When deciding what to eat before bed, you should look for foods that have nutritional elements that will aid in falling asleep naturally. These foods will increase serotonin, a key hormone that helps promote healthy sleep.
6 Foods to Help You Sleep Better at Night
- Whole Grain. When planning evening meals, you should choose whole grain options when selecting bread, pasta, cereals, crackers and brown rice. These foods will fill you up without reducing your serotonin levels. Whole grains will also provide the body with more nutrients and vitamins. However, you should avoid eating a heavy whole grain meal an hour before you go to bed.
- Lean Thinking. Lean proteins like low-fat cheese, chicken, turkey, fish and even elk all contain high levels of tryptophan. Tryptophan naturally increases levels of serotonin. If you pair a lean protein with a carbohydrate, your chances of drifting off to sleep increase because the carbs will help the tryptophan reach the brain.
- Healthy Fats. Unsaturated fats are both good for your heart and commonly found in foods that help you sleep better. They naturally boost your serotonin levels. Almonds, walnuts, pistachios and cashews are all excellent choices if you’re looking for unsaturated fats.
- Dairy Dreams. Your mother wasn’t wrong when she said having a warm glass of milk before bed was a good idea! The combination of warmth from the liquid and calcium from the milk will indicate to the body that it is time to sleep. The calcium lends a hand to the brain so it can use tryptophan from dairy to create melatonin, which is a key element for sleep.
- Tea Time. Having a cup of tea before bed can also remedy sleeplessness. Make sure you choose a tea that does not have caffeine. For example, chamomile and passionfruit have been shown to help tea drinkers sleep better and relax your nerves and muscles.
- Leafy Greens. Green, leafy vegetables like kale, spinach and mustard greens all contain calcium, which aids in the production of melatonin as mentioned above. Lettuce is also one of the foods that helps you sleep better. It contains lactucarium, which assists the brain and helps the body to relax. If you’re having trouble falling asleep, consider making changes to your diet to include the foods mentioned above. All of these foods that help you sleep better are great choices and widely available.
