Sometimes sleep just doesn’t come easy, no matter how exhausted your brain and body may feel. If you are one of the many people who don’t feel comfortable taking prescription sleeping aids and want a more natural alternative to help with getting to sleep, one of the easiest things you can do is change your eating habits.
- Oatmeal with Milk or Walnuts: A good snack to have before bedtime because it combines carbohydrates with protein.
- Yogurt: A great food because it’s about half carbohydrates and half protein.
- Hummus: Eat this with some pita for a perfect mix of both protein (from the chickpeas) and carbohydrates.
- Warm Milk: Has tryptophan, and there’s also the soothing aspect of sipping a warm beverage.
- Bananas: Contain tryptophan, melatonin, seratonin, and magnesium, which can act as a muscle relaxant. Try them with some peanut butter and toast.
- Turkey: While it’s a well-known source of tryptophan, almost any type of poultry has similar amounts of it. Try eating half a turkey or chicken sandwich.
- Potatoes: Contain both tryptophan and carbohydrates, so eating a few as a small snack before bed could help you sleep.
- Almonds: Have both tryptophan and magnesium, so you could also try adding these to your oatmeal.
- Tart Cherries: Contain melatonin, which helps regulate sleep. These are the sour ones used in pies, not so much the sweet Bing cherries that you can eat plain.
