Best and Worst Foods for Sleep (cont.)

Dark chocolate

Worst

Chocolate contains not only calories, but caffeine, especially dark chocolate.

A 1.55-ounce Hershey’s milk chocolate bar, for instance, contains about 12 milligrams of caffeine, or the same amount as three cups of decaffeinated coffee.

A Hershey’s special-dark bar has 20 milligrams of caffeine, about the same as half an ounce of espresso. Chocolate also contains theobromine, another stimulant that can increase heart rate and sleeplessness.

Bananas

Best

Bananas help promote sleep because they contain the natural muscle-relaxants magnesium and potassium, says Gans. They’re also carbs which will help make you sleepy as well.

In fact, bananas are a win-win situation in general. “They’re overall health promoters,” says Rosenberg. “We need potassium for cardiovascular health and cognitive functioning.”

Red Bull

Worst

Yup, the culprit here again is caffeine, and it’s present in spades. An eight-ounce Red Bull energy drink contains about 80 milligrams of caffeine or equivalent to a one-ounce Starbucks espresso.

Five-Hour Energy packs 200 milligrams of caffeine into just two ounces, which means you might as well be imbibing 16 ounces of regular coffee.

With this much caffeine, you might do well to avoid energy drinks even earlier in the day. “In some people caffeine can take up to eight hours to wear off,” says Gans.

Turkey

Best

Like milk, turkey contains tryptophan, a chemical that can make people doze off in front of the TV after Thanksgiving dinner. But if you’re a die-hard insomniac, a meal’s worth of turkey (or a glass of milk) isn’t likely to help you.

“You’d have to drink a lot of milk or turkey to have a major effect,” says Rosenberg. “[But] if you need a little bit of a push in the right direction [it might help].”

Sweet potato

Best

Sweet potatoes are a sleeper’s dream. Not only do they provide sleep-promoting complex carbohydrates, they also contain that muscle-relaxant potassium.

Other good sources of potassium include regular potatoes (baked and keep the skin on), lima beans, and papaya.

Indian curry

Worst

It’s not Indian food per se but the heavy spices which can keep you awake at night.

One study conducted in Australia found that young men who poured Tabasco sauce and mustard on their dinner had more trouble falling asleep and experienced less deep sleep than men who ate blander suppers. Spices can also cause heartburn.

So definitely don’t do spicy and high-fat in the same late-day meal. It’s a potential sleep-wrecking recipe.

Valerian tea

Best

The root of the valerian plant has been shown in some studies to speed the onset of sleep and improve sleep quality.

Some people hold that valerian tea along with motherwort, chamomile, and catnip brews, none of which contain caffeine, will help make you drowsy.

It may not be any property of the actual tea however, but the power of the relaxing ritual as you get ready for bed, says Roehrs.

Chicken

Worst

Chicken or any type of protein is going to be counterproductive if consumed at night. “Digestion is supposed to slow by about 50% while you’re sleeping but if you eat a lot of protein, you digest [even] more slowly,” explains Rosenberg.

Instead of focusing on sleeping, your body is focusing on digesting. Adding a carbohydrate to the protein can tip the balance back towards sleep.

Next post:
8 Natural Remedies That May Help You Sleep
Before you rush to the drugstore to buy an over-the-counter (OTC) sleep medication, try one of the following natural sleep remedies. Many of these can not only help you fall asleep and stay asleep, but they may also promote muscle relaxation.