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From bananas to oysters, discover the foods that help you sleep. Plus, what to avoid and the ideal time for your last meal to prevent nighttime disruptions.
9 Min Read | By Peta Bee
Last Modified 10 November 2025 First Added 6 January 2015
We’ve all been there—rummaging through the fridge in the early hours, searching for leftovers to satisfy midnight cravings. However, what you snack on can significantly impact your sleep quality. Choosing the right foods that help you sleep before bed can help you drift off faster and enjoy a more restful night.
What we eat and when we eat play crucial roles in sleep duration and quality. Certain nutrients help your body produce hormones and neurotransmitters that regulate your sleep cycle, support relaxation and promote better rest. Here are some key ones to look out for:
To help, we’ve rounded up a list of the best foods to eat before bed. These sleep-friendly midnight snacks satisfy cravings and support a restful night.
If you’ve ever felt drowsy after Christmas dinner, it may be due to the large meal you’ve eaten or the sleep-inducing properties of turkey. Like milk, turkey contains tryptophan, which helps produce melatonin, signalling to your body that it’s time to rest.
Eggs are a fantastic source of tryptophan. They also provide high-quality protein, which helps stabilise blood sugar levels through the night, supporting deeper, more restful sleep. Try a boiled egg or scrambled eggs on wholegrain toast as a light evening snack.
High-fibre cereals, such as All-Bran, Ready Brek, and Shredded Wheat, contain complex carbohydrates that will steady your blood sugar levels. Even better, the milk that accompanies them contains tryptophan, which promotes relaxation and drowsiness.
Although you may feel peckish, resist the temptation to have a large portion—opt for half a bowl instead. This will leave you feeling satisfied without overloading your digestive system.
Despite the rumours, there’s no proof that cheese gives you nightmares. In fact, the British Cheese Study claims cheese commonly creates positive dreams. It may also help you achieve a better night’s sleep, as it’s high in tryptophan, which helps promote calmness. After testing cheese-eating sleepers, most reported positive results from consuming cheese before going to sleep.
Plant-based eaters can also improve their sleep quality. Soybeans and tofu are rich in tryptophan, contributing to a regular sleep-wake cycle. They also contain calcium and magnesium, both of which are known to promote relaxation. A warm tofu stir-fry or edamame beans make a great pre-bed meal option.
Not just a healthy breakfast option, a bowl of porridge in the evening may also promote better sleep. Its rich carbohydrate content increases the availability of tryptophan, aiding melatonin production. Additionally, porridge is high in fibre, helping you feel full and preventing blood sugar dips during the night.
Small but mighty, pumpkin seeds pack a double sleep-supporting punch. They contain tryptophan to aid the production of calming sleep hormones, along with magnesium to relax muscles and ease tension. Sprinkle a handful over yoghurt, porridge or a smoothie before bed for an easy, nutrient-rich sleep boost.
If you’re looking to make dietary adjustments to improve your sleep, consider incorporating white rice into your meals. Recent scientific findings suggest that consuming a significant amount of white rice can promote deep, restful sleep. Japanese researchers analysed the diets of almost 2,000 men and women and found that a higher rice intake was associated with better sleep scores – i.e., people slept well. However, eating bread products – including white bread, pancakes and pizza – did not affect the quality of sleep.
Bananas are great for a late-night bite because they’re a great source of melatonin, as well as containing the natural muscle relaxants magnesium and potassium, which promote a good night’s rest. For a pre-sleep snack, try combining bananas with cinnamon for a delicious treat. This is beneficial because cinnamon helps balance blood sugar levels, supports hormonal function, and promotes a more restful sleep.
Like bananas, cherries are one of the few natural foods to contain melatonin. Therefore, they help you drift off. One scientific study found that drinking tart cherry juice right before bed helps insomniac adults fall asleep.
For a delicious, sleep-promoting dessert, blend a bag of frozen cherries until smooth, then add 1 tablespoon of sugar, ¼ teaspoon of almond extract, and roughly 1 cup of low-fat yoghurt.
Strawberries are perfect for a quick snack before bed. Not only are they good for you, with their many vitamins and antioxidants, but they also have sleep-inducing qualities. They contain vitamin B6, which helps produce melatonin, aiding in a quick and restful sleep.
Yoghurt after dinner or as a pre-bedtime snack is an excellent choice as it’s packed with calcium, which helps support the production of melatonin, the body’s natural sleep hormone. Opting for plain or unsweetened yoghurt also gives you a perfect balance of protein and healthy fats, helping to keep your blood sugar levels stable throughout the night. This prevents blood sugar dips during the night, which could disrupt your sleep.
