What to eat for better sleep
We all know what it’s like to trudge through a day after a night of bad sleep. Not only can poor sleep debilitate productivity, it can influence your appetite and eating behaviors. What’s more, sleeping poorly on a consistent basis can increase your risk of illness, injury and lengthier recovery from daily stressors, such as a hard workout. Sleeping well can help keep important metabolic hormones in balance, while sleeping poorly can throw them off.
The general recommendation for optimal sleep is to aim for seven to nine hours of uninterrupted, restful slumber every night. Optimal sleep has to do with many factors other than purely how long you slept. This includes your sleep quality, the architecture of your sleep and individual sleep patterns. How restful was your night’s sleep? Do you often feel groggy when you wake up? How long does it take you to fall asleep? How many times did you wake up through the night? Upon first glance, it probably seems like these factors are out of your control while you’re unconscious in a sleeping state, dreaming, processing and consolidating memories and information. However, making strategic nutrition changes can help influence these seemingly uncontrollable factors and contribute to better sleep quality and duration.
There are several pathways through which dietary intake can affect sleep. One is through your circadian clock, which is your body’s 24-hour sleep-wake cycle. Your circadian clock helps regulate metabolic hormones whose levels fluctuate throughout the day, one of these being the sleep hormone melatonin. As the sun goes down in the evenings, the change in light signals the body to release melatonin to help us wind down to rest and relax.
Sleep deprivation has been shown to negatively affect appetite regulating hormones by increasing levels of hormones that make us hungry and decreasing levels of hormones that make us feel full. If you do shift work, are up late watching Netflix or are fighting your internal clock, this could lead
to irregular eating behaviors and food choices. Being awake for extended periods of time can also create opportunities to eat more often and later at night, which can further confuse your body and metabolism.
In research, a standard healthy eating pattern has been associated with higher sleep quality. This includes minimal processed and sugar-sweetened foods, and higher consumption of foods in line with an anti-inflammatory Mediterranean pattern of eating. There is an established relationship between higher levels of inflammation and inadequate sleep. Proper intake of plant-based foods, whole grains, fruits, vegetables and omega-3 fatty acids found in oily fish, nuts and avocado can help reduce neuroinflammation. While more studies are needed on the specifics of nutrition and sleep, especially related to certain foods and supplements, there is solid evidence that strategic food choices and timing can help you sleep better.
Let’s zoom in on timing. It’s not uncommon for people to eat a bedtime snack, particularly if dinner was early or if you have a case of the munchies while watching TV. Usually, we’re not reaching for fruits and vegetables at this time; instead, we often seek out something sweet, savory or highly palatable, such as chips or ice cream. We want to minimize such choices and use this time to fuel our bodies with food to help you catch more z’s. Following are some nutrition considerations to employ in a snack at least one hour before bed:
Prepare for bed with presleep protein: Tryptophan is an amino acid the body needs to make serotonin and melatonin — both of which are implicated in sleep regulation. Protein foods high in tryptophan cross the bloodbrain barrier to reach your brain and amp up melatonin production. Foods with the most favorable tryptophan content are those with whey protein, which is found in milk-based products. A dose of tryptophan as low as 1 gram can help you sleep more soundly. You can enjoy a healthy serving of tryptophan in 2-3 ounces of lean turkey or chicken or 1 cup of low-fat cottage cheese.
Pair carbohydrates with your protein: Pairing a source of tryptophan-rich protein with complex carbohydrates, such as beans or whole grains, has a variety of positive effects on sleep. The digestion of such carbohydrates encourages the production of short-chain fatty acids, which benefit the gut-brain connection and reduce inflammation. Additionally, certain carbohydrates — potatoes, wheat and white bread, oats and rice cakes, to name a few — can actually boost the availability of tryptophan and serotonin.
Benefit from fruity antioxidants: Your circadian clock responds to bioactive compounds and phytonutrients that are found abundantly in fruits. Because antioxidants can help counteract the inflammation associated with poor sleep, you can’t go wrong with the type of fruit you choose. Kiwi fruits have been studied for their potential to help decrease the time it takes to fall asleep. The sleeppromoting effects of kiwi are said to be a result of their high serotonin content, which is a precursor for melatonin. If you have serotonin, then you have the capacity to make more melatonin and possibly achieve better sleep. Aside from fruit, other foods with antioxidant properties that have been studied as potential bedtime snacks include almonds, walnuts and chamomile tea, some of which are also food sources of serotonin or melatonin.
Try tart cherry juice: Circling back to fruity antioxidants, tart or montmorency cherries have both a high antioxidant capacity and are a significant source of melatonin. Compared to sweet cherries, tart cherries have 20 times the vitamin A and more than twice the polyphenols. Due to this antioxidant profile, tart cherries have been studied and used as part of recovery for athletic performance in addition to helping promote better sleep. One particular study had participants consume 8 ounces of tart cherry juice daily over a twoweek period, which was shown to improve sleep time, quality and symptoms of insomnia. You can purchase tart cherry juice at most grocery stores. The Cheribundi brand sells individual 8 ounce servings; if you’re watching your blood sugar, Cheribundi also makes a low-sugar version.
Emma Willingham is a registered dietitian who practices in an outpatient hospital clinic and through her private practice, Fuel with Emma. Willingham specializes in sports-performance nutrition, weight management and nutrition counseling, and aims to promote a resilient relationship between food, mind and body. You can find her on social media at @fuelwithemma.