Eating walnuts before bed may help you sleep better (2024)

FAQs

Eating walnuts before bed may help you sleep better? ›

Walnuts contain a few compounds that promote and regulate sleep, including melatonin, serotonin, and magnesium. Each 100-g serving of walnuts also contains other nutrients that can help sleep, such as: 158 mg of magnesium. 441 mg of potassium.

Walnuts. Walnuts are a good source of the amino acid tryptophan. One serving of walnuts (about a handful) contains 318 mg of this beneficial amino acid (Self Nutrition Data, 2015b). Thus, eating a walnut-rich snack an hour or two before bed could help you drift off to sleep more easily.

Nuts like almonds, walnuts. View Source , pistachios, and cashews are often considered to be a good food for sleep. Though the exact amounts can vary, nuts contain melatonin and omega-3's as well as minerals like magnesium and zinc, which together can help people sleep better.

“Many nuts such as almonds, walnuts and pistachios have melatonin, along with magnesium and zinc, which together can help people get a better night's sleep,” Melendez-Klinger says. Spread some nut butter on a rice cake for the ultimate before-bed snack. (Basic peanut butter and crackers works, too.)

Regularly eating walnuts has been consistently shown to decrease cholesterol levels . In a small 2017 study in healthy adults, eating 1.5 oz (43 g) of walnuts daily for 8 weeks produced a 5% decrease in total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, and triglycerides compared to not eating walnuts.

There is not a specific recommendation for how many walnuts to eat for better sleep. Most people could benefit from replacing one or two regular snacks with some walnuts. One study found that simply adding two ounces of walnuts per day for six months led to healthier eating. One ounce of walnuts is about 14 halves.

Peanut butter has many nutritional benefits. Eating a small amount of peanut butter as part of a healthy snack before bed may help improve sleep quality and prevent overeating and weight gain the following day. Peanut butter is a nutrient-dense, high-calorie food containing vitamins, minerals, protein, and fiber.

Pineapple and melatonin provide vitamin C, magnesium, and fiber to enhance sleep. It also contains an enzyme called bromelain, which eases inflammation and promotes muscle relaxation. Kiwis have demonstrated impressive sleep-boosting effects in studies.

Do bananas help you sleep? ›

Bananas are an excellent source of magnesium and potassium which help relax overstressed muscles and make them an ideal go-to snack before bed. They also contain all-important tryptophan to stimulate production of those key brain calming hormones. Eat whole or whizz into a sleep-inducing smoothie.

As delicious as nuts and seeds are, you might want to avoid them as a late night snack. Peanuts and pistachios are known to provide natural forms of energy, so they might keep you up if you eat enough.

One of the best ways to eat walnuts is to soak them overnight and then eat them in the morning. In order to do this, soak 2-4 walnut pieces in a cup of water for the night. Have them first thing the following morning. Walnuts that have been soaked can help lower harmful cholesterol in the body.

Conclusions. Our results demonstrate the presence of high amounts of melatonin in walnut seeds, which vary with ripening and even after harvest when the fruits are edible.

The omega-3 fatty acids, specifically EPA and DHA, help reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression. As mentioned, tryptophan is essential for the synthesis of serotonin. Walnuts are packed with tryptophan, indirectly increasing serotonin levels. When these levels rise, we feel more relaxed, calm, and happy.

Snacks that balance carbohydrates and protein, such as whole grain crackers and cheese, support consistent blood sugar levels. From a sleep perspective, combining carb-rich foods like crackers with good tryptophan sources like cheese helps make tryptophan more available to your brain.