Throwing in a little hydrolyzed collagen powder, which is a great source of the sleep-inducing amino acid glycine, can make it even more beneficial for sleep. Some of these nutrients are hard to get high amounts of in the diet, so supplementation may be warranted.

Too little salt may trigger sleep issues in women who are training regularly. If you sweat a lot during workouts, you may need to add some salt to your water to replace the sodium loss. Magnesium is a nutrient that calms the nervous system, and can be effective in treating insomnia and improving sleep when supplemented.

I usually recommend to mg of a chelated form of magnesium like magnesium glycinate or magnesium taurate before bed. You can also take an epsom salt bath to absorb magnesium through your skin.

Vitamin B6 is another nutrient that impacts sleep thanks to its effects on melatonin and serotonin production, both neurotransmitters that affect sleep when out of balance.

Zinc is found in oysters, clams, beef, lamb, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, cashews, turkey, and lentils, and is easier to absorb from animal sources. Most of my clients do well taking 15 to 30 mg supplemental zinc per day in a chelated form like zinc citrate. These four micronutrients are not the only ones that affect sleep, but are the best place to start when looking to increase the nutrient-density of the diet or to add low dose nutritional supplementation to your plan.

First, consider your caffeine consumption from drinks like coffee and tea, assessing both the amount and timing of the caffeine intake. If you drink multiple coffee beverages a day, or have caffeine in the afternoon, it may be causing your sleep disruption.

Try limiting caffeinated beverages to before noon only, and replace one or two caffeinated beverages with a decaf option. And remember that caffeine can come from other sources beyond coffee and tea.

Finally, even though alcohol is often used to help us fall asleep, it negatively affects the overall quality of our sleep, making our sleep less restful. Be sure to get plenty of natural light during the day and avoid artificial blue light at night.

Take a walk outside at lunch, or take your workout outdoors on a sunny day, and turn off the laptop and smartphone at least one hour before bed. Finally, look at your stress levels and stress management habits. Learning healthy ways to cope with stress can make a big difference in your sleep as well as your quality of life.

Nutritional Strategies For Better Sleep Tonight! Again, she says more research is needed to tease out just how these diet elements may work to bolster sleep quality. But of all the diets out there, the Mediterranean diet is arguably the one most consistently linked with positive health outcomes and low rates of disease.

And because we know a poor diet can dysregulate the human body in ways that lead to obesity, diabetes, and other health issues — all of which have also been linked in various ways to poor sleep — it makes sense that a healthy diet may help promote good sleep. A number of studies have linked poor sleep with increased cravings for junk foods.

Another study , using brain scans, found that people deprived of sleep for one full day showed reduced activity in the parts of the brain that regulate appetite and self-control. St-Onge has also conducted work in this area.

In one of her studies , she and her fellow researchers explain how the parts of the brain that help control hunger and willpower were more active after a night of good sleep, while the reward centers of the brain that respond to food we find pleasurable were more active after a poor night of sleep.

And food choices were affected by sleep, too. So, what to make of all this? Clearly, there are ties between what a person eats and how they sleep.

Adhering to a healthy, plant-rich diet seems like a good way to bolster your sleep quality. But there are still a lot of unknowns when it comes to the specifics.

RELATED: How to Fix Your Sleep Schedule. Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.

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Do Specific Foods You Eat Throughout the Day Affect Sleep at Night? Yes, the foods you eat all day long can come to bear on quality and quantity of your sleep. Here are the foods that can help you get better sleep and the ones that can get in the way of it , according to Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, associate professor see more.

Food is made up of macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats provide your body with energy and allow you to build and repair tissues and carry out critical metabolic processes. Other significant components of food include fiber and water.

A well-balanced diet with the proper energy and macronutrients for your individual needs is critical for maintaining metabolic health and restorative sleep. Macronutrients like protein influence the balance of hormones that regulate your sleep-wake cycle and metabolic processes that impact the quality of sleep.

While the timing and quality of the macronutrients you consume matter, eating too little carbohydrates and protein is associated with shorter sleep duration. Carbohydrates provide a significant source of energy for your body and influence sleep.

