A naturopath's tips for less stress and better sleep

Updated on 2025-09-09

Summary: A naturopath's tips for less stress and better sleep

In this column, Lynn Goneau, naturopath at La Boite à Grains, explains the vicious circle between stress and sleep deprivation, and offers concrete solutions. She stresses the importance of a stable routine, both in terms of mealtimes and bedtimes, as well as the adoption of calming rituals before sleep, such as reading rather than watching screens.

Food also plays a key role, thanks to nutrients such as tryptophan and magnesium, found in foods such as salmon, quinoa, green vegetables, nuts, bananas and dairy products.

Finally, she points out that some women are particularly affected by insomnia due to hormonal variations, and recommends, where necessary, natural supplements such as magnesium, GABA or melatonin, notably from Canadian company Natural Factors.

1. Routine and stability

• Eat and go to bed at the same time.

• Prepare your body with a calm routine before bedtime.

• Avoid screens and stimulation (cell phones, tablets, TV).

• Encourage reading or quiet time (books, comics for children).

2. Sleep-friendly diet

• Tryptophan (precursor of melatonin): eggs, chicken, fish, dairy products, legumes, nuts, bananas, dark chocolate (in small quantities), wholegrain cereals.

• Example of an evening meal salmon + quinoa + green vegetables.

• Possible snack Yogurt + banana, sugar-free granola, cheese + whole-grain crackers, glass of hot milk.

• Magnesium walnuts, pumpkin seeds, spinach, green vegetables.

3. Suggested natural supplements

• Magnesium (muscle and nerve relaxation).

• GABA (natural tranquilizer).

• Melatonin (sleep regulation).
  👉 Featured brand : Natural Factors (Canadian, well-known).

About the author

Lynn Goneau, Certified Naturopath

Specialized in :

• Digestive health
• Hormonal health
• Stress and fatigue
• Memory and concentration
• Weight management

Frédéric Bisson, radio host at 104.7 FM

Radio host at 104.7 FM on the Cogeco network. Frédéric Bisson has hosted L'Outaouais Maintenant from 3 to 5 p.m. every weekday since February 27, 2023.

Transcription

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

It's with great pleasure that we welcome back our friends for the season. It's like today, I'd say back-to-school after back-to-school, like after the first week of school, sometimes we say to ourselves, we're ready, we're starting the real work. She's back. Lynn Goneau of La Boite à Grains. Welcome back today!

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Our first day, our first chronicle.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

We're starting, I can feel that I'm stressed now. It's incredible. And I have trouble sleeping when I'm stressed, which isn't abnormal. Stress and sleep problems are actually linked.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Because if you can't get a good night's sleep, you're bound to be stressed the next day. And if we're stressed, we're going to have trouble relaxing to get a good night's sleep. So it's really one is linked to the other. Where do you start Fred, stress, or do you start with sleep?

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

I'd say you have to manage stress before you can manage sleep. Otherwise it'll never work.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

It's good to manage stress like that, yes, it will help us sleep better.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

So stability is important.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

This is really one of the basic keys that we seem to lose in the summer with all our habits, and then pick up again in September. Eating at the same time and going to bed at the same time. This is a small example of eating at the same times.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

So the body anticipates when it needs to produce certain hormones, blood sugar I guess.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Hormones, but also enzymes and everything else you need when it's time to eat.

Frédéric Bisson - Radio host 104.7FM:

Now, obviously for sleep, you're going to talk to me about bedtime too. I think it's important.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Start a habit, relax and calm down. So we're talking about an hour to an hour and a half before going to bed, to start preparing. Obviously, as we often hear, no screens, no cell phones, no tablets, absolutely nothing like that.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

I started reading real novels.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Yes, better than TV. Pick up a book. And for kids, it can be Garfield comics. My son loved them. When he was young, we laughed, we were in bed, and then quietly. And that provided something other than stimulation. And for adults, a good novel that's not too stimulating helps.

Frédéric Bisson - Radio host 104.7FM:

You're talking about adults, but it mostly affects women.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Sleep deprivation is twice as common in women because of hormonal fluctuations. No wonder.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

Surprised, not astonished. So solutions first with food.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

We like to favor foods that are rich in tryptophan, an amino acid that promotes sleep by reducing stress, since our bodies don't produce it. It's important to get this in your diet, as it will help you produce melatonin.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

What do I find it in?

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

Eggs, chicken, fish, dairy products, legumes, nuts, bananas, a good chocolate, but just a little piece, not too much. And wholegrain cereals, of course.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

For supper now, what could I eat?

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

It would be like now, for example salmon with quinoa and green vegetables, a small snack in the evening which is often important for the youngest or even us when we need it, a small bowl of yogurt with bananas or sugar-free granola or a small piece of cheese with whole-grain crackers or the famous, it's the famous glass of hot milk in the evening. It all works.

Frédéric Bisson - Host 104.7FM:

I often hear that magnesium is good.

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

It's a key element. And yes, we need it. You can find it in nuts, whole grains, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, especially pumpkin seeds, spinach, green vegetables. So you can have it in your diet in the evening, or get it as a supplement.

Frédéric Bisson - Radio host 104.7FM:

If we want to go with extras, what do you recommend this week?

Lynn Goneau - Naturopath of La Boite à Grains:

There's Natural Factors. I like them a lot because they're a Canadian company that has really proven itself in the world of natural supplements. You have several supplements that we talked about: magnesium, GABA and melatonin. So these are all supplements you can take to help manage stress.