Diet plays an integral role in sleep.

Adding these nutrients to your evening routine improves sleep quality.

Calcium-Rich Foods

Calciumhas multiple roles in sleep.

An image of a woman eating oatmeal with bananas and blueberries

Marko Jan / Getty Images

Maintaining adequate calcium levels helps with falling and staying asleep.

Additionally, calciums role in nerve signaling contributes to its effect on sleep.

Calcium regulates brain waves during the restful sleep phase (non-rapid eye movement sleep).

Dairy products, fatty fish with bones, and certain vegetables like kale and bok choy naturally contain calcium.

It is unclear exactly how iron affects sleep.

However, researchers believe irons role in neurotransmitter production influences its effect on sleep.

Supplementing with iron reduces symptoms ofrestless leg syndromeand may improve sleep quality, but additional research is necessary.

Iron is found inanimal and plant foods.

Cherries

Tart cherries are a good source ofmelatonin, a hormone important for sleep.

Melatonin levels fluctuate depending on the time of day.

Melatonin is higher in the evening to facilitate sleep and lower in the morning to help wake up.

Eating foods rich in melatonin increases it in the body.

Research shows that eating tart cherries or drinking tartcherry juiceraises melatonin levels to improve sleep quality and reduceinsomnia.

Daytime and artificial light inhibit the bodys ability to produce melatonin.

Oats

Oatsare a great source offiberand other nutrients beneficial for sleep, like iron, calcium, and magnesium.

Theglycemic indexreflects how much a food raisesblood sugar.

However, insulin release sometimes causesblood sugar to dip too low(hypoglycemia).

When this occurs, the body compensates by releasing hormones likecortisolandadrenalineto increase blood sugar.

Thesefluctuations in blood sugaraffect sleep quality.

Oatsare alow-glycemic food, meaning they have less impact on blood sugar.

A high-fiber diet is linked to more restorative sleep and improved sleep quality.

Bananas

Bananas are a great source ofpotassium.

One study shows potassium levels fluctuate based oncircadian rhythms.

Changes in potassium levels may reflect nerve and brain cell activity that occurs with sleep and wakefulness.

However, despite these natural fluctuations, lower potassium concentrations are associated with worsened sleep quality.

Almonds

Almondscontain sleep-enhancing nutrients likepotassium, magnesium, calcium, tryptophan, and melatonin.

TheDASHdiet (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension diet) emphasizes foods rich in potassium and magnesium.

One study found that the high potassium content of theDASH dietreduced sleepiness and sleep issues among women.

Moreover, consuming foods high in potassium, magnesium, and fiber improves sleep quality in women.

Valerian rootis an herbal supplement traditionally used as a sedative.

Regularly drinking valerian root tea may help you fall asleep more quickly and improve sleep quality and deep sleep.

Chamomile teahas been used as a tranquilizer for thousands of years.It relaxes the body and improves sleep quality.

Traditional medicine useslemon balmfordigestive issuesandanxiety.

Turkey

Tryptophanis a protein (amino acid) in turkey that makes people sleepy.

The body breaks down tryptophan into melatonin, causing you to feeltired after eatinglarge portions of turkey.

Tryptophan crosses the blood-brain barrier to release the neurotransmitterserotonin, which is then converted into melatonin.

Consuming tryptophan withcarbohydratesallows more to cross the blood-brain barrier, resulting in greater melatonin production.

Leafy Greens

Leafy green vegetableslikespinachandkaleare goodsources of magnesium, potassium, and calcium.

This is especially important if you’ve had trouble sleeping for over two weeks.

Summary

Changing your diet may improve your sleep.

Consider eating sleep-enhancing foods and pairing them together to help even more with sleep.

For example, make oatmeal with milk, bananas, cherries, and almonds for a bedtime snack.

Check with your healthcare provider if you have trouble sleeping for over two weeks.

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