The amount, timing, and quality of carbohydrates you eat can affect your sleep patterns. Research suggests that eating high- glycemic index and simple carbohydrates like processed sugars more frequently than more complex carbohydrates like vegetables is associated with poor sleep quality.

Serotonin is an essential hormone for regulating your sleep-wake cycle and is derived from the amino acid tryptophan. Diets that lack adequate tryptophan impair sleep quality.

Eating sufficient protein with serotonin-supporting foods such as salmon, eggs, turkey, and chicken while consuming good carbohydrates supports quality sleep. Other protein sources, like wild fatty fish , have also been shown to promote quality sleep. While a high intake of processed and refined fats has been associated with sleep disorders, fatty fish is rich in vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, the adequate consumption of which correlates with better sleep.

Research also shows correlations between poor sleep and metabolic diseases associated with diet, including high blood pressure hypertension , obesity , type 2 diabetes , cholesterol imbalances, and metabolic syndrome.

These metabolic conditions are influenced by the balance and timing of macronutrients you consume, micronutrients, and gut health. The quality of nutrition you eat and the balance of specific nutrients impacts your sleep.

Micronutrients are required in smaller amounts than macronutrients but also play vital roles in supporting physiological processes like sleep.

These include vitamins and minerals as well as phytonutrients like polyphenols. The balance of these nutrients impacts regulatory hormonal pathways that influence sleep quantity and quality.

For example, several micronutrients have been associated with impacts on sleep, including shorter overall sleep duration with deficiencies in vitamin B1 , folate , phosphorus, magnesium , iron , zinc , and selenium , trouble falling asleep with too low levels of alpha-carotene, selenium, and calcium, and non-restorative sleep when calcium and vitamin C intake is inadequate.

Given its vital role in promoting sleep onset, there is growing interest in supporting melatonin levels through diet as an alternative to sleeping aids.

Foods that contain melatonin include meats, mushrooms, a variety of vegetables, and fruits, including tart cherries, grapes, pineapples, oranges, and bananas. Studies suggest that fresh tart cherry juice can help you fall asleep faster and improve insomnia in those over 50 years of age.

This seems to be due to their high melatonin and serotonin content and their potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. In addition to adequate amounts of the amino acid tryptophan, vitamin B6, magnesium, vitamin C, zinc, iron, and vitamin B-9 are cofactors in converting tryptophan into serotonin.

Vitamin D3 and omega-3 fatty acids are also essential nutrients for regulating serotonin levels since they support the conversion of tryptophan into serotonin. Foods like kiwis are rich in these nutrients. In fact, studies have shown that consuming two kiwis an hour before bedtime increased total sleep time and sleep quality, with fewer awakenings and higher serotonin levels.

Zinc may also play other vital roles in sleep regulation. Consuming zinc -rich foods like oysters and pumpkin seeds has been shown to lessen the time it takes to fall asleep.

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed that those who slept less than five hours per night had lower zinc intakes, suggesting that this micronutrient plays a role in sleep regulation.

Magnesium is another crucial micronutrient for sleep quality. In addition to regulating many enzymatic pathways throughout the body, magnesium is essential for the normal functioning of the sleep—wake cycle.

To consume adequate magnesium, you can incorporate plenty of green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. In addition to these nutrients, herbal supplements for sleep improvement include valerian root, chamomile, and lavender.

These natural remedies for better sleep help promote relaxation and help the body fall and stay asleep. For example, valerian root can make it easier to fall asleep and improve sleep quality. While it is generally safe for short-term use, be careful to avoid combining this herb with alcohol or other sedatives.

Chamomile has been used in many traditions to treat insomnia for thousands of years. It acts as a sedative and reduces anxiety since it contains the flavonoid apigenin , which binds to benzodiazepine receptors in the brain.

Research shows that chamomile safely and significantly improved the quality of sleep of elderly participants. Another herbal supplement for improving sleep is lavender. This plant has been studied for its many impacts, including helping to reduce anxiety, improve pain, protect brain health, and act as a sedative.

