8 foods to help you sleep and ways to add them to your evenings

Foods to help you sleep can support your weight-loss goals, energy levels, and overall well-being. Certain foods contain sleep-enhancing compounds like melatonin, magnesium, and tryptophan, promoting relaxation and facilitating sleep. Check out eight top foods that help you sleep and how to add them to your evening routine.

8 foods to help you sleep

Inadequate sleep thwarts your weight-loss progress, affects energy levels, and can leave you frustrated and low. Establishing good sleep hygiene and incorporating foods to help you sleep may turn restless nights into more peaceful occasions, leaving you rested, energized, and on track for meeting your health goals.

Note: Persistent sleep issues could indicate an underlying health issue. Consult your healthcare provider if you feel your sleeplessness may be related to something else.

Tart cherries

Cherries are packed with melatonin, a hormone found in some foods and essential for sleep. Melatonin levels increase in the evening to promote sleep and decrease in the morning to help you wake up. Consuming foods that contain melatonin may help boost the body’s levels of this hormone. Eating tart cherries or drinking tart cherry juice raises melatonin levels to support sleep quality and reduce insomnia.

Drink eight ounces of tart cherry juice or eat ½ cup of tart cherries in the evening to support your melatonin production.

Almonds

Almonds are nutrient powerhouses, containing potassium, calcium, magnesium, tryptophan, and melatonin—all compounds that help with sleep. Some research indicates that diets high in potassium and magnesium improve sleep quality, reducing sleepiness and sleep issues, particularly among women.

Eat one ounce of almonds (about 23 nuts). Toss on salads or soups or eat raw, roasted, or use the equivalent of almond butter spread (two tablespoons) on toast or fruit.

Leafy greens

Leafy greens like spinach and kale contain sleep-promoting nutrients like magnesium, potassium, and calcium.

Magnesium affects neurotransmitters and hormones that reduce stress and encourage relaxation, helping you fall asleep faster and extend your sleep. Some research shows that people who sleep for the recommended seven to nine hours nightly have higher magnesium concentrations.

Include leafy greens on your balanced plate. You can saute, roast, or steam leafy greens or eat them raw. What matters most is incorporating them into your diet.

Bananas

Bananas are not just for helping relieve muscle cramps. Potassium-rich bananas may also support sleep. Potassium is vital for nerve function and signaling. Potassium levels fluctuate based on circadian rhythms and may represent nerve and brain cell activity changes that occur with sleep. Moreover, lower potassium concentrations may be linked with worse sleep quality.

Consider making bananas part of your post-dinner sweet treat. Aim for one banana for a potassium boost.

Oatmeal

Fluctuations in blood sugar overnight may affect sleep quality. High-fiber grains like old-fashioned rolled or steel-cut oats digest slowly in the body, helping keep blood sugar levels stable and minimizing any potential effects on sleep.

Eat ½ cup of cooked, old-fashioned rolled oats. For extra sleep benefits, add almonds, pumpkin seeds, or tart cherries.

Chamomile tea

Chamomile is an herb that promotes relaxation. Chamomile acts on a neurotransmitter that regulates sleep. Chamomile relaxes the body to encourage sleepiness and improve sleep quality.

Drink one cup of chamomile tea about 30 to 60 minutes before bed to help you relax and prepare for sleep. Consider mixing it with tart cherry juice for extra sleep benefits.

Turkey

Turkey contains tryptophan, an amino acid your body breaks down into melatonin. This, plus portion sizes and the carbohydrate content of the meal, is why you may feel sleepy after the Thanksgiving holiday dinner.

Eating turkey with a whole grain encourages more tryptophan to cross the blood-brain barrier, so the body produces more melatonin. Consume a late-night snack of 3.5 ounces of turkey on whole-grain bread for a melatonin boost. Or, consider adding roasted turkey to your dinner menus.

Pumpkin seeds

Pumpkin seeds are full of essential vitamins and minerals for sleep. One ounce or two tablespoons contains 25% of the daily recommended tryptophan for someone weighing 154 pounds (70 kilograms). Sprinkle pumpkin seeds on yogurt, soups, or salads, blend them into smoothies, or snack on them before bed to increase tryptophan to enhance sleep.

Besides their high tryptophan content, pumpkin seeds are packed with magnesium, which fosters relaxation.

Healthy snack foods to help you sleep

Simple bedtime snacks that incorporate foods to boost sleep include the following:

• A banana with almond butter
• A small bowl of oatmeal with almonds and tart cherries
• Trail mix with almonds, pumpkin seeds, and tart cherries
• A glass of unsweetened tart cherry juice
• A warm cup of chamomile tea
• Turkey spinach roll-ups
• Oatmeal cherry crisp with almonds
• Frozen banana slices coated in almond butter and chocolate

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Other Health Issues->Sleep