Eat to sleep: The best pre-sleep snacks for a great night’s sleep

On World Sleep Day, prepare for your beauty sleep by making sure you’re eating right. There are many different strategies that help promote good sleep, including diet changes, consistent meal times, and knowing what foods to eat at what time. Many foods are preemptive in creating the perfect sleepy girl mocktail internally, and making sure you’re consuming the right nutrients and hormones can be the key in a good night's rest.

Reduce the chances of developing certain chronic illnesses, boost your immune system, and keep your brain healthy by getting uninterrupted sleep each night. Different foods can lend different outcomes in alertness or fostering sleepiness, so our tip is to plan your dinners and late night snacks. Here are some of the foods that might give you the best effect at night.

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Dairy

Warm milk and honey (Image: healthline.com)

The age old depiction of a glass of warm milk might have more scientific truth and backing to it than one might think. Milk contains casein and whey, which are both rich in tryptophan, an amino acid that helps produce melatonin and serotonin. Although the amount of tryptophan in milk may not be enough to make you obviously drowsy, this, combined with other factors such as the warmth of the milk or feeling full, can be contributing factors in its overall drowsiness effect.

Kiwi

Kiwi fruit (Image: tastingtable.com)

Not only low in calories and high in nutrition, these tiny parcels are packed full with fibre and carotenoid antioxidants that benefit your digestive health, reduce inflammation, and lower your cholesterol.

The sleep promotion effect of kiwis can be attributed to the serotonin within the fruit, along with vitamin C. Serotonin helps with the feeling of relaxation and drowsiness. Some studies have shown that eating kiwis can increase both sleep duration as well as efficiency.

Turkey

Turkey with sides (Image: Zupan's Markets)

This meat is rich not only in protein but in nutrients such as riboflavin, phosphorus, and selenium.

Turkey also has moderate amounts of tryptophan, the same amino acid that increases melatonin production to help promote drowsiness and helps with sleep quality.

Chamomile Tea

Chamomile tea, naturally caffeine free (Image: saratogateaandhoney.com)

No surprise, but this herb is strong in its power of initiating sleepiness. Known for its flavones—a class of antioxidants that reduce inflammation leading to chronic diseases, such as cancer and heart disease.

Chamomile also contains apigenin, which is a unique property that helps bind receptors in your brain to promote drowsiness and reduce insomnia. Some studies have shown that those who consumed 400 milligrams (mg) of oral capsules of chamomile twice daily for four weeks slept better than those who didn’t.

Walnuts and almonds

Almonds and walnuts (image: mevabite.com)

Almonds holds a slew of nutrients, including ones that reduce chances of type 2 diabetes and heart disease. This is because nuts generally do hold higher amounts of healthy monounsaturated fats, fibre, and antioxidants.

The healthy fats, including omega-3 fatty acids and linoleic acid can help with sleep quality, as they help boost melatonin production. Vitamin B and magnesium are also known to help improve sleep quality, something of which these nuts contain.

Foods to avoid

Many other foods can find their way into this list, but the main takeaway is that the best foods for sleep should be whole foods, with healthy fats and complex carbohydrates, along with fibre and vitamins. Many of these foods boost melatonin production indirectly through higher levels of serotonin and antioxidants to truly prime your body for sleep.

Foods to avoid include simple carbs and saturated fats as pre-sleep snacks. These induce the opposite effect of reducing serotonin and being harder to digest. Avoid things like sugar, fast food, and caffeine for the best chance of getting good sleep. Alcohol can have the tendency to make you feel sleepy in the short term, but can cause disorganised sleep.

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