Inhaled lavender essential oil has effectively and reliably enhanced sleep quality. It may have these therapeutic benefits on sleep due to several mechanisms, including acting as an antioxidant, influencing GABA receptors and the cholinergic system, and enhancing the inhibitory tone of the nervous system.

Some beverages and foods disrupt sleep. Some of the most common dietary culprits in poor sleep include caffeine, alcohol, and highly processed foods. Caffeine is a commonly consumed stimulant in coffee , tea, carbonated drinks, energy drinks, and chocolate.

Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors to counteract fatigue and sleep while increasing arousal, wakefulness, and alertness. Consuming caffeine causes a decrease in melatonin at night, which disrupts your circadian rhythm and impacts your ability to fall and stay asleep.

Alcohol depresses activity in the central nervous system, and even though it can make you feel sleepy, it can disrupt standard sleep architecture, causing poor sleep quality and disrupted sleep.

Chronic alcohol use is associated with sleep disorders like insomnia. When alcohol is consumed, it is best to avoid drinking at least four hours before bedtime.

Highly processed foods and foods rich in added sugars and fats can also disrupt your sleep. Eating fried fatty foods, spicy foods, and ultra-processed foods, incredibly close to bedtime, can lead to acid reflux and heartburn.

This can disrupt your sleep and cause you to wake up more frequently. To promote quality restorative sleep, you want to ensure you consume adequate, balanced nutrition from high-quality sources. Creating a sleep-promoting diet involves consuming a balanced range of foods that meet your needs without artificial, ultra-processed, and chemical-derived additives.

One dietary pattern widely studied for its positive health impacts is the anti-inflammatory Mediterranean Diet. This way of eating emphasizes plant-based whole foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, beans, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, olive oil, and small amounts of high-quality animal proteins like wild-caught fish.

Research shows that a Mediterranean way of eating with decreased red meat and alcohol intake can improve sleep quality. The timing and frequency of food intake also impact sleep. Your circadian rhythms influence the optimal timing for eating, digesting, and metabolizing food.

Natural cycles of cellular nutrient metabolism have evolved to match daily patterns of stretches of fasts punctuated by feeding times. This allows your metabolism to switch between nutrient storage during periods of availability and the use of stored nutrients during periods of fasting, such as sleep.

Studies show that eating too close to bedtime, especially closer than two hours to sleep results in poorer digestion and sleep quality. Overall, time-restricted eating that allows for at least 12 hours of fasting overnight has been shown to improve sleep quality.

Studies suggest that, independent of weight changes, intermittent fasting involving eating during a period of waking hours ranging from 3—12 hours per day with an extended nightly fast of 12—21 hours improves sleep and quality of life. This is due, at least in part, to interactions between melatonin and insulin.

One internal factor increasingly being studied for its impact on sleep is gut health. The trillions of microbes that inhabit your gut make up your gut microbiome. These microorganisms play crucial roles in regulating many aspects of health, including influencing sleep quality. Growing evidence shows that the gut microbiome is impacted by and influences sleep.

The brain-gut-microbiome axis facilitates these interactions. This dynamic bi-directional relationship involves extensive communication between the microbes in your gut and your nervous system. Gut microbes are involved in synthesizing neurotransmitters that impact sleep, such as serotonin, dopamine, and GABA.

Dietary proteins containing tryptophan are digested in the small intestine, and this amino acid precursor to serotonin is absorbed into the bloodstream. The gut microbiota influences serotonin and, therefore, circadian rhythms in several ways through direct production and metabolic influences.

Chrono-nutrition has also examined the impact of meal timing on the gut microbiota and how this influences sleep. Research has found that consuming a significant portion of your daily calories at night can alter the gut microbiota towards a more pro-inflammatory state, which causes misalignment of the circadian rhythm and results in poor sleep.

Overall, a more diverse gut microbiome is associated with better and longer sleep with less waking during sleep. Some Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes bacteria help improve sleep efficiency, while others Lachnospiraceae , Corynebacterium , and Blautia are associated with poorer sleep quality.

