Whether you’re having some trouble catching shut-eye, or you just want to wake up feeling more refreshed in the morning, a good place to start is with what’s on your plate. As an added bonus, getting enough sleep can also help you slim down. Women who report better sleep were 33 percent more likely to hit their weight-loss goals, according to a study published in the journal Obesity. Check out these foods that help you sleep. Read More: 4 Ways to Get a Better Night’s Sleep, According to an Expert 1. Kiwi Green Fruit Salad Recipe to Try: Green Fruit Salad This green fruit may be the ultimate pre-bed snack. When volunteers ate two kiwis an hour before hitting the hay, they slept almost a full extra hour, found research from Taipei Medical University in Taiwan. Kiwis are full of vitamins C and E, serotonin and folate—all of which may help you snooze. 2. Soyfoods Recipe to Try: Soy-Lime Roasted Tofu Foods made with soy such as tofu, miso and edamame, are rich in isoflavones. These compounds increase the production of serotonin, a brain chemical that influences the body’s sleep-wake cycle. Adults who ate two or more soy servings a day slept longer and reported the best-quality sleep, according to a 2015 Nutrition Journal study. 3. Fiber-Rich Foods Blueberry Almond Chia Pudding Get the Recipe: Blueberry Almond Chia Pudding Eating more fiber could be key for better sleep. Eating fiber was associated with more restorative slow-wave sleep—the more you eat, the better you sleep—per a study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. Fiber prevents blood sugar surges that may lower melatonin. Get a fiber boost from beans, artichokes, bran cereal and quinoa. Read More: 10 Foods with More Fiber Than an Apple 4. Fish Roasted Salmon Caprese Recipe to Try: Roasted Salmon Caprese Most fish—and especially salmon, halibut and tuna—boast vitamin B6, which is needed to make melatonin (a sleep-inducing hormone triggered by darkness), according to an article published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. 5. Tart Cherry Juice Tart Cherry Nice Cream Credit: Andrea Mathis Get the Recipe: Tart Cherry Nice Cream In a small study, melatonin-rich tart cherry juice was shown to aid sleep. When adults with chronic insomnia drank a cup of tart cherry juice twice a day they experienced some relief in the severity of their insomnia. 6. Yogurt Ricotta Yogurt Parfait Recipe to Try: Ricotta & Yogurt Parfait Dairy products like yogurt and milk boast healthy doses of calcium—and there’s research that suggests being calcium-deficient may make it difficult to fall asleep. 7. Whole Grains Pistachio-Crusted Chicken with Warm Barley Salad Recipe to Try: Pistachio-Crusted Chicken with Warm Barley Salad Bulgur, barley and other whole grains are rick in magnesium—and consuming too little magnesium may make it harder to stay asleep, reported the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine. 8. Kale Sauteed Broccoli and Kale with Toasted Garlic Butter Recipe to Try: Sauteed Broccoli & Kale with Toasted Garlic Butter Dairy products are well-known calcium-rich foods. But green leafy vegetables, such as kale and collards, also boast healthy doses of calcium. And research suggests that being calcium deficient may make it difficult to fall asleep. 9. Bananas Almond-Butter Banana Protein Smoothie Recipe to Try: Almond Butter & Banana Protein Smoothie Bananas, well-known for being rich in potassium, are also a good source of vitamin B6, which is needed to make melatonin (a sleep-inducing hormone triggered by darkness), according to an article published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. Some original reporting by Brierley Wright, M.S, R.D.
Whether you’re having some trouble catching shut-eye, or you just want to wake up feeling more refreshed in the morning, a good place to start is with what’s on your plate. As an added bonus, getting enough sleep can also help you slim down. Women who report better sleep were 33 percent more likely to hit their weight-loss goals, according to a study published in the journal Obesity. Check out these foods that help you sleep.
Read More: 4 Ways to Get a Better Night’s Sleep, According to an Expert
1. Kiwi
Green Fruit Salad
Recipe to Try: Green Fruit Salad
This green fruit may be the ultimate pre-bed snack. When volunteers ate two kiwis an hour before hitting the hay, they slept almost a full extra hour, found research from Taipei Medical University in Taiwan. Kiwis are full of vitamins C and E, serotonin and folate—all of which may help you snooze.
2. Soyfoods
Recipe to Try: Soy-Lime Roasted Tofu
Foods made with soy such as tofu, miso and edamame, are rich in isoflavones. These compounds increase the production of serotonin, a brain chemical that influences the body’s sleep-wake cycle. Adults who ate two or more soy servings a day slept longer and reported the best-quality sleep, according to a 2015 Nutrition Journal study.
3. Fiber-Rich Foods
Blueberry Almond Chia Pudding
Get the Recipe: Blueberry Almond Chia Pudding
Eating more fiber could be key for better sleep. Eating fiber was associated with more restorative slow-wave sleep—the more you eat, the better you sleep—per a study published in the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine. Fiber prevents blood sugar surges that may lower melatonin. Get a fiber boost from beans, artichokes, bran cereal and quinoa.
Read More: 10 Foods with More Fiber Than an Apple
4. Fish
Roasted Salmon Caprese
Recipe to Try: Roasted Salmon Caprese
Most fish—and especially salmon, halibut and tuna—boast vitamin B6, which is needed to make melatonin (a sleep-inducing hormone triggered by darkness), according to an article published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
5. Tart Cherry Juice
Tart Cherry Nice Cream Credit: Andrea Mathis
Get the Recipe: Tart Cherry Nice Cream
In a small study, melatonin-rich tart cherry juice was shown to aid sleep. When adults with chronic insomnia drank a cup of tart cherry juice twice a day they experienced some relief in the severity of their insomnia.
6. Yogurt
Ricotta Yogurt Parfait
Recipe to Try: Ricotta & Yogurt Parfait
Dairy products like yogurt and milk boast healthy doses of calcium—and there’s research that suggests being calcium-deficient may make it difficult to fall asleep.
7. Whole Grains
Pistachio-Crusted Chicken with Warm Barley Salad
Recipe to Try: Pistachio-Crusted Chicken with Warm Barley Salad
Bulgur, barley and other whole grains are rick in magnesium—and consuming too little magnesium may make it harder to stay asleep, reported the Journal of Orthomolecular Medicine.
8. Kale
Sauteed Broccoli and Kale with Toasted Garlic Butter
Recipe to Try: Sauteed Broccoli & Kale with Toasted Garlic Butter
Dairy products are well-known calcium-rich foods. But green leafy vegetables, such as kale and collards, also boast healthy doses of calcium. And research suggests that being calcium deficient may make it difficult to fall asleep.
9. Bananas
Almond-Butter Banana Protein Smoothie
Recipe to Try: Almond Butter & Banana Protein Smoothie
Bananas, well-known for being rich in potassium, are also a good source of vitamin B6, which is needed to make melatonin (a sleep-inducing hormone triggered by darkness), according to an article published in the Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
Some original reporting by Brierley Wright, M.S, R.D.
Green Fruit Salad
Green Fruit Salad
Blueberry Almond Chia Pudding
Blueberry Almond Chia Pudding
Roasted Salmon Caprese
Roasted Salmon Caprese
Tart Cherry Nice Cream Credit: Andrea Mathis
Tart Cherry Nice Cream
Credit: Andrea Mathis
Ricotta Yogurt Parfait
Ricotta Yogurt Parfait
Pistachio-Crusted Chicken with Warm Barley Salad
Pistachio-Crusted Chicken with Warm Barley Salad
Sauteed Broccoli and Kale with Toasted Garlic Butter
Sauteed Broccoli and Kale with Toasted Garlic Butter
Almond-Butter Banana Protein Smoothie
Almond-Butter Banana Protein Smoothie
