The Healthiest Midnight Snacks You Can Eat For A Better Night’s Sleep – Health Digest

If you’re already having a tough time nodding off, you don’t want to reach for a midnight snack that will make falling asleep even more difficult. Health Digest spoke with Maggie Moon, MS, RD, a Los Angeles-based registered dietitian and author of a new book, “The MIND Diet: 2nd Edition” (Simon & Schuster, 2024), who shared her healthiest sleepytime snack suggestions with us.

To start, opt for lighter foods over heavier meals, and be sure to take caffeine and alcohol out of the running, both of which can sabotage sleep quality and duration. Instead, Moon explains that we want to choose healthy snacks that support the brain’s natural production of melatonin, a hormone that regulates our natural sleep-wake cycle. “Essential amino acid tryptophan, neurotransmitter serotonin, hormone melatonin, B vitamins, and magnesium are the key nutrients associated with a good night’s sleep,” she states. Therefore, snacks that are rich in these nutrients as well as certain types of carbohydrates are the way to go. While white bread or sugary cereals may increase the risk of insomnia, Moon explains that carbs in the form of whole grains, fruits and veggies may enhance sleep. Here are five combinations of healthy midnight snacks that will have you waking up refreshed and ready to tackle the day.

Maggie Moon’s first healthy midnight snack suggestion is a ¼ cup of walnuts mixed with chopped kiwi. As a staple of the sleep-friendly Mediterranean diet, walnuts contain both melatonin and magnesium, two sleep-promoting nutrients. Citing a recent 2021 study published in the Annual Review of Nutrition, Moon tells us, “Walnuts and kiwi both contain serotonin, too, which that same study suggests may improve quantity and quality of sleep and better daytime functioning.”

If you’re not a fan of nuts, however, Moon alternatively suggests ½ cup of Greek yogurt with a squeeze of honey on top. Greek yogurt is fermented dairy that houses a protein known to boost levels of tryptophan in the brain, which plays a role in melatonin production. Moon states that some research suggests eating Greek yogurt may even be superior to drinking regular milk to enhance sleep. But Greek yogurt is only one half of the equation; honey is the other. All that golden, ooey-gooey goodness provides us with carbs to boost the amount of tryptophan making its way across the blood-brain barrier. In fact, Moon states that some research has found links between drinking milk with honey and improved quality of sleep. 

If you’re a cheese-and-crackers enthusiast, try topping a few whole grain crackers with tomato, half a hard boiled egg, and a dash of pepper or dressing instead. Not only are eggs great for our brain and muscle health, but they also contain tryptophan. Beefsteak tomatoes are particularly rich in melatonin, and the whole grain portion of this snack gives us a dose of B vitamins, which help the body process tryptophan into melatonin. If you want something a little heartier, however, Moon suggests snack-sized portions of dinner leftovers; specifically, lean pork paired with leafy greens and rice. “Pork tenderloin is an extra lean, heart-healthy source of tryptophan, which some may be surprised to learn is as lean as a skinless chicken breast,” she tells us. As a carbohydrate, the rice helps enhance tryptophan travel to the brain, while the vitamin B and magnesium content in the leafy greens promotes melatonin synthesis.

Beverages aren’t out of the question, either. Popularly referred to as a sleeptytime mocktail, Moon states that a 4-ounce cup of tart cherry juice mixed with sparkling water is another healthy bedtime snack that may help us hit the hay faster and experience fewer interruptions throughout the night. This is due to the fruit’s tryptophan, serotonin, and melatonin content. To see for ourselves, we gave the Sleepy Girl Mocktail a try — a viral variation of the classic sleepytime mocktail.