by About 1 out of 3 Americans say that they are deprived of sleep, and these deficiencies are linked to serious illnesses such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and depression. Certain eating patterns can lead to more nightly rest, which translates into healthier and more fulfilling lives.
Good sleep stabilizes the body’s hunger hormones for less impulsive snacking the next day. “It’s a cycle,” says Marie-Pierre St-Onge, associate professor of nutrition and director of Columbia University’s Irving Center of Medical Excellence for Sleep and Circadian Research. “If you eat better, you’ll sleep better and you’ll be more refreshed. And that helps you make better decisions about your diet.”
Here’s what to eat for better sleep.
Have tryptophan the right way
The key to improving a night’s rest is choosing an eating regimen with plenty of sleep-promoting compounds. This does not come down to any one food or ingredient. “It’s more of a holistic profile with different helpful components,” says St-Onge.
One of these is tryptophan, a protein building block. The body does not do any of it. Instead, we get tryptophan from food: yes, turkey, but also fish, eggs, yogurt, and nuts like walnuts, among other examples. When he eats, tryptophan from the blood goes into the brain and becomes melatonin, the hormone that induces sleepiness for a nightly shuteye.
There’s not much trouble, though: not much tryptophan gets into the brain if other substances are competing for entry. But when we pair tryptophan-containing foods with healthy carbohydrates, like lentils or fruit, the cells throughout our body multiply the competitors, cleaning up. tryptophan pathway.
“We need tryptophan in association with carbohydrate-rich foods,” says Arman Arab, a postdoctoral fellow at Harvard Medical School who specializes in nutrition.
The Mediterranean diet is one regimen loaded with both tryptophan and healthy carbs – those with plenty of fiber. Like carbs, nutrients like zinc, B vitamins, and magnesium play a key role in converting tryptophan to melatonin for better sleep, and the Mediterranean diet delivers all of these components. Spinach, barley, and whole wheat are great mates for tryptophan-rich foods. Arabic recently found that people who follow the Mediterranean diet have better sleep quality and less insomnia. St-Onge has researched similar associations.
Avoid foods that cause inflammation
An ideal diet avoids foods with substances that can ruin your sleep. They include less healthy carbs like low-fiber, high-sugar cereals, bagels, and fruit juices. People who eat unhealthy carbs tend to wake up more often during the night, according to St-Onge’s research.
When eaten frequently, foods high in saturated fat (for example, beef and chicken with the skin) also contribute to sleep problems.
A common denominator between unhealthy carbs and saturated fats is that they both produce inflammation throughout the body, an issue associated with lower sleep quality and duration, says Arab. A diet full of these foods can also lead to weight gain, which can cause sleep apnea and pressure on the diaphragm, which further disrupts sleep.
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People can use the Dietary Inflammatory Index to score their daily consumption of inflammatory foods. Scores improve with plenty of healthy unsaturated fats, such as those in salmon, nuts and seeds. These foods are anti-inflammatory and prevalent in the Mediterranean diet – another reason this diet promotes sleep.
It’s best to have a wide variety of fruits and vegetables, says Erica Jansen, assistant professor of nutritional epidemiology at the University of Michigan. The variety can diffuse “single toxin exposure” such as pesticides or heavy metals – which can disrupt sleep – and ensures plenty of polyphenols and micronutrients that support sleep in part by lowering inflammation. Jansen found that when women increased their daily fruit and vegetable consumption by three servings, they significantly improved their sleep quality and insomnia symptoms.
Try other approaches with sleep “superfoods”.
While most research supports the Mediterranean regimen, other approaches may be just as beneficial if they offer the same nutrients and compounds that promote sleep. Aim for diets with lots of vegetables, low-sugar fruits, plant-based proteins, and unsaturated fats. “Such patterns probably affect sleep in the same way” as the Mediterranean approach, says St-Onge.
These strategies include the USDA’s Healthy Eating Index and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH. Arabs have not found a strong link between DASH and having fewer symptoms of insomnia, but other research suggests that it is helpful. The Chinese Healthy Eating Index, another eating pattern with many sleep-supporting ingredients, is associated with good sleep.
Some effects vary among individuals, so plug-and-play items to find out what boosts your sleep, even if they aren’t staples of a particular diet. A line of research shows Montmorency tart cherry juice, for example. It is full of melatonin, as are kiwis, nutritional yeast, pumpkin seeds, edamame, tofu, and dairy products.
Many ingredients high in fiber can also be found outside of the Mediterranean diet. These sleep-promoting foods include black beans, split peas, sweet potatoes, chia seeds, and flaxseeds.
Start eating early, stop eating early
Like most things in life, timing is of the essence. Research shows that having meals too close to bedtime can disrupt sleep. It is important that you eat food for the day a few hours before you turn in for the night.
This final meal could include a plant-based protein like tofu – which is filling, contains tryptophan, and keeps inflammation low – and a healthy carb like chickpeas to support the passage of tryptophan into the brain. Time is 2-4 hours before bed; that is how long it takes for your tryptophan levels in the body to peak.
Foods that are heavy or have too much sugar or spice, when eaten before bed, are especially likely to cause bloating, blood sugar spikes, and a night of tossing and turning, says Jansen.
Sleep is also disturbed at the other extreme: being really hungry at bedtime. To avoid this situation, start feeding in the morning. “Everywhere we look, individuals who eat breakfast sleep better,” says St-Onge. Keep the same time every day as much as possible, says Jansen. “Maintaining a consistent pattern is really important for sleep.”
Try the liquid loophole
There is an exception to the rule of returning feeding several hours before bed. Some of your favorite liquids could be pouring through this loophole. The research is inconclusive, but some teas, such as chamomile and lemon balm, have calming compounds that appear to improve sleep, at least for some “superresponders,” says St-Onge. Low-fat milk, rich in tryptophan, may also help. “There’s no harm in trying them” about an hour before bedtime; they are absorbed faster than food.
Melatonin supplements are another matter. While these pills may help with occasional bouts of insomnia or jet lag, even small doses “go beyond what’s needed for sleep,” an excess that can cause health problems with regular use, Jansen explains.
Feed your gut bugs
Food affects the bacteria in the digestive tract, known as the microbiome, and the right bacteria can help reduce inflammation. In theory, “If we can improve our microbiota, it could reduce inflammation in the body and lead to better sleep,” says Arab.
Some early research suggests that certain gut bacteria play a role in converting tryptophan into sleep hormones. A 2022 study found that mice given prebiotics had faster eye movement and other types of restful sleep. According to a recent research review, consumption of prebiotics and probiotics improves sleep quality in humans.
Instead of probiotic supplements, however, eating yogurt, kimchi, and other fermented foods will support the microbiome as part of a healthy, natural diet. More research is needed on “sleepbiotics,” whether pills or food, to determine their effect on sleep, Jansen says.
Be consistent
Some studies show that people who regularly follow these dietary patterns have better sleep outcomes than those who just dabble in them. Whichever sleep-promoting diet you choose, stick to it. For the biggest sleep improvements, “make sure you eat a healthy diet every day,” says St-Onge. “Give it a week or two” before you expect to see benefits.
Have a vegetable before breakfast
The relationship between food and sleep goes both ways. Just as a healthy diet with sleep-promoting compounds leads to better sleep, healthier food choices lead to better sleep. Likewise, less sleep alters hunger hormones for worse decisions. “After you sleep badly, you should be vigilant about a healthy diet to get back on track,” says St-Onge.
Jansen is a good example. As her one-year-old sleeps, “I remember that because I’ve been up all night, I’m going to want more energy-dense foods,” she says. “So I try not to give in to that.”
She also has a healthy breakfast to “get off on a good, nutritious footing”. A related strategy when sleep deprived is to start the day with a veggie starter. When people have a salad or other vegetables before a carb-heavy breakfast, their appetite and blood sugar tend to be more stable the rest of the day. This could prevent a cycle of several nights of poor sleep and poor nutrition. “You can break the cycle,” says St-Onge.
