I was at a loss trying to figure out how much cheese to eat before bed. I didn’t want to eat too much, because it might make my digestive system work overtime. But if it’s the tryptophan that supposedly helps people fall asleep, I wanted to get enough to notice a difference. So I searched for non-scientific studies to see if they could point me in the right direction.
A 2005 study by the British Cheese Board said that 72% of people got a good night’s sleep after eating 20 grams of cheese 30 minutes before bed. That’s just about an ounce. Because I wanted to see if cheese would help me fall asleep more quickly, I decided to triple that amount.
I didn’t want any other foods to interfere with the potential effect of tryptophan, so I ate the cheese with nothing else. That’s a lot of cheese to eat at once without crackers or fruit. I’m not a huge fan of cheddar cheese unless it’s tucked and melted between two grilled slices of bread. After eating the cheese, I engaged in my typical evening ritual of reading and waited for the tryptophan to do its work.