Do You Suffer from Insomnia? Eat This!

The Foods That Can Make Your Night

3 min readJul 5, 2020

Hi, I am Alex, a food scientist! I started writing online because there is a lot of misinformation out there. My mission is to give you the most scientifically accurate information. When it comes to snacks before bed, there are many opinions. That’s why I put together all the most relevant scientific studies on this topic.

Should you have a snack before bedtime?

Yes! Go for it! Just keep in mind the following rules!
According to the study “The Health Impact of Nighttime Eating: Old and New Perspectives” your snack should be:

Less than 150 kcal
Nutrient-dense
Single foods rather than large mixed-meals

But … what to do if you cannot sleep?

As you have seen before, small snacks are ok before bed. But are there snacks that can also help you sleep better? Yes! After looking through scientific papers, I found ways to influence your sleeping patterns thanks to diet! I collected them in this small infographic. Find out down below in which way each nutrient can help you!

Why milk and yogurt?

I want to start with the milk because it is one of the most interesting facts. Milk contains tryptophan which is an amino acid that is later transformed in serotonin and melatonin. But this is not the only reason why it is on this list. Milk has more of a psychological association (i.e., the memory of a mother giving milk at bedtime.)

Scientists noticed that milk given to mice before sleep generally reduced their central nervous system excitability. The interesting part is that milk given during the day didn’t have the same effect. Based on these studies (you find them in the references at the end), my tip is to have a glass of warm milk before sleeping!