Eating walnuts before bed may help you sleep better (2024)

FAQs

Eating walnuts before bed may help you sleep better? ›

Walnuts contain a few compounds that promote and regulate sleep, including melatonin, serotonin, and magnesium. Each 100-g serving of walnuts also contains other nutrients that can help sleep, such as: 158 mg of magnesium. 441 mg of potassium.

Health Benefits of Walnuts

They also supply many antioxidants, such as polyphenols, which improve gut health and reduce risk of chronic disease. While you could eat walnuts any time of the day, bedtime is a great time to eat walnuts because they have numerous compounds that are tied to healthy sleep patterns.

Walnuts are a good source of the amino acid tryptophan. One serving of walnuts (about a handful) contains 318 mg of this beneficial amino acid (Self Nutrition Data, 2015b). Thus, eating a walnut-rich snack an hour or two before bed could help you drift off to sleep more easily.

One of the best nighttime snacks to improve sleep is a handful of nuts. Most nuts, but especially tree nuts such as walnuts, cashews, and pistachios, are high in tryptophan. This molecule boosts melatonin and serotonin production in the body, helping you fall asleep and stay asleep better.

One can soak walnuts overnight to improve their digestibility and nutrition absorption and have them in the morning. Adding them to your smoothies, salads, shakes, chutneys, breakfast cereal, desserts, dalia is also a good idea. "The best time to eat walnuts in summers is in the morning.

“Many nuts such as almonds, walnuts and pistachios have melatonin, along with magnesium and zinc, which together can help people get a better night's sleep,” Melendez-Klinger says. Spread some nut butter on a rice cake for the ultimate before-bed snack. (Basic peanut butter and crackers works, too.)

Compared to other nuts, walnuts are richer in melatonin (Verde et al., 2022) .

How many walnuts should you eat in a day? A 2021 article on the effect of walnut consumption found that consuming 30–60 grams of walnuts daily is beneficial for heart health. 30–60 grams is the same as 1–2 ounces or a 1/4–1/2 cup of walnuts.

Which food is good for deep sleep? ›

Dairy products: Dairy products, such as a glass of milk, cottage cheese, and plain yogurt, are known sources of tryptophan. Milk has been shown to improve sleep in older adults, especially when paired with light exercise. Bananas: Banana are a modest source of magnesium. This may help you get a good night's sleep.

Snacks that balance carbohydrates and protein, such as whole grain crackers and cheese, support consistent blood sugar levels. From a sleep perspective, combining carb-rich foods like crackers with good tryptophan sources like cheese helps make tryptophan more available to your brain.

Besides, soaking walnuts also improves their texture," says Bharadwaj. "Just soak 2-4 walnut pieces overnight in a cup of water and have them. You can have it at bed time with a glass of milk," says Dr Patel. Dr Bharadwaj says 5-6 hours of soaking is best.

Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries are not only low in calories but also high in fiber and antioxidants, magnesium, and vitamin K. The fiber content helps control hunger and promotes feelings of fullness, while antioxidants support overall health.