50 milion Americans are unable to get even the basix seven to eight hours of sleep at night. According to the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, sleep deprivation is likely to make us suffer from more chronic diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

Qanta Ahmed, a sleep specialist at the Winthrop-University Hospital Sleep Disorders Center in Mineola, said, "Insomnia is a complex condition often causes by a number of factors. Addressing those factors often requires lifestyle and environmental changes."

Ever tried counting backwards or counting sheep to go to sleep. That's what our mothers used to tell us to do back in those good,old days. These days, lack of sleep is usually credited to technology as most people are hooked on their gadgets. A mere vibration from the phone, or an email notification, is enough to forego one's sleep.

A lot of people turn to sleeping pills, which in some cases turn out to do more harm to the body than good. Here is a list of food items that contain natural elements that can put one to sleep. These food items need to be consumed two or three hours before sleeping.

Apart from food items to put you to sleep, even your surroundings play a huge role in making you go to sleep. Wearing pajamas to bed, making your room dark, using a soft and comfortable pillow and using breathable linens, all play a very important role in having a good, healthy sleep.

Cherry
Torey Jones Armul, dietician and spokesperson for the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics told Medical Daily, that, cherries, especially tart cherries, are a unique dietary source of melatonin, a chemical that helps regulate sleep and the body's internal clock. Reuters
Bananas
Bananas are rich in potassium, which prepares the body for sleep as it acts as a muscle relaxant, and the vitamin B6, which helps in the production of the sleep hormone, melatonin, which helps in regulating sleep and wake cycles. Reuters
Milk
Hummus and milk contain tryptophan which is an amino acid that makes you drowsy. Tryptophan turns into 5-HTP which releases relaxing serotonin, said the Washington State University Alcohol and Drug Counselling, Assessment and Prevention services.Calcium, which is in abundance in milk, also helps promote sleep. Reuters
Fish
Eating fish like tuna, salmon or halibut helps induce sleepiness as it is high in vitamin B6, which produces melatonin, and tryptophan, which is an amino acid, that induces sleepiness. Pretzels are rich in carbohydrates and magnesium. They can make you feel sleepy and are low in calories. Magnesium is said to be a mineral needed for quality sleep and pretzels are rich in that. Reuters
Cancer