Just as food and drinks affect energy levels during the day, they impact sleep patterns at night, asserted Nashville-based Karman Meyer, registered dietitian and author of “Eat to Sleep: What to Eat and When to Eat It for a Good Night’s Sleep — Every Night.”
“Our bodies require certain nutrients in order to operate and produce important hormones involved in regulating our sleep cycles, and also manage stress,” she said.
Meyer’s best sleep-enhancing nutritional practices include:
1. Consume enough magnesium. The National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements recommends that healthy adult men should generally consume 400 to 420 milligrams of magnesium daily, and healthy adult women should consume 310 to 320 mg daily. “Magnesium-rich foods include leafy green vegetables, avocado, nuts and seeds, with pumpkin seeds being one of the best food sources of magnesium,” Meyer said.
2. Stay hydrated. “Dehydration can cause sleep-disruptive snoring, meaning more waking up throughout the night.” Meyer encouraged individuals to be mindful of reaching daily hydration needs: about 90 fluid ounces for women and 125 fluid ounces for men.
3. Consider natural melatonin. While supplements work, some foods and drinks contain the hormone that helps regulate the body’s internal clock to signal sleep time. Said Meyer, “Choose foods like tart cherry juice and almonds.”
In contrast, refined sugary foods and drinks and salty foods commonly disrupt a good night’s sleep, warned Meyer.
“The more sugar consumed during the day, the more likely you are to wake up in the middle of the night due to fluctuating, unstable blood sugar levels,” she said. “Rather than snacking on chips, sodas, candy and other sweet treats, choose whole fruits and whole grain snacks, like popcorn, to satisfy a sweet or salty craving.”
Meyer added that it is important for individuals not to head to bed feeling either too hungry or overstuffed. Two suggested healthy nighttime snacks are a few whole grain crackers and cubes of cheese or a banana with a spoonful of nut butter.
Verywellmind.com in January pointed out that alcohol and caffeine are other common sleep-depriving no-no’s before bedtime.
