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10 Foods That Can Help You Sleep
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1) Bananas
Bananas contain potassium and magnesium. This duo acts as natural muscle relaxants. Bananas also contain tryptophan, which promotes sleep. Tryptophan turns into serotonin and melatonin when it's in the brain. Serotonin induces relaxation. Melatonin encourages sleepiness. Picture-Factory/Fotolia
2) Cherries
Cherries are a natural source of melatonin which helps induce sleep. Flax seeds, sunflower seeds and herbal teas also contain melatonin. Samo Trebizan/Fotolia
3) Complex carbohydrates
Complex carbohydrates like whole-grain breads and cereals, as well as brown rice, may help you sleep. Stay away from simple carbohydrates like white bread, cookies and pastries which reduce serotonin levels and may keep you awake. vassaita/Fotolia
4) Dairy foods
Dairy products contain tryptophan. Milk, for instance, is full of tryptophan, so it can have a sedative effect. It also contains calcium, which helps regulate melatonin production. Other foods high in tryptophan include bananas, eggs, honey, nuts and seeds. djile/Fotolia
5) Healthy fats
Unsaturated fats in foods like avocados and olive oil will enhance heart health and increase your serotonin. Include omega-3 essential fatty acids from foods like anchovies, salmon and tuna. Many nuts contain unsaturated fats and omega-3 fatty acids. Kaspars Grinvalds/Fotolia
6) Herbs
Fresh herbs such as sage and basil contain elements that decrease tension and enhance sleep. DBPics/Fotolia
7) Nuts
Nuts such as almonds, Brazil nuts and cashews contain protein and magnesium among other nutrients. Magnesium encourages both sleep and relaxation of muscles. highwaystarz/Fotolia
8) Oatmeal
A bowl of oatmeal gives you calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium and silicon. These nutrients will help you sleep. Just go easy on the brown sugar. Alliance/Fotolia
9) Protein
Proteins such as cheese, chicken, turkey and fish are high in tryptophan, which will also increase serotonin. A good high-protein snack might be a hard-boiled egg, cheese, a handful of pumpkin seeds or meat. High-protein foods also fight acid reflux which can often making sleep a challenge. Evgeny Korshenkov/Fotolia
10) Tea
Green tea contains the amino acid theanine, which is helpful for sleep. This also holds true for other types of tea, if they are decaffeinated. YakobchukOlena/Fotolia
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