Written By Paisley Hansen / Reviewed By Ray Spotts

Getting enough quality sleep is important for your health. It reduces the risk for medical conditions such as diabetes and boosts your immune system.

Many people struggle to get the recommended seven to nine hours every night. If you’re one of those people who have trouble falling or staying asleep, there are various things you can do to help.

Eating a healthy, balanced diet is one of them. Your diet, including when and what you eat, has a large effect on the quality and duration of your sleep. Here are some tips for improving your sleep with your diet.

Eat a Balanced Diet

Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet helps you get quality rest. To have a balanced diet, make sure you eat plenty of fiber and eat a variety of foods to help you sleep that provide your body with the nutrients it needs.

You should also make sure you are eating enough calories. If you don’t eat enough, you won’t give your body the nutrients it needs, making it difficult to get a good night’s rest.

It’s also important to stay hydrated. Doing these things ensures that you will have energy throughout the day and improve your sleep cycle. Even while you are sleeping, your body needs proper fuel to restore itself. Therefore, provide your body with plenty of nutrients by eating lean proteins, fruits, vegetables and whole grains.

To get enough fiber, add berries, nuts and beans to your diet. Choose foods that have nutrients like magnesium, B vitamins, melatonin, zinc and calcium, which are all known to help improve the quality of your rest.

Don’t Skip Breakfast

You’ve heard many times before that skipping breakfast is a bad idea for your health for many reasons. Eating a healthy breakfast that includes fiber and protein and is low in sugar is important for starting your day right and maintaining your blood sugar during the day.

Eating a big healthy breakfast can also help with weight loss and with maintaining a healthy body weight. Try to make your breakfast and lunch the bigger meals of the day as opposed to eating a large meal late at night.

Try Not To Eat Too Close to Bedtime

Eating too late at night or too close to when you go to bed can disrupt your slumber and stop melatonin. Try to eat your dinner at least a few hours before bed and try not to snack too much at night. If you do really want a nighttime snack, avoid coffee, sugar, spicy food and carbonated beverages because they can all make it harder to get good rest.

Choose the Right Nighttime Snacks

On the other hand, whole grains and certain fruits can help you sleep. Kiwis are one good option because they have serotonin and folate, both of which are associated with helping one fall asleep.

Another option is a banana because they have fiber, magnesium