Struggling with restless sleep? Research suggests that the answer to sleep struggles can be as close as your kitchen. Choosing foods that contain sleep-enhancing nutrients like melatonin, magnesium, and tryptophan can help you get the rest you need to feel energized and ready to take on the day. Here, we'll take a look at what foods you can add to your nutrition plan to support great sleep hygiene.
Overview of how diet impacts sleep quality
Whether you're asleep the moment your head hits the pillow or you suffer from insomnia and sleep debt, choosing foods and drinks that support healthy sleep can help you make the most of your shut-eye. When the evening hours roll around, it's a good idea to choose foods and drinks that are conducive to getting great rest.
Foods rich in melatonin and their benefits for sleep
Melatonin is a hormone produced by the body when sunlight decreases, helping you relax and ease into sleep. While some people find that melatonin supplements help them ease off to sleep, they can interfere with certain medications and may cause side effects.
Foods with high levels of melatonin include:
- Tart cherries: Try drinking tart cherry juice mixed with sparkling water for a sweet good-night treat.
- Goji berries: Enjoy raw or dried goji berries before bed.
- Eggs: They're not just for breakfast—eggs offer melatonin along with protein and iron.
- Milk: Dairy milk is high in melatonin (and there's no need to drink it warm if that's not your preference).
- Nuts: Many nuts, including pistachios and almonds, have high levels of naturally-occurring melatonin.
Magnesium-rich foods that promote relaxation
A natural muscle relaxant, magnesium is essential for copious chemical reactions in the body. Getting enough magnesium can make it easier for you to fall and stay asleep. If you aren't able to get enough magnesium from food, you may want to consider adding a magnesium supplement to your wellness routine.
Foods naturally rich in magnesium include:
- Dark chocolate: While you'll want to be careful not to load up on too much sugar before bed, having a square or two of dark chocolate can give you the magnesium you need to relax.
- Nuts: Almonds, cashews, and Brazil nuts all provide high levels of magnesium.
- Avocado: Avocados are a great source of magnesium and fiber, making them a great fit for supporting both healthy sleep and a healthy digestive system.
Tryptophan-containing foods that enhance sleep
Tryptophan is an amino acid that the body uses to break down food, repair injuries, and create hormones, including melatonin. When you get plenty of tryptophan in your diet, it may be easier for your body to stick to your regular sleep and wake cycles.
Foods that are rich in tryptophan include:
- Turkey and chicken breast: The sleepy feeling that you get after enjoying a holiday dinner may be related to the high levels of tryptophan in these Thanksgiving and Christmas staples.
- Nuts and seeds: Almonds get a gold star once again, with 60mg of tryptophan per one ounce serving. Other high tryptophan nuts and seeds include cashews, black walnuts, peanuts, and chia seeds.
- Grains: Bread, buckwheat, oats, and quinoa all pack plenty of tryptophan, making them a good fit for a nighttime snack.
Herbal teas that aid in falling asleep
As long as it doesn't keep you running to the bathroom while you're trying to drift off, a cup of herbal tea can be a great way to end the day and ease into sleep. Herbal tea varieties that are a good fit for sleep include chamomile, lavender, valerian root, lemon balm, and low-caffeine green tea.
Tips for creating a sleep-friendly environment
Eating foods that help you drift off to dreamland is a smart first step toward getting the sleep you need to feel your best.
Some other steps you can take to improve your sleep quality include:
- Stick to a sleep schedule. While it can be tempting to sleep in on lazy weekend mornings, doing so can cause more harm than good. Sticking to a consistent sleep schedule helps your body establish and maintain healthy circadian rhythms, allowing your brain to regulate your body's sleep and wake cycles.
- Create a routine that works for you. Getting away from screens in the hour before bed, reading a relaxing book, or enjoying a cup of herbal tea can all help your brain realize that it's time to wind down.
- Use a sleep tracker. A wearable sleep tracker can provide you with valuable insights that help you understand your sleep cycles, find connections between your waking activities and the quality of your sleep, and alert you to potential health issues, like sleep apnea.
- Consider your sleep regularity index. Defined as "the probability for an individual to be in the same state (awake or asleep) at any two times 24 hours apart," understanding your sleep regularity index can help you gauge how consistently you're getting the rest you need. A wearable tracker can calculate your sleep index for you—you're shooting for 90% or above.
At Evidation, we're here to help you feel your best, day or night
Our comprehensive app utilizes the health data that you choose to share to provide you with personalized, content-based insights that can give you the information you need to inform the daily decisions that impact your well-being. Using the health data you're already tracking, we're able to aggregate your information to find connections (such as correlations between what you eat and how well you sleep, for example). Connecting your sleep tracking app to Evidation allows us to provide you with tips and tricks that can serve to improve your sleep. Click here to learn more about what we do and download our free app today.
