Snack Time for Sleep Time

By Clair Gardiner

2 min read

This is something that I have been exploring more and more of late. I feel rather strongly that the food we eat affects us to a large extent. Even when I am doubting myself, I am often shown differently.

When children are small, we will often put substantial effort into making sure we feed them certain foods at certain times. High sugar earlier in the day, so it has time to work out and something wholesome at night to help them sleep better.

People will swear by the fact that certain foods help them sleep better and their children, too. One that is popular in my family is oats. Yep, oats for dinner makes for better sleeping in our experience.

Choosing foods with nutritional value

Telling us what magic is within certain foods and arming us with the knowledge we need helps us to make decisions for our bodies. By using this information, you can make the best choices and learn a thing or 2 along the way.

The foods that help me sleep better are foods that are rich in magnesium, melatonin (sleepy hormone), and even serotonin (mood stabilizer). If you want to get real serious about it, a food diary that spans over at least 2 to 4 weeks will give you a good idea if there are some foods helping.

Importantly, it will also show if there are foods aggravating it. While this seems like a mission, you only need to do it for a while, and it can have significant results.

Foods that help me sleep

Honey can stimulate the production of melatonin, and it only takes a teaspoon. It may also help to somewhat subdue orexins, which are responsible for keeping us awake. Some honey before bed can help slow you down and relax. I like taking mine in a cup of Melissa or chamomile tea.

Oats are rich in amino acids, which promote the manufacturing of melatonin in your body.

Bananas, while generally known for boosting our energy and concentration, they are also a great source of magnesium which helps to relax the muscles. Bananas are also well-known for helping produce melatonin in our bodies.

Almonds are also a great source for magnesium.

Sounds like a bowl of oats with honey, banana, and almonds is the way to go.

Foods I avoid at bedtime

Just as there are foods that are good for us and could assist in better quality sleep, there is always the opposite, food that really just does not agree with sleep. They could cause a level of discomfort and aggravate your already struggling sleep cycle.

Alcohol, while this may make you feel sleepier after a glass of an alcoholic drink, alcohol can actually inhibit deep sleep.

Caffeine, may seem like an obvious culprit for struggling to sleep. We do not always realise how long the effects of caffeine stays within our bodies.

Chilli and spicy food, you could get some indigestion from this, and the capsaicin in the spices often affects your body temperature. This could make for less than ideal sleeping circumstances.

These are the things that affect and help me. I find that eating a little while before bedtime also makes a big difference. While none of these will sort the insomnia out completely, it could help a bit.

Do you find that there are any main culprits that make it worse for you or help you substantially?

This article represents the opinions, thoughts, and experiences of the author; none of this content has been paid for by any advertiser. The Insomnia.Sleep-Disorders.net team does not recommend or endorse any products or treatments discussed herein. Learn more about how we maintain editorial integrity here.

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AnneMarieNa Member
Many great cooking recipes at 10minutegoodies cooking blog (<a href='https://10minutegoodies.com' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer ugc'>10minutegoodies.com</a>) And especially an oat banana cake - which will help you sleep better!
CommunityMember5b9439 Member
I suspect caffeine is my downfall. I love diet (and regular) colas and black tea. I have been cutting down on the amount of caffeine (as in cans of soda) and I am trying to figure out how early in the day that I need to stop with the caffeine. It's difficult to go cold turkey because of the awful caffeine withdrawal headaches; been there, done that. I have found some decent-tasting decaffeinated black tea that I've been drinking in the evenings because tea, even decaf, contains l-theanine, which is known to relax people in preparation for sleep (l-theanine helps me relax, anyway.) I have also found that eating carbs (as in spaghetti) for dinner has made me sleepy, even when I didn't want to go to sleep yet. I don't drink alcohol and avoid spicy foods due to GERD issues, so they aren't a factor in my insomnia. I read online about ingesting a teaspoon of raw, organic honey with some sea salt sprinkled in. I tried that a few times before I started taking magnesium, but with the magnesium issues that I was having, I didn't want to add any more glucose to my body (think it was the glycinate that was energizing me instead of calming me.) Anyway, there is a theory that honey taken before bedtime will provide enough energy to keep you staying asleep at night, which is an bigger problem for me than going to sleep. 
1. Lori.Foster Community Admin
 Hi <inline-mention username="CommunityMember5b9439" user-id="8583933"/>. Caffeine probably is countering some of your efforts to sleep, though it's hard to say for sure. Some people drink caffeine well into the evening and are barely affected by it. Many experts say to avoid all caffeine after 2 p.m. though if you are having trouble sleeping. One way to reduce your caffeine intake without the headache is to dilute it over time. For instance, drink coffee that is half decaf and half caffeinated and increase the amount of decaf every week or so until you are finally drinking decaf only. You can also steep your black tea for less than a minute instead of two or three minutes. I also like to have unsweetened ice tea with lots of lemon on summer evenings. By the time the ice melts, the caffeine is well-diluted. Chamomile tea can also be a great choice in the evening since it thought to induce sleep. I hope this helps and that you can eventually kick the evening caffeine habit. - Lori (Team Member)