The Sleep Doctor's List of Sleep-Friendly Foods

March is National Nutrition Month, which means it's a good time to talk about food you should be eating to help promote good sleep.

Here is a re-print of my Sleep-Friendly Foods list, which I first posted shortly before the holidays:

Sleep-friendly foods may help you relax and fall asleep, but don’t view them as "sleeping pills."  All the sleep-friendly foods in the world won’t help much if you are working until midnight, chugging coffee, and thinking constantly about the next day’s work.

Assuming you aren't doing any of that, foods that may help promote sleep as part of a healthy diet and lifestyle include the following:

The Sleep Doctor's Sleep-Friendly Shopping List
(Feel free to print this and put it on your refrigerator if you need to!)

tuna
halibut
pumpkin
artichokes
avocados
almonds
eggs
bok choy
peaches
walnuts
apricots
oats
asparagus
potatoes
buckwheat
bananas

These foods contain generous supplies of the vitamins, minerals, fats, and proteins necessary for proper functioning of our nervous, muscular, metabolic, skeletal, and hormonal systems. Important nutrients include calcium, magnesium, selenium, zinc, omega fatty acids, amino acids to build proteins, vitamins C, E, and B-complex, and iron (especially for premenopausal women).

If you have been running around with your family or getting ready for guests and have not had time to eat at night, a light snack may allow you to fall asleep more easily. 

Carbohydrates and dairy products have been shown to help decrease the time it takes to fall asleep.  I have several examples of appropriate bedtime snacks (including my own personal favorites) in my book Good Night.

Regarding alcohol: Alcohol is a depressant. Although it may help you fall asleep, as your body clears it from your system while you are sleeping, you will have a withdrawal that can cause symptoms like nightmares, sweats, and a headache.

If you're going to drink socially, try drinking one glass of water for every alcoholic beverage you drink to reduce these effects.

** Note: since this post was written, additional studies have come out suggesting that high-glycemic index foods (such as white or jasmine rice) may help people fall asleep faster.

Other food, dieting and nutrition resources to look at during National Nutrition Month:

• American Dietetic Association
• Newsweek's Up Close and Edible Series, on Healthful Foods (right now they're on garlic)
• The Insomnia Blog: Diet (and how it affects sleep)
• The Family Fork
• Junkfood Science
• A Weight Lifted