Sleep Foods: The Top 15 Foods That Help You Sleep Better

Sleeping troubles? In this article, we’ll share a list of foods that help you sleep better.

Overview

After a significantly challenging day, all you want to do is kick back and relax for a few hours before you go back to the same routine again. Research shows that 7-9 hours of undisturbed sleep is essential for your body to regain its energy, to be able to bounce back. While being able to sleep enough is important, eating the right foods at the right time is equally vital.

Best Sleep Foods

If you face trouble with sleeping, you might want to first fix any habits that compromise your sleep schedule. For instance, eating too much and going right to bed. Your everyday dinner shouldn’t be too heavy and you should give your body enough time before going to bed.

Several people do want to fix their schedules but are unaware of what is to be done and how it is to be done. There are a variety of things to do that help you sleep better but how about just eating the right foods?

1. Almonds

Almonds have been known for their nutritional values and health benefits. It is the most recommended food for people looking to improve their sleep quality. Almonds are a rich source of melatonin which is a hormone that helps you sleep.

This is of course a natural form of melatonin. Although synthetic melatonin used to treat insomnia and other sleep disorders is also available. Almonds are also a great source of magnesium that leads to consistent sleep patterns.

2. Figs

While figs do have an abundant amount of other health benefits, they are also highly rich in magnesium. Magnesium helps you destress and also control and balance your metabolism leading to an improved pattern of sleep. Figs are also used and recommended to people suffering from insomnia and have proven to be beneficial.

3. Olive Oil

Using olive oil in cooking has many surprising benefits, mainly that it is healthy for your heart. Olive oil is highly recommended for people with insomnia because of its properties that help calm your nerves, improve sleep-wake cycles, and thus make you fall asleep faster.

4. Warm Milk

Apart from all the benefits milk provides, it also contains an amino acid called ‘tryptophan’. When tryptophan is released into the brain it releases a chemical called ‘serotonin’ which triggers happiness and helps you relax. Serotonin then catalyzes melatonin, the hormone that regulates sleep patterns; making it one of the best foods that help you sleep better.

5. Pistachio

Pistachios are known to have the highest amount of melatonin among nuts. Research also proves that roasted pistachios contain higher levels of melatonin as compared to raw pistachios which is why roasted pistachios are widely recommended.

Pistachios also contain phenolics that block tryptophan from dividing into toxic compounds which results in helping you doze off.

6. Cucumber

Cucumber is the most recommended healthy snack when it comes to weight loss but did you know cucumber also helps improve sleep quality?

Cucumber helps calm your nerves and helps you destress. It has melatonin which also helps with anxiety and thus leads to faster sleep.

7. Kiwi

Kiwi is a fruit that has high levels of serotonin. The serotonin in it helps reduce anxiety, trigger happy, and enables you to sleep peacefully. Kiwifruit is also rich in anti-oxidant properties that result in improved sleep. Research proves that poor sleep schedules are associated with lower levels of antioxidants in the body. 2 kiwis at the most, before you go to bed should be enough to make you feel sleepy.

8. Herbal Tea

Herbal teas have proven to relax nerves and help an individual relax. It also helps you destress and rest. The most recommended herbal tea is ‘Chamomile tea’. It reduces anxiety, induces sleep, and is also caffeine-free. ‘Green tea’ and ‘Lavender tea’ are additional herbal teas that contain an amino acid called ‘theanine’ which helps to induce sleep.

9. Barley Grass Powder

Barley grass powder works as a natural detoxifier. It boosts your immunity and also might help you lose weight, but it is also rich in chemicals and minerals like magnesium and tryptophan that enhance sleep quality.

10. Walnuts

Walnuts are an excellent source of tryptophan that helps make serotonin and melatonin. Melatonin helps induce sleep while serotonin prevents too many Rapid Eye Movement (REM) cycles

11. Prunes

Prunes are extraordinarily rich in nutrients and have various health benefits. They’re rich in antioxidants and also in magnesium. Both of which help induce sleep and also improve the quality of sleep. Prunes alongside any healthy toast is an exceptional combo you could opt for when preparing your pre-sleep meal.

12. Corn

Like most other superfoods, corn also has several health benefits. For instance, it helps with reducing the risk of anemia and also works wonders for those who want to lose weight. Apart from that, corn is also high in melatonin and rich in antioxidants that relieve you from stress.

13. Oatmeal

Most people would prefer to have oatmeal for breakfast but a nice bowl of oatmeal could help you fall asleep too. The grains present in oatmeal increase the production of insulin in your body. That’s why its called one of the best foods that help you sleep better.

14. Turkey

Turkey is also extremely rich in tryptophan, the amino acid that helps metabolize serotonin and melatonin. About two servings of turkey are enough to make you drowsy and trigger sleep.

15. Broccoli

Not many would opt for broccoli as their bedtime snack but broccoli is certainly rich in tryptophan which helps induce sleep.

This vegetable is also rich in fiber which makes it hard to digest faster hence too much would keep your body working during the night. But a small bowl of broccoli, just the right amount of it, should positively impact your sleep cycles.

Also Read: Foods To Avoid Before Bed

Best Sleep Foods: Wrap Up

An array of information proves how important sleep is for your body. Compromising on your sleep is more like compromising on your health. Lack of sleep will make it difficult for your body to be able to reenergize and perform any task. It affects concentration and reduces your ability to focus on things. On the contrary, oversleeping too has its fair share of problems. Hence, sleeping just the right amount will help you focus and be alert.

There are a good number of ways through which you can improve and fix your sleep schedule but the most effective is when you attempt to eat right and on time. It not only helps with your sleep schedule but could also fix many other issues like reducing the growing rate of having chronic illnesses.

For the above-listed foods to be helpful, it’s best to eat and wait for a while before you go to bed. At least for an hour or you could be facing digestive problems.

The 2 main chemicals responsible to induce sleep are melatonin and serotonin. Fortunately enough, the above-mentioned foods are rich in either one of them and can help you fix your sleep schedule.