One study found that a fiber-rich diet helps promote Lachnospiraceae UCG and Odoribacter , which is associated with longer sleep and less insomnia. You can improve both your sleep quality and gut health by following many of the practices and guidelines discussed in this article.

Managing chronic stress, moving regularly, avoiding alcohol and ultra-processed foods, and consuming a nutrient-rich diet with plenty of anti-inflammatory plant foods all benefit your gut and sleep. Incorporating fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut provides natural probiotics to support gut microbiome diversity, while prebiotic foods like artichokes and fiber help feed beneficial bacteria.

Internal and environmental factors influence the quality of your sleep. Therefore, it is crucial to integrate dietary strategies with other lifestyle factors for optimal sleep.

Maintaining an environment supporting solid restorative sleep and practicing healthy sleep hygiene habits can help ensure adequate quality hours. Keep your bedroom quiet, comfortably cool, and dark when sleeping. You can also strive to avoid sleeping near electromagnetic fields EMFs by placing the head of your bed at least eight feet away from EMFs from sources like appliances and outlets and keeping your phone outside the bedroom during the night.

Create a regular sleep routine to help your body prepare for settling into rest. This may involve turning off screens a few hours before bedtime and participating in quiet, slower activities like reading or meditating. You may also find it relaxing and sleep-inducing to take a hot bath with magnesium sulfate Epsom salts and lavender essential oil to soothe the body and mind and lower cortisol levels.

Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day to keep your biological clock regulated. Moving in enjoyable ways regularly allows your body to get deeper sleep.

Sleep and nutrition are both essential parts of a balanced, healthy lifestyle. You require regular, adequate, quality restorative sleep for your body to function optimally and perform needed repair, rest, and other processes necessary to maintain health.

Nutritional factors can significantly impact this sleep. What, how, and when you eat can all impact the quality and quantity of sleep you get. Nutritional strategies for better sleep: look at the connections between diet and sleep patterns and work to optimize your sleep with dietary approaches.

Paying attention to when you eat your meals, how much you consume, the balance of different nutrients in your meals and snacks, and if you incorporate enough sleep-supporting nutrients and how these factors impact you is essential when working to ensure quality sleep.

Functional medicine recognizes how critical restorative sleep is for health and well-being and approaches optimizing sleep by looking at many lifestyle factors, including diet. This article will explore some essential connections between sleep and nutrition and explore some powerful nutritional approaches to enhancing sleep quality.

During sleep , your body and brain shift into a restorative mode where digestion, repair, and rest can occur. Environmental cues like light and temperature influence the timing and coordination of these processes and involve several hormones and neurotransmitters that play critical roles in the quality and duration of your sleep.

For example, environmental darkness signals your brain to secrete the hormone melatonin. This helps prepare your body to slow down and start to sleep by suppressing the excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate and stress hormone cortisol. Your circadian rhythm needs to stay synchronized for quality sleep to consistently occur.

The science of sleep and health explains the organized pattern of stages you progress through as you sleep. These sleep segments are divided into two primary categories , non-rapid eye movement NREM and rapid eye movement REM , with various stages in each one that have unique essential functions.

During NREM sleep, you progress from awake to light stage 1 N1 rest as your brain gradually becomes less responsive to environmental cues. Moving deeper into sleep, you pass into N2 when your brain waves become slower, with sleep spindles and K-complexes appearing.

Next, you enter the deepest and most restorative stage of sleep, slow-wave sleep N3 , which is crucial for physical restoration, memory consolidation, and overall health. Rapid eye movements, increased brain activity, and vivid dreaming mark REM sleep. You need adequate REM sleep for your brain to function correctly.

Typically, you move through these stages in around minute cycles throughout the night, experiencing more extended periods of REM sleep as the night progresses. When this sleep cycle is disrupted in different ways, your sleep and health can suffer.

Nutrition plays a decisive role in health, including impacting sleep. What, when, and how you eat can positively or negatively affect your sleep quality. Certain foods, drinks, and nutrients can make it easier or more challenging for you to get the proper amount of restorative sleep that you need to maintain optimal health.

