12 Superfoods That Promote Great Sleep

Studies have shown how important a good night’s sleep is to your overall health, however waking rested and revitalized is often hard to achieve. In this day and age, with the daily stresses and demands placed on our shoulders, sleep is just as crucial as eating healthy and working out.

So, to ensure you get great sleep every single night, it’s important that you’re mentally and physically relaxed at bedtime. With that being said, today I’ll go over 12 superfoods that promote great sleep, allows your mind and body to relax, and helps you wake energized. Let’s dive in!

The 12 Foods You Should Eat Before Bed:

1. Almonds
   Almonds alongside many other nuts are rich in a chemical called melatonin, this chemical regulates your body clock. When your brain recognizes it’s getting close to bed time it releases melatonin to increase feelings of drowsiness and sooth the mind. This is your body’s way of saying; hey, it’s bed time. Almonds should be consumed one hour before bed in order to really feel the benefits.
2. Turkey
   Turkey and other food sources contain and amino acid known as tryptophan. This amino acid regulates and helps increase your body’s serotonin production. Optimal levels of serotonin are required for a great night’s sleep, plus it aids in keeping the body mentally and physically relaxed throughout the night.
3. Kiwi
   Kiwi is one of the most beneficial fruits a human can consume. It’s rich in powerful anti-oxidants as well as other vitamins and minerals. Also, it’s rich in serotonin. As discussed above, serotonin plays a crucial role in the maintenance of a healthy mind and body.
4. Bananas
   Another very healthy food is bananas. Bananas are rich in nutrients but they also provide a dosage of tryptophan. As mentioned earlier, tryptophan plays a crucial role in the production and maintenance of serotonin. Low serotonin levels can lead to all sorts of mental health disorders and other problems which all lead to sleep problems.
5. Walnuts
   Walnuts are also a great source of tryptophan. One significant thing about tryptophan is that it also plays a role in melatonin production. Melatonin alongside serotonin are the key chemicals to getting a great night sleep. These chemicals must be optimized through diet, furthermore – making walnuts a great food source for undisturbed sleep.
6. Spinach
   Spinach is one of those foods that not many people eat, and yet, the benefits that accompany the consumption of this amazing food are astounding. Spinach helps promote great sleep due to its high vitamin B6 levels. This vitamin greatly enhances the role of tryptophan in the brain making it much more effective. This superfood is greatly coupled with other foods high in tryptophan.
7. Tuna
   Alongside spinach, tuna is also high in vitamin B6 and magnesium. These vitamins and minerals work together to boost the brains melatonin levels. Low melatonin levels will make it very hard for any individual to fall asleep and stay sleep.
8. Cherries
   Numerous research on cherries show that they contain high levels of melatonin. Because of this, when cherries are digested in the body the melatonin will make its way towards the brain where it will work its magic. Plus, cherries are delicious!
9. Kale
   Kale alongside spinach is high in calcium. These high calcium levels help with the utilization of tryptophan in the body. This in turn makes the tryptophan you ingested more effective. Kale should be consumed with any food source that increases tryptophan levels in the brain for maximum effectiveness.
10. Honey
    You would be surprised just how this sweet treat helps you sleep. Honey should be taken shortly before bed in order to refill the livers glycogen levels. When glycogen levels are low during sleep, the brain may try and wake you during the night to eat those unwanted midnight snacks. Taking honey before bed allows you to sleep soundly all night without being disturbed.
11. Carrots
    This food not only allows you to see in the dark, but also helps induce a physically relaxed state. This is due to the wide array of nutrients they contain such as potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin A. These vitamins and minerals have all been found to promote physical relaxation which as we now know, is crucial for well rested sleep.
12. Greek Yogurt
    This delicious yogurt alongside all dairy products contain the amino acid tryptophan. We now know how crucial tryptophan is in experiencing a great night sleep, but what you might not know, is that tryptophan is labelled as an essential amino acid. It’s labelled as essential because we must consume this through our diet… our body does not produce it naturally.

Overview to getting a great sleep through these 12 superfoods

After reading this, you know now that tryptophan is important in the production and maintenance of the chemicals serotonin and melatonin. You also know that tryptophan cannot be produced in the body, meaning it must be consumed through our diet.

These superfoods labelled above will absolutely help you do this. They contain the means and bodily requirements to ensure that you have a great night’s sleep. Now I’m not saying you should be eating every single food on this list, but if you can include one, two or even three in your diet every evening before bedtime, it will be the difference between starting your morning grumpy or feeling energized.