If the thought of sleep gives you nightmares, look at what you’re eating. The best foods to eat before bed might be able to offer you a much better night.
Getting good sleep can help reduce your of developing certain chronic illnesses, keep your brain healthy, and boost your immune system.
For this reason, it’s generally recommended that you get between 7-8 of uninterrupted sleep each night, though many people have a hard time getting enough.
There are many strategies that help promote good sleep, including making changes to your diet, as some foods and drinks have sleep-promoting properties. It’s also helpful to have your meals at consistent times daily.
Here are the 9 best foods and drinks you can have before bed to enhance your quality of sleep.
Getting good sleep can help reduce your of developing certain chronic illnesses, keep your brain healthy, and boost your immune system.
There are many strategies that help promote good sleep, including making changes to your diet, as some foods and drinks have sleep-promoting properties. It’s also helpful to have your meals at consistent times daily.
Here are the 9 best foods and drinks you can have before bed to enhance your quality of sleep.
Turkey
Source is delicious, nutritious, and high in protein, which is important for keeping your muscles strong and regulating your appetite. It also contains other nutrients like riboflavin, phosphorus, and selenium.
It also contains the amino acid tryptophan, which increases the production of melatonin and can have an drowsiness affect.
The protein in turkey may also contribute to its ability to promote tiredness. There’s Source that consuming moderate amounts of protein before bed is Source with better sleep quality, including less waking up throughout the night.
That said, more research is necessary to confirm turkey’s potential role in improving sleep.
Chamomile tea
Chamomile tea is a popular herbal tea that may offer a variety of health benefits.
It’s well known for its flavones. are a class of antioxidants that reduce the inflammation that often leads to chronic diseases, such as cancer and heart disease. In addition, chamomile tea has some unique properties that may help Source sleep quality.
A 2017 on older adults found that those who consumed 400 milligrams (mg) of oral capsules of chamomile twice daily for 4 weeks slept better than those who didn’t.
That said, more current research on chamomile tea specifically and sleep may be needed.
Kiwi
are a low-calorie and very nutritious fruit, and eating them may benefit your digestive health, reduce inflammation, and lower your cholesterol. These effects are due to the high of fiber and carotenoid antioxidants that they provide.
Kiwis may also be one of the best foods to eat before bed. The sleep-promoting effects of kiwis are sometimes attributed to serotonin. Serotonin is a brain chemical that helps regulate your sleep cycle. Eating a diet rich in fruit like kiwis may promote better sleep.
It’s also been suggested that the anti-inflammatory antioxidants in kiwis, such as vitamin C, may be partly responsible for their sleep-promoting effects.
However, more scientific evidence is needed to determine the effects that kiwis may have in improving sleep.
Tart cherry juice
Tart cherry provides modest amounts of a few important nutrients, such as magnesium phosphorus, and potassium. Additionally, it’s a rich of antioxidants.
Tart cherry juice is also known to promote sleepiness due to its high amounts of melatonin, and it’s even been for its role in relieving insomnia. For these reasons, drinking tart cherry juice before bed may improve your sleep quality.
That said, more extensive research is necessary to confirm the role of tart cherry juice in improving sleep and preventing insomnia.
Fatty fish
Fatty , such as salmon, tuna, trout, and mackerel, are incredibly healthy. What makes them unique is their exceptional amounts of vitamin D.
For example, a 3-ounce (85-gram) serving of sockeye salmon contains 570 international units (IU) of vitamin D. That’s 71% of your DV. A similar serving of farmed rainbow trout contains 81% of your DV.
Additionally, fatty fish are high in healthy omega-3 fatty acids, specifically acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)Trusted Source, which are known for reducing inflammation. In combination with the vitamin D in fatty fish, Omega-3 fatty acids may help against heart disease and boost brain health.
Walnuts
Source are a popular type of tree nut abundant in nutrients and a great source of healthy fats, including omega-3 fatty acids and linoleic acid.
Walnuts have been Source for their ability to reduce high cholesterol levels, which are a major risk factor for heart disease.
What’s more, some researchers claim that eating walnuts improves sleep quality, as they’re one of the best food sources of melatonin.
The fatty acid makeup of walnuts may also contribute to better sleep, according to a study on . More human studies are needed to support the claims about walnuts improving sleep.
Passionflower tea
Passionflower tea is another herbal tea that’s been traditionally used to treat a number of health ailments.
It’s a rich of flavonoid antioxidants, which are known for their role in reducing inflammation.
Additionally, passionflower tea has been Source for its potential to reduce the symptons of anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric disorers.
Specifically, the results of a small studyTrusted Source suggest that passionflower increases the production of the brain chemical gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA). GABA works to inhibit other brain chemicals that induce stress, such as glutamate.
The calming properties of passionflower tea may promote sleepiness, so it may be beneficial to drink it before going to bed.
White rice
White rice is a grain that’s widely consumed as a staple food in many countries.
The major difference between white and brown rice is that white rice has had its bran and germ removed. This makes it lower in fiber, nutrients, and antioxidants.
Nevertheless, white rice still contains a decent amount of a few vitamins and minerals.
It’s been suggested in older Source that eating foods with a high GI, such as white rice, at least 1 hour before bed may help improve sleep quality. That said, this research was based on professional athletes who may need to consume more cabrs than the average person.
Other foods and drinks that may promote sleep
Several other foods and drinks have sleep-promoting properties. For example, they may contain high amounts of nutrients such as tryptophan.
However, in some cases, there’s little research into their specific effects on sleep.
Dairy products: Dairy products, such as a glass of milk, cottage cheese, and plain yogurt, are known of tryptophan. Milk has been shown to improve sleep in older adults, especially when paired with light exercise.
Bananas: Banana are a modest source of magnesium. This may help you get a good night’s sleep.
Oatmeal: Similar to rice, oatmeal is high in carbs with a bit more fiber and has been reported to induce drowsiness when consumed before bed. Additionally, oats are a known sourceTrusted Source of melatonin.