Almonds are rich in magnesium, which helps relax the muscles and nervous system, making it easier to fall and stay asleep. They also contain small amounts of melatonin, providing your body with a natural boost of sleepiness before bed.
Oysters may be an unusual choice, but they contain zinc, magnesium, iron, and vitamin B12, which, when combined, can help you drift off. To ensure their freshness and safety, it’s recommended to only eat oysters in months that include the letter ‘r’. Therefore, the colder, darker months are a great time to try this sleep hack.
Sweet potatoes have sleep-promoting properties thanks to their complex carbohydrates, which encourage relaxation. They also count towards one of your five a day and contain potassium, a natural muscle relaxant.
Leafy greens, such as spinach, are rich in magnesium, which helps to relax the nervous system. Magnesium also supports the regulation of melatonin, making it easier to fall and stay asleep. Add a portion of spinach to your dinner or blend it into a smoothie for a subtle, sleep-friendly boost.
Eating kiwis before bed may help improve sleep due to their serotonin content. This neurotransmitter helps regulate both mood and sleep. They also aid digestion, helping your stomach process your evening meal before you head up to bed, preventing uncomfortable indigestion.
Oily fish offers several health benefits, one of them being its ability to promote better sleep. This is due to their natural richness in omega-3 fatty acids, which support serotonin production and promote healthy sleep.
Researchers at the University of Oxford suggest that improving your sleep quality could be as simple as incorporating more mackerel, herring, tuna, and salmon into your diet. These fish are rich sources of the healthy omega-3 fatty acid DHA. Professor Paul Montgomery and his team found that a 16-week course of 600mg omega-3 supplements daily improved the sleep quality and duration of 362 school children.
Other researchers have found that adults with low levels of DHA in their blood are more likely to experience sleep disturbances. Of course, omega-3 can also be found in a variety of seeds and beans, and the body creates DHA with high intakes of omega-3.
If you’re hoping to sleep easily, try to avoid the following foods:
It’s also important to consider portion size when planning your evening meal or snack. Eating a large meal right before bed can overload your digestive system, leading to discomfort and an increased risk of acid reflux. Stick to recommended portion sizes to help your body digest properly and promote restful sleep.
The question of whether to eat before bed is one that sparks plenty of debate. Some studies suggest that eating too close to bedtime can lead to discomfort, such as heartburn, which disrupts sleep. Others show that eating or drinking within an hour of going to bed might help you sleep longer. In fact, women slept 35 minutes longer and men 25 minutes longer when they had a late-night snack compared to those who didn’t. But there’s more to it than just timing—hunger can also keep you tossing and turning. A growling tummy can cause discomfort, leaving you restless and eventually leading to a late-night trip to the kitchen. Plus, a drop in blood sugar can wake you up mid-sleep. So, the key is finding what works best for you and your routine, ensuring your belly isn’t running on empty.
The timing of your late-night snack is also widely disputed. The 10-3-2-1-0 method recommends having your last meal or snack 3 hours before bed. This is supported by a 2020 study that showed those who ate within 3 hours of going to bed were more likely to wake up during the night, but it didn’t impact how long it took to fall asleep or how long they slept.
Likewise, in 2021, another study found that men and women who ate or drank 1 hour before bed were more likely to wake during the night and sleep for longer. Ultimately, more research is needed to pinpoint the “perfect” timings for your nightly fast.
Research suggests that foods rich in tryptophan, melatonin, and magnesium are most beneficial for supporting the REM stage of sleep, during which most dreaming and deep brain processing occur. A review found that dairy-based prebiotics improved both NREM and REM sleep in participants. So, opting for a snack that delivers these nutrients, such as a bowl of yoghurt, before bed may help your brain navigate the night more smoothly and improve the quality of your sleep.
Foods that naturally calm the body and support steady mood regulation can help ease both insomnia and anxiety. Options rich in magnesium, such as almonds, spinach and avocado, help relax muscles and lower stress levels. Whereas tryptophan-rich foods like turkey, eggs and tofu support the production of serotonin and melatonin, which promote relaxation and restful sleep. Pairing these with complex carbohydrates, such as oats or whole grains, can enhance their sleep-supporting effects, helping you unwind and drift off more easily.
Getting a good night’s sleep starts long before your head hits the pillow — and what you eat can make a real difference. By choosing foods that naturally support relaxation and promote helpful hormones, you can help your body and mind unwind more easily.
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