Key takeaways

  • Certain foods and drinks contain sleep-regulating compounds like melatonin, serotonin, magnesium, and tryptophan that may help you fall asleep faster or stay asleep longer.
  • Some options that have potential in supporting sleep include almonds, kiwis, fatty fish, walnuts, tart cherry juice, chamomile tea, passionflower tea, turkey, tomatoes, and pistachios. However, generally, more research is needed to confirm their effectiveness, especially as some studies use extracts or different doses, which can affect results.
  • To get the most benefit, aim to consume these foods and drinks around 2 to 3 hours before sleep, rather than right before, as eating too close to bedtime may interfere with sleep quality.

Getting good sleep can help reduce your chance of developing certain chronic illnesses, keep your brain healthy, and boost your immune system.

For this reason, it’s generally recommended that you get between 7 and 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night, though many people have a hard time getting enough.

There are many strategies that help promote good sleep, including making changes to your diet, as some foods and drinks have sleep-promoting properties. It’s also helpful to have your meals at consistent times daily.

Here are the 11 best foods and drinks you can have before bed to help make you feel sleepy or enhance your quality of sleep.

This article is Day 9 of Healthline’s 3 Week Better Sleep Challenge. Follow along to discover small, meaningful habits to help you sleep better, feel more rested, and wake ready to thrive each day.

Missed a day? Catch up with Day 8: Melatonin for Sleep: Does It Work?, or continue on to Day 10: Bedtime Yoga: How to Relax for a Good Night’s Sleep.

Almonds are an excellent source of many nutrients. Eating them regularly may help reduce the chance of diseases like type 2 diabetes and heart disease. This is attributed to their healthy monounsaturated fats, fiber, and antioxidants.

They may also help boost sleep quality. For one, they contain vitamin B and magnesium, which can help promote better sleep. Consuming adequate amounts of magnesium, in particular, may help improve sleep quality if you have insomnia.

In addition, along with several other types of nuts, almonds are a source of the hormone melatonin, which regulates your internal clock and signals your body to prepare for sleep.

An Iranian study published in 2019 gave some participants 10 sweet almonds every day for 14 days. The group who ate the almonds reported decreased insomnia, and researchers concluded that sweet almonds may improve sleep quality with both severe and mild sleep problems.

That said, more extensive studies are needed to confirm these findings.

Turkey is delicious and nutritious, including being high in protein. Protein is essential for keeping your bones and muscles strong, repairing cells, and producing hormones — as well as regulating your appetite.

Turkey also contains other nutrients, including riboflavin, phosphorus, selenium, and certain amino acids. One such amino acid is tryptophan, which increases melatonin production and can have a drowsiness effect.

That said, more research is necessary to confirm turkey’s potential role in improving sleep.

Chamomile tea is a popular herbal tea that may offer a variety of health benefits.

It’s well known for its flavonoids, a class of antioxidants. Antioxidants help reduce inflammation, which often contributes to chronic diseases, such as cancer and heart disease.

In addition, chamomile tea has some unique properties that may help improve sleep quality. Specifically, chamomile tea contains apigenin. This antioxidant binds to certain receptors in your brain, which may lead to effects like better sleep quality and reduced insomnia.

A 2024 analysis of 10 prior studies concluded that chamomile improved sleep, particularly the number of awakenings. However, the researchers noted no improvements in sleep duration, sleep efficiency, or daytime fatigue.

That said, more current research on drinking chamomile tea specifically, as different studies may use different preparations.

Kiwis are a low calorie and very nutritious fruit. Eating them may benefit digestive health, reduce inflammation, and lower cholesterol. These effects are due to the high amounts of fiber and carotenoid antioxidants that they provide.

Kiwis may also be a good option before bed. Researchers have attributed some sleep-promoting effects of kiwis to their serotonin content. Serotonin is a brain chemical that helps regulate your sleep cycle. Eating a diet rich in fruit like kiwis may help promote better sleep.

Researchers have also suggested that the anti-inflammatory antioxidants in kiwis may be partly responsible for their sleep-promoting effects.

However, more scientific evidence is needed to determine the effects that kiwis may have on improving sleep.

Tart cherry juice provides modest amounts of a few important nutrients, such as magnesium, phosphorus, and potassium. Additionally, it’s a rich source of antioxidants.

Tart cherry juice may also promote sleep due to its high amounts of melatonin. Researchers have linked tart cherries to improvements in sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and how long it takes to fall asleep.

For these reasons, drinking tart cherry juice before bed may improve your sleep quality.

That said, more extensive research is necessary. Experts note that studies into tart cherry juice’s sleep effects have used different doses, so effects should be confirmed with more studies.

Fatty fish, such as salmon, trout, and mackerel, are incredibly healthy.

One of the reasons they are so beneficial is their impressive amounts of vitamin D.

Fatty fish are also rich in omega-3 fatty acids, specifically eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), which are known for helping to reduce inflammation. In combination with the vitamin D in fatty fish, Omega-3 fatty acids may help protect against heart disease and boost brain health.

Increasingly, research suggests that omega-3s may help improve some aspects of sleep quality, such as sleep efficiency.

