If you used to drink warm milk before bedtime as a child, or if you noticed the “sleepy girl mocktail” trend on social media last year, you know how endlessly appealing it can be to find the perfect food or drink to help you sleep.
But research in this field is just emerging, experts say — and there is no magic bullet ingredient or food that will guarantee a flawless slumber.
What is clear, though, is that what you eat throughout the day, and your diet in general, both play important roles in how you sleep. Here’s what we know.
What might help?
Some research has found links between consuming certain foods and drinks and better sleep, said Marie-Pierre St-Onge, an associate professor of nutritional medicine at Columbia University and the co-author of the new book, “Eat Better, Sleep Better.”
In several small trials, for example, researchers found that adults who drank two servings of tart cherry juice per day — one in the morning and another in the evening — slept longer and woke less throughout the night compared with when they consumed placebos.
Studies have also found benefits from consuming other foods, such as about nine ounces of raw beefsteak tomatoes two hours before bedtime, two kiwi fruits one hour before bedtime, and one-third of a cup of walnuts throughout the day.