Dietary habits, like the timing and size of your meals and snacks, can also impact the quality of your sleep. Food is made up of macronutrients and micronutrients. Macronutrients such as proteins, carbohydrates, and fats provide your body with energy and allow you to build and repair tissues and carry out critical metabolic processes.

Other significant components of food include fiber and water. A well-balanced diet with the proper energy and macronutrients for your individual needs is critical for maintaining metabolic health and restorative sleep. Macronutrients like protein influence the balance of hormones that regulate your sleep-wake cycle and metabolic processes that impact the quality of sleep.

While the timing and quality of the macronutrients you consume matter, eating too little carbohydrates and protein is associated with shorter sleep duration. Carbohydrates provide a significant source of energy for your body and influence sleep.

The amount, timing, and quality of carbohydrates you eat can affect your sleep patterns. Research suggests that eating high- glycemic index and simple carbohydrates like processed sugars more frequently than more complex carbohydrates like vegetables is associated with poor sleep quality.

Serotonin is an essential hormone for regulating your sleep-wake cycle and is derived from the amino acid tryptophan. Diets that lack adequate tryptophan impair sleep quality. Eating sufficient protein with serotonin-supporting foods such as salmon, eggs, turkey, and chicken while consuming good carbohydrates supports quality sleep.

Other protein sources, like wild fatty fish , have also been shown to promote quality sleep. While a high intake of processed and refined fats has been associated with sleep disorders, fatty fish is rich in vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids, the adequate consumption of which correlates with better sleep.

Research also shows correlations between poor sleep and metabolic diseases associated with diet, including high blood pressure hypertension , obesity , type 2 diabetes , cholesterol imbalances, and metabolic syndrome. These metabolic conditions are influenced by the balance and timing of macronutrients you consume, micronutrients, and gut health.

The quality of nutrition you eat and the balance of specific nutrients impacts your sleep. Micronutrients are required in smaller amounts than macronutrients but also play vital roles in supporting physiological processes like sleep.

These include vitamins and minerals as well as phytonutrients like polyphenols. The balance of these nutrients impacts regulatory hormonal pathways that influence sleep quantity and quality. For example, several micronutrients have been associated with impacts on sleep, including shorter overall sleep duration with deficiencies in vitamin B1 , folate , phosphorus, magnesium , iron , zinc , and selenium , trouble falling asleep with too low levels of alpha-carotene, selenium, and calcium, and non-restorative sleep when calcium and vitamin C intake is inadequate.

Given its vital role in promoting sleep onset, there is growing interest in supporting melatonin levels through diet as an alternative to sleeping aids. Foods that contain melatonin include meats, mushrooms, a variety of vegetables, and fruits, including tart cherries, grapes, pineapples, oranges, and bananas.

Studies suggest that fresh tart cherry juice can help you fall asleep faster and improve insomnia in those over 50 years of age. This seems to be due to their high melatonin and serotonin content and their potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

In addition to adequate amounts of the amino acid tryptophan, vitamin B6, magnesium, vitamin C, zinc, iron, and vitamin B-9 are cofactors in converting tryptophan into serotonin. Vitamin D3 and omega-3 fatty acids are also essential nutrients for regulating serotonin levels since they support the conversion of tryptophan into serotonin.

Foods like kiwis are rich in these nutrients. In fact, studies have shown that consuming two kiwis an hour before bedtime increased total sleep time and sleep quality, with fewer awakenings and higher serotonin levels. Zinc may also play other vital roles in sleep regulation. Consuming zinc -rich foods like oysters and pumpkin seeds has been shown to lessen the time it takes to fall asleep.

Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey showed that those who slept less than five hours per night had lower zinc intakes, suggesting that this micronutrient plays a role in sleep regulation.

Magnesium is another crucial micronutrient for sleep quality. In addition to regulating many enzymatic pathways throughout the body, magnesium is essential for the normal functioning of the sleep—wake cycle.

To consume adequate magnesium, you can incorporate plenty of green leafy vegetables, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. In addition to these nutrients, herbal supplements for sleep improvement include valerian root, chamomile, and lavender.

These natural remedies for better sleep help promote relaxation and help the body fall and stay asleep. For example, valerian root can make it easier to fall asleep and improve sleep quality. While it is generally safe for short-term use, be careful to avoid combining this herb with alcohol or other sedatives.

Chamomile has been used in many traditions to treat insomnia for thousands of years. It acts as a sedative and reduces anxiety since it contains the flavonoid apigenin , which binds to benzodiazepine receptors in the brain. Research shows that chamomile safely and significantly improved the quality of sleep of elderly participants.

Another herbal supplement for improving sleep is lavender. This plant has been studied for its many impacts, including helping to reduce anxiety, improve pain, protect brain health, and act as a sedative.

Inhaled lavender essential oil has effectively and reliably enhanced sleep quality. It may have these therapeutic benefits on sleep due to several mechanisms, including acting as an antioxidant, influencing GABA receptors and the cholinergic system, and enhancing the inhibitory tone of the nervous system.

Some beverages and foods disrupt sleep. Some of the most common dietary culprits in poor sleep include caffeine, alcohol, and highly processed foods. Caffeine is a commonly consumed stimulant in coffee , tea, carbonated drinks, energy drinks, and chocolate.

Caffeine blocks adenosine receptors to counteract fatigue and sleep while increasing arousal, wakefulness, and alertness. Consuming caffeine causes a decrease in melatonin at night, which disrupts your circadian rhythm and impacts your ability to fall and stay asleep.

Alcohol depresses activity in the central nervous system, and even though it can make you feel sleepy, it can disrupt standard sleep architecture, causing poor sleep quality and disrupted sleep.

Chronic alcohol use is associated with sleep disorders like insomnia. When alcohol is consumed, it is best to avoid drinking at least four hours before bedtime.

Highly processed foods and foods rich in added sugars and fats can also disrupt your sleep. Eating fried fatty foods, spicy foods, and ultra-processed foods, incredibly close to bedtime, can lead to acid reflux and heartburn. This can disrupt your sleep and cause you to wake up more frequently.

To promote quality restorative sleep, you want to ensure you consume adequate, balanced nutrition from high-quality sources. Creating a sleep-promoting diet involves consuming a balanced range of foods that meet your needs without artificial, ultra-processed, and chemical-derived additives.

One dietary pattern widely studied for its positive health impacts is the anti-inflammatory Mediterranean Diet. This way of eating emphasizes plant-based whole foods like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, beans, nuts, seeds, herbs, spices, olive oil, and small amounts of high-quality animal proteins like wild-caught fish.

Research shows that a Mediterranean way of eating with decreased red meat and alcohol intake can improve sleep quality. The timing and frequency of food intake also impact sleep.

Your circadian rhythms influence the optimal timing for eating, digesting, and metabolizing food. Natural cycles of cellular nutrient metabolism have evolved to match daily patterns of stretches of fasts punctuated by feeding times. This allows your metabolism to switch between nutrient storage during periods of availability and the use of stored nutrients during periods of fasting, such as sleep.

Studies show that eating too close to bedtime, especially closer than two hours to sleep results in poorer digestion and sleep quality. Overall, time-restricted eating that allows for at least 12 hours of fasting overnight has been shown to improve sleep quality.

Studies suggest that, independent of weight changes, intermittent fasting involving eating during a period of waking hours ranging from 3—12 hours per day with an extended nightly fast of 12—21 hours improves sleep and quality of life.

This is due, at least in part, to interactions between melatonin and insulin. One internal factor increasingly being studied for its impact on sleep is gut health. The trillions of microbes that inhabit your gut make up your gut microbiome. These microorganisms play crucial roles in regulating many aspects of health, including influencing sleep quality.

Growing evidence shows that the gut microbiome is impacted by and influences sleep. The brain-gut-microbiome axis facilitates these interactions.

This dynamic bi-directional relationship involves extensive communication between the microbes in your gut and your nervous system. Gut microbes are involved in synthesizing neurotransmitters that impact sleep, such as serotonin, dopamine, and GABA.

Dietary proteins containing tryptophan are digested in the small intestine, and this amino acid precursor to serotonin is absorbed into the bloodstream. The gut microbiota influences serotonin and, therefore, circadian rhythms in several ways through direct production and metabolic influences.

Chrono-nutrition has also examined the impact of meal timing on the gut microbiota and how this influences sleep. Research has found that consuming a significant portion of your daily calories at night can alter the gut microbiota towards a more pro-inflammatory state, which causes misalignment of the circadian rhythm and results in poor sleep.

Overall, a more diverse gut microbiome is associated with better and longer sleep with less waking during sleep. Some Bacteroidetes and Firmicutes bacteria help improve sleep efficiency, while others Lachnospiraceae , Corynebacterium , and Blautia are associated with poorer sleep quality.

One study found that a fiber-rich diet helps promote Lachnospiraceae UCG and Odoribacter , which is associated with longer sleep and less insomnia. You can improve both your sleep quality and gut health by following many of the practices and guidelines discussed in this article.

Managing chronic stress, moving regularly, avoiding alcohol and ultra-processed foods, and consuming a nutrient-rich diet with plenty of anti-inflammatory plant foods all benefit your gut and sleep.

Incorporating fermented foods like kimchi and sauerkraut provides natural probiotics to support gut microbiome diversity, while prebiotic foods like artichokes and fiber help feed beneficial bacteria.

Internal and environmental factors influence the quality of your sleep. Therefore, it is crucial to integrate dietary strategies with other lifestyle factors for optimal sleep.

Maintaining an environment supporting solid restorative sleep and practicing healthy sleep hygiene habits can help ensure adequate quality hours. Keep your bedroom quiet, comfortably cool, and dark when sleeping. You can also strive to avoid sleeping near electromagnetic fields EMFs by placing the head of your bed at least eight feet away from EMFs from sources like appliances and outlets and keeping your phone outside the bedroom during the night.

Create a regular sleep routine to help your body prepare for settling into rest. This may involve turning off screens a few hours before bedtime and participating in quiet, slower activities like reading or meditating.

You may also find it relaxing and sleep-inducing to take a hot bath with magnesium sulfate Epsom salts and lavender essential oil to soothe the body and mind and lower cortisol levels.

Try to go to sleep and wake up at the same time each day to keep your biological clock regulated. Moving in enjoyable ways regularly allows your body to get deeper sleep.

Regular physical activity like walking, swimming, and jogging during the day can help improve sleep, but avoid too much stimulating movement and cardio at least three hours before bedtime. Mind-body practices like meditation and yoga are also helpful for regulating chronic stress.

They can also help you fall asleep more quickly if you wake up during the night. Challenges in dietary changes for sleep may come into play, especially for those with dietary restrictions, shift-work schedules, and other barriers.

While making several significant changes to your diet and lifestyle right away may be challenging, take small steps and see how they impact your sleep. For example, swap out evening wine for a glass of tart cherry juice.

Or invest in an eye mask to help avoid light from the street disrupting your sleep. Working with a qualified nutrition professional can help you determine the best approach for your body and lifestyle to adequately nourish your body and prepare it for optimal sleep.

Lifestyle habits, including what you eat and how well you sleep, have profound effects on many aspects of your health. The foods you eat, when you eat them, and how well your overall nutrition is balanced all influence the quantity and quality of sleep you get.

A holistic approach recognizes the connections between diet and nutrition and how these factors influence your gut microbiome, stress levels, and sleep. Looking at health from this interconnected perspective allows for rebalancing the body using a combination of dietary strategies along with overall lifestyle modifications for the best outcomes.

Adib-Hajbaghery, M. The effects of chamomile extract on sleep quality among elderly people: A clinical trial. Complementary Therapies in Medicine , 35 , — Binks, H.

Vincent, G. Effects of Diet on Sleep: A Narrative Review. Nutrients , 12 4 , Blake, K. Anti Inflammatory Diet What to Eat and Avoid Plus Specialty Labs To Monitor Results.

Rupa Health. Bollu, P. The best mattress and bedding are extremely subjective. Want suggestions? Browse our market, filled with editor-trusted and expert-verified pillow and mattress recommendations.

Your bed, mattress, and pillow can greatly affect sleep quality and joint or back pain. Try to buy a high quality bedding — including a mattress — every 5—8 years. One study in older adults determined that exercise nearly halved the amount of time it took to fall asleep and provided 41 more minutes of sleep at night.

In people with severe insomnia, exercise offered more benefits than most drugs. This is due to the stimulatory effect of exercise, which increases alertness and hormones like epinephrine and adrenaline. However, some studies show no negative effects, so it clearly depends on the individual.

Nocturia is the medical term for excessive urination during the night. It affects sleep quality and daytime energy. Drinking large amounts of liquids before bed can lead to similar symptoms, though some people are more sensitive than others.

You should also use the bathroom right before going to bed, as this may decrease your chances of waking in the night. Sleep plays a key role in your health. Other studies conclude that getting less than 7—8 hours per night increases your risk of developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Our experts continually monitor the health and wellness space, and we update our articles when new information becomes available. This article is based on scientific evidence, written by experts and fact checked by experts.

Our team of licensed nutritionists and dietitians strive to be objective, unbiased, honest and to present both sides of the argument. This article contains scientific references. The numbers in the parentheses 1, 2, 3 are clickable links to peer-reviewed scientific papers. Five Veterans share their tips for getting more restful, quality sleep and improving their sleep hygiene.

Exercise, along with medications, can be a helpful strategy to improve excessive daytime sleepiness. If idiopathic hypersomnia remains untreated, your risk of developing other chronic conditions such as heart disease and hypertension may increase.

Researchers have found that this sleep disorder called idiopathic hypersomnia may actually be much more common than previously realized. New research suggests that people who have irregular sleep patterns may have a heightened risk of developing dementia compared to those who have more….

The end of daylight saving time can result in numerous health changes, most notably disruptions in sleep and mood. Two new studies investigated sleep habits of people who like to snooze in the morning.

The research suggests that people felt more rested and alert…. Here are 9 simple tips to help you fall asleep and stay asleep. A new study demonstrates shows the optimal temperature for sleep among older adults is between 68 to 77°F. A Quiz for Teens Are You a Workaholic?

How Well Do You Sleep? Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Nutrition Evidence Based 17 Proven Tips to Sleep Better at Night. Medically reviewed by Atli Arnarson BSc, PhD — By Rudy Mawer, MSc, CISSN — Updated on February 23, How we vet brands and products Healthline only shows you brands and products that we stand behind.

Our team thoroughly researches and evaluates the recommendations we make on our site. To establish that the product manufacturers addressed safety and efficacy standards, we: Evaluate ingredients and composition: Do they have the potential to cause harm?

Fact-check all health claims: Do they align with the current body of scientific evidence? Assess the brand: Does it operate with integrity and adhere to industry best practices? We do the research so you can find trusted products for your health and wellness.

Read more about our vetting process. Was this helpful? Increase bright light exposure during the day. Reduce blue light exposure in the evening. Reduce irregular or long daytime naps.

Try to sleep and wake at consistent times. Take a melatonin supplement. Consider these other supplements. Optimize your bedroom environment. Set your bedroom temperature. Relax and clear your mind in the evening.

Take a relaxing bath or shower. Rule out a sleep disorder. Get a comfortable bed, mattress, and pillow. Exercise regularly — but not before bed.

The bottom line. How we reviewed this article: Sources. Healthline has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, academic research institutions, and medical associations.

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Feb 23, Written By Rudy Mawer. Feb 28, Medically Reviewed By Atli Arnarson BSc, PhD. Share this article. Evidence Based This article is based on scientific evidence, written by experts and fact checked by experts. related stories 5 Veterans Examine Their Relationship to Sleep and Share Sleep Hygiene Tips.

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