Walnuts are a popular tree nut for their taste, but they are also abundant in nutrients, including healthy fats like omega-3 fatty acids and linoleic acid.

Experts have studied walnuts for their ability to help reduce high cholesterol levels, which are a major risk factor for heart disease.

What’s more, some research suggests that eating walnuts could improve sleep quality, as they’re a source of melatonin. The fatty acid makeup of walnuts may also contribute to better sleep, according to these researchers.

Passionflower tea is another herbal tea that’s long been used in traditional medicine with the aim of treating a number of ailments.

It’s a rich source of flavonoid antioxidants, which are known for their role in reducing inflammation.

Additionally, researchers have studied passionflower tea for its potential to reduce the symptoms of anxiety, depression, and other psychiatric disorders.

A small 2024 study in 65 people with stress and insomnia linked taking passionflower extract to a significant reduction in stress and a higher score of total sleep time.

Passionflower may increase the production of the brain chemical gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA). GABA works to decrease the action of other brain chemicals that induce stress, such as glutamate.

Tomatoes are full of key nutrients, such as vitamin C, potassium, and antioxidants. They also contain melatonin, which may have potential for supporting sleep.

In a small study published in 2023, researchers gave half of the group tomato extract capsules to assess their impact on sleep. At the end of the study, the people that had been taking tomato capsules had improved insomnia severity and sleep quality scores. However, the researchers noted that there wasn’t any significant difference in the amount of sleep or how quickly participants fell asleep between those who did and didn’t take the tomato extract.

As with other food extracts studied for sleep problems, more research is needed to confirm whether whole tomatoes, rather than the extract, is equally as effective for sleep.

Still, fresh tomatoes may be a promising and nutritious option to try. A small 2020 study reported that eating 250 grams of beefsteak tomatoes 2 hours before sleep appeared to link to improvements in sleep quality scores in people in postmenopause with obesity.

Having said that, tomatoes are high in acid, so may be a trigger for people susceptible to acid reflux.

Pistachio nuts are the tasty edible seeds of pistacia vera trees.

Researchers from a 2023 study note that pistacia trees may have some of the highest melatonin levels reported in plants. In the study, the researchers tested pistachio tree extracts and reported that the extracts may enhance melatonin activity, which could promote sleep. However, the researchers also noted that melatonin levels in the extracts varied widely across products.

More research is needed to confirm whether pistachio nuts, rather than tree extracts, have similarly powerful effects and can improve sleep.

However, pistachio nuts may still be a healthful and promising option to try before bed. Alongside other plant-based whole foods, nuts are a key component of a Mediterranean diet, which some evidence has linked to a lower likelihood of poor sleep quality and insomnia symptoms.

A 2024 study concluded that eating pistachios as a bedtime snack may be a healthful alternative to high-carbohydrate foods for people with prediabetes.

White rice is a widely common grain that’s a staple food in many countries.

The major difference between white and brown rice is that white rice has had its bran and germ removed. This makes it lower in fiber, nutrients, and antioxidants.

Nevertheless, white rice still contains a decent amount of a few vitamins and minerals.

White rice is also high in carbs, which some research suggests could support some features of sleep, though more studies are needed to confirm. Rice’s carb content and lack of fiber contribute to it having a relatively high glycemic index (GI).

Also, a 2020 review suggests that the evidence that high GI foods can help with sleep is mixed and that more study is necessary. For example, a 2023 Iranian study linked having a diet with a higher glycemic index with higher odds of insomnia.

Several other foods and drinks have sleep-promoting properties. For example, they may contain high amounts of nutrients such as tryptophan.

However, in some cases, there’s little research into their specific effects on sleep.

  • Dairy products: Dairy products, such as a glass of milk, cottage cheese, and plain yogurt, are sources of tryptophan. There is a small amount of evidence that suggests dairy products may link to improvements in sleep quality, though some studies haven’t shown similar benefits.
  • Bananas: Bananas are a modest source of magnesium. This may help you get a good night’s sleep.

While eating any of the foods suggested in this article may help improve your sleep quality, there is some debate about whether eating them right before bed is ideal. There’s research suggesting that eating too close to bedtime can actually interfere with sleep, and that eating 4 to 6 hours before going to bed is better.

Eggs do contain a lot of protein, and research has suggested that protein can have a positive influence on sleep. For this reason, having eggs for dinner may positively influence your sleep.

Research suggests that eating sugary foods might negatively affect sleep. Similarly, you should try to avoid eating spicy or processed foods. Also, it’s a good idea to avoid caffeine and alcohol close to bedtime, as these can disrupt sleep.

Getting enough sleep is very important for your health.

Several foods and drinks may help you feel sleepy or help improve sleep quality. Research suggests this may be due to them containing sleep-promoting hormones, brain chemicals, and nutrients such as magnesium and melatonin.

However, more research is necessary to confirm the specific role that foods and drinks have in supporting sleep.

To reap the benefits of sleep-enhancing foods and drinks, it may be best to consume them 2 to 3 hours before bed to reduce the risk of digestive irritation.