Eat These Surprising Foods Before Bed For The Best Sleep: Tips From A Nutritionist

Struggling to get a good night’s sleep? You’re not alone. A survey revealed that 51% of adults felt they weren’t getting enough sleep. While stress and lifestyle factors play a role, what you eat during the day and before bed can make a big difference.

Balancing your blood sugars throughout the day is key to a good night's sleep. But, beyond that, hormones like melatonin and serotonin can be supported through certain foods and nutrients, while others can disrupt your sleep cycle entirely. The key is to choose foods that naturally support relaxation and balance blood sugar levels, preventing wake-ups in the middle of the night.

In this article, Natalie Louise Burrows, nutritional therapist and clinical director at Integral Wellness, explores the best foods to eat before bed to help you sleep better and what to avoid if you want to wake up feeling refreshed.

Why food matters for a good night sleep

The connection between food and sleep is more powerful than most people realise. The nutrients across your day and in your evening meal can affect:

• Melatonin production – this “sleep hormone” helps regulate your circadian rhythm. Without it, sleep is hard to come by but melatonin requires certain nutrients and low stress in order to be produced.
• Serotonin levels – often called the “feel-good” or “happy” hormone, serotonin is a precursor to melatonin and relies on key nutrients, good gut health and amino acids such as glycine to be produced.
• Blood sugar balance – spikes and crashes in blood sugar don’t just disrupt your day. The rollercoaster ride of blood sugars continues into the night and can lead to nighttime wake-ups, especially around 2-3 am. Sound familiar?
• Muscle relaxation and nervous system support – key minerals like magnesium, zinc, calcium, and vitamins, including B6, help the body wind down.

Choosing the right foods throughout the day and before bed gives you a deeper, more restorative sleep. You’ll wake up ready for the day ahead, which will help you make better health choices, too. 

The best foods to eat before bed

Tryptophan-rich foods

Tryptophan is an amino acid that the body converts into serotonin and melatonin, both of which promote sleep.

Best sources:

• Turkey and chicken
• Greek yoghurt
• Nuts and seeds (almonds, walnuts, pumpkin seeds)
• Cheese

How to eat them:

Turkey and chicken are great protein choices for the end-of-day meal. A small serving of Greek yoghurt with nuts and seeds, a slice of cheese with whole-grain crackers or a nighttime smoothie (recipe below) can be a good pre-bedtime snack.

Magnesium is known as nature’s relaxation mineral. It’s used in over 300 different processes in the body. It helps relax muscles, calm the nervous system, and regulate serotonin and melatonin.

Magnesium-packed foods

Magnesium is known as nature’s relaxation mineral. It’s used in over 300 different processes in the body. It helps relax muscles, calm the nervous system, and regulate serotonin and melatonin.

Best sources:

• Bananas
• Almonds and cashews
• Dark chocolate (at least 70% cacao)
• Leafy greens (kale, spinach, collard greens, turnip greens, and mustard greens)

How to eat them:

Try a handful of almonds or a small banana* with almond butter an hour before bed to support magnesium (and tryptophan) levels.

*If you have pre- or type 2 diabetes, you may want to skip bananas to improve your blood sugar control.

Carbohydrates help transport tryptophan into the brain, making it easier for your body to produce sleep-promoting hormones. However, refined carbs like white bread, pasta, rice and sugary snacks can have the opposite effect. They increase blood sugar and can lead to nighttime wake-ups and a blood sugar rollercoaster, leaving you even more tired in the morning.

Complex carbohydrates

Carbohydrates help transport tryptophan into the brain, making it easier for your body to produce sleep-promoting hormones. However, refined carbs like white bread, pasta, rice and sugary snacks can have the opposite effect. They increase blood sugar and can lead to nighttime wake-ups and a blood sugar rollercoaster, leaving you even more tired in the morning.

Best sources:

• Oats (choose organic and oat bran for more fibre)
• Flax seeds (ground or soaked)
• Whole grains (quinoa, wild rice)
• Root vegetables like sweet potatoes (with the skin on)
• Chickpeas, lentils, black beans

How to eat them:

Make your evening meal a blood sugar-friendly choice with complex carbohydrates and/or root vegetables, leafy greens and chicken or turkey. 

The best bedtime drinks

It’s not just food that helps you into a peaceful night’s sleep. Certain drinks can naturally promote relaxation and improve sleep quality, too.

Best options:

• Chamomile tea – contains apigenin, an antioxidant that binds to receptors in the brain to reduce anxiety and promote sleep.
• Tart cherry juice – the compound in these particular cherries shares a similar shape to melatonin, helping flood melatonin receptors and improve sleep duration.
• Lavender tea - drinking lavender tea (with or without chamomile) before bed may help lower heart rate and blood pressure, signalling to the body that it’s time to wind down.
• Passionflower - rich in flavonoids that boost GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) levels in the brain, a neurotransmitter that helps reduce brain activity and promote relaxation.
• Hops are another compound that interacts with GABA receptors; hops can help calm the nervous system and reduce restlessness.

How to drink them:

Sip on a warm herbal tea or a small glass of tart cherry juice about 30-60 minutes before bed.

Foods to avoid before bed

While some foods promote sleep, others can disrupt it. As mentioned, a blood sugar rollercoaster during the day will continue at night, as it is the most common reason people struggle to achieve a good night's sleep. Waking up tired is one of the most significant signs of insulin resistance, a driver of many common symptoms (fatigue, frequent illness, stubborn weight) and modern-day conditions, including type 2 diabetes.

Here are the biggest culprits:

• Sugary snacks and refined carbs – cause blood sugar spikes and crashes that can wake you up at night, leave you feeling sluggish the next day and create energy crashes during the day, too. It’s a vicious cycle that’s worth breaking.
• Caffeine-containing foods and drinks – chocolate, coffee, black tea, and energy- can keep you wired for hours. The half-life of caffeine is approximately 6 hours so keep all caffeine drinks to before midday for the best chance of a good night's sleep.
• Spicy and acidic foods – these can cause acid reflux** or general digestive discomfort, making sleeping harder.
• High-fat and greasy foods – take longer to digest, which can lead to feeling full and uncomfortable, and won’t help when you want to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

**Silent reflux or acid reflux can be a symptom of long-term PPI use and/or gallbladder issues (including if you don’t have a gallbladder). If this is keeping you up at night, consider working with a nutritional therapist who can support you to get rid of your reflux for good.

What about lifestyle changes for better sleep?

• Time your last meal wisely - eating too close to bedtime can cause digestive discomfort, but going to bed hungry can also disrupt sleep. Aim to eat your last meal at least 3 hours before bed.
• Create a relaxing evening ritual - pair your sleep-supporting foods with other calming activities like reading, stretching, yoga nidra, a bath and book or deep breathing.
• Keep portions moderate - a light snack is usually okay, but eating your main meal or simply overeating too close to bedtime can lead to poor digestion and restless sleep.

Try incorporating some sleep-friendly foods, drinks and routines into your day and evening and see how they impact your sleep.

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