ANearly 1 in 3 Americans report lack of sleep, and these deficiencies are linked to serious illnesses like heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, and depression. Certain eating patterns can lead to more nightly rest, which can translate into healthier, more fulfilling lives.
Good sleep also balances the body’s hunger hormones, leading to less impulsive snacking the next day. “It’s a cycle,” says Marie-Pierre St-Onge, MD, associate professor of nutrition and director of Sleep and Circadian Research at Columbia University Irving Medical Center. “If you eat better, you sleep better, and you’re more rested. That helps you make better decisions about your diet.”
What should you eat for a better sleep?
Get Tryptophan the Right Way
The key to improving nighttime sleep is choosing a diet that includes plenty of sleep-supportive ingredients. It’s not specific to any one food or ingredient. “It’s more of a holistic profile with a variety of helpful ingredients,” St-Onge says.
One of these is tryptophan, a building block of protein. The body doesn’t produce any. Instead, we get tryptophan from food: turkey, yes, but also fish, eggs, yogurt, and nuts like walnuts, to name a few. When eaten, tryptophan passes from the blood into the brain and turns into melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone for a night’s sleep.
But there’s a problem: Not much tryptophan gets to the brain if other substances are competing for a way in. But when we pair foods that contain tryptophan with healthy carbs like lentils or fruit, the cells in our bodies eat up the competitors and clear the way for tryptophan.
“We need tryptophan along with carbohydrate-rich foods,” says Arman Arab, a postdoctoral researcher specializing in nutrition at Harvard Medical School.
The Mediterranean diet is a regime full of both tryptophan and healthy carbohydrates—those with lots of fiber. Carbohydrates, as well as nutrients like zinc, B vitamins, and magnesium, play a role in converting tryptophan into melatonin for better sleep, and the Mediterranean diet provides all of these components. Spinach, barley, and whole wheat are great companions for tryptophan-rich foods. Arab recently found that people on the Mediterranean diet had better sleep quality and less insomnia. St-Onge has studied similar relationships.
Avoid foods that cause inflammation
An ideal diet eliminates foods that contain substances that can disrupt your sleep. These include less healthy carbs, such as low-fiber, high-sugar cereals, bagels, and fruit juices. People who eat unhealthy carbs tend to wake up more often at night, St-Onge’s research suggests.
Foods high in saturated fat (e.g. beef with skin, chicken) can also cause sleep problems when consumed frequently.
The common denominator between unhealthy carbs and saturated fats is that both cause inflammation in the body, a problem that has been linked to poorer sleep quality and duration, says Arab. A diet full of these foods can also lead to excess weight gain, which can further disrupt sleep by causing sleep apnea and putting pressure on the diaphragm.
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People can use the Dietary Inflammation Index to score their daily intake of inflammatory foods. Scores improve with plenty of healthy, unsaturated fats, such as those found in salmon, nuts, and seeds. These foods are anti-inflammatory and common in the Mediterranean diet, another reason why this diet may promote sleep.
Having a wide variety of fruits and vegetables is your best bet, says Erica Jansen, an assistant professor of nutritional epidemiology at the University of Michigan. Variety can diffuse “any exposure to toxicants,” such as pesticides or heavy metals, that can disrupt sleep, and provides plenty of polyphenols and micronutrients that support sleep, in part by reducing inflammation. Jansen found that when women increased their daily fruit and vegetable intake by three servings, they significantly improved their sleep quality and symptoms of insomnia.
Try other approaches with sleep ‘superfoods’
While the Mediterranean regimen is supported by the most research, other approaches may be just as beneficial if they offer the same sleep-promoting nutrients and ingredients. Aim for diets that include lots of vegetables, low-sugar fruits, plant-based proteins, and unsaturated fats. “These types of patterns likely impact sleep in the same way as the Mediterranean approach,” St-Onge says.
These strategies include the USDA’s Healthy Eating Index and Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension, or DASH. Arab didn’t find a strong link between DASH and fewer insomnia symptoms, but some other research suggests it is helpful. The Chinese Healthy Eating Index, another diet that contains many sleep-supporting ingredients, is also associated with good sleep.
Some effects vary from person to person, so plug and play items to find what boosts your sleep, even if they’re not a staple in a particular diet. A number of studies point to tart Montmorency cherry juice, for example. Kiwifruit is packed with melatonin, as are nutritional yeast, pumpkin seeds, edamame, tofu, and dairy products.
Many fiber-rich ingredients can be found beyond the Mediterranean diet. These sleep-inducing foods include black beans, peas, sweet potatoes, chia seeds, and flaxseeds.
Start eating early, stop eating early
Like most things in life, timing is important. Studies show that eating too close to bedtime can interfere with sleep. It’s important to finish eating throughout the day a few hours before bedtime.
This last meal could include a plant-based protein like tofu (which is filling, contains tryptophan, and keeps inflammation down) and a healthy carb like chickpeas, which promote the transfer of tryptophan to the brain. Time it 2-4 hours before bedtime; that’s how long it takes for tryptophan levels in the body to peak.
Heavy foods or foods with a lot of sugar or spice, especially when eaten right before bed, are more likely to cause bloating, blood sugar spikes, and tossing and turning throughout the night, Jansen says.
Sleep is disrupted at the other extreme: Being really hungry at bedtime. To avoid this scenario, start your morning feeding early. “No matter where we look, people who eat breakfast sleep better,” St-Onge says. Keep the same schedule as much as possible every day, Jansen adds. “It’s really important to keep a consistent schedule for sleep.”
Try fluid deficit
There’s one exception to the rule of finishing your meal a few hours before bedtime. You can drink some of your favorite liquids during this gap. The research isn’t conclusive, but various teas, such as chamomile and lemon balm, appear to have relaxing compounds that may improve sleep, at least for some “super responders,” St-Onge says. Low-fat milk, which is rich in tryptophan, may also help. “There’s no harm in trying these,” she says, about an hour before bedtime; they’re absorbed more quickly 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,” and regular use can lead to health problems, Jansen explains.
Nourish your gut bacteria
Food affects the bacteria in your digestive system, known as your 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,” Arab says.
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 more rapid eye movement and other forms of restful sleep. According to a recent research review, consuming prebiotics and probiotics improves sleep quality in humans.
But eating yogurt, kimchi, and other fermented foods instead of probiotic supplements will support the microbiome as part of a natural, healthy diet. Jansen says more research is needed on “sleep biotics,” whether they’re pills or foods, to know their effects on sleep.
Be consistent
Several studies show that people who follow these dietary patterns regularly have better sleep outcomes than those who just try them. Whatever sleep-promoting diet you choose, stick with it. For the biggest improvements in sleep, “make sure you’re eating a healthy diet every day,” St-Onge says. “Wait a week or two” before you expect to see benefits.
Eat a vegetable before breakfast
The relationship between food and sleep is two-way. Just as a healthy diet that includes sleep-promoting ingredients leads to better sleep, better sleep leads to healthier food choices. Likewise, less sleep can trigger hunger hormones to lead to poorer decisions. “After poor sleep, you have to be extra careful about a healthy diet to get back on track,” St-Onge says.
Jansen is a good example. When she sees her 1-year-old disrupting her sleep, she says, “I keep in mind that I’m going to want more energy-dense foods because I’m up all night.” “So I try not to give in to that.”
She also has a healthy breakfast to “start off on a good note.” A related strategy for sleep deprivation is to start the day with a vegetable. When people eat a salad or other vegetable before a carb-heavy breakfast, their appetite and blood sugar tend to be more stable for the rest of the day. This can prevent a few nights of bad sleep and poor nutrition. “You can break the cycle,” St-Onge says.