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What’s the Best Diet for Healthy Sleep?
You probably already know that how you eat before bed affects your sleep. Maybe you’ve found yourself still lying awake at 2 a.m. after enjoying a cup of coffee with dessert. But did you know that your eating choices throughout the day may also affect your sleep at night?
In fact, more and more evidence shows that overall dietary patterns can affect sleep quality and contribute to insomnia.
In the U.S., a large percentage of the population suffers from poor sleep quality and sleep disorders like insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the upper airway becomes blocked and breathing stops during sleep. At the same time, most Americans eat far too much fatty and processed food, too little fiber and too few fruits and vegetables.
Although it is difficult to determine whether these two trends are causally linked to one another, more and more research points to linkages between sleep and diet and offers hints at the biological underpinnings of these relationships.
Within overall healthy diet patterns, numerous individual foods and nutrients may be linked to the quality of sleep, with varying degrees of evidence. For example, studies have linked better sleep with the consumption of:
other berries such as strawberries and blueberries
Fiber-rich foods like beans and oatmeal and certain protein sources – especially those that are high in the amino acid tryptophan, such as poultry – are also associated with higher-quality sleep. Individual nutrients that may be beneficial include magnesium, vitamin D, iron, omega-3 fatty acids and manganese. Some foods like salmon are sources of multiple nutrients.
Aiming for higher intake of sleep-promoting foods isn’t necessarily enough to get better sleep. It’s also important to avoid certain foods that could be bad for sleep. Here are some of the main culprits:
Saturated fats, such as that in burgers and fries and processed foods, could lead to less slow-wave sleep, which is considered the most restorative sleep.
Refined carbohydrates, such as those in white bread and pasta, are metabolized quickly. If you eat these foods for dinner, they can result in waking up from hunger.
Overall, there is not one magic food or drink that will improve your sleep. It’s better to focus on overall healthy dietary patterns throughout the day, with a higher proportion of calories consumed earlier in the day.
To access the full article on meal support for eating disorders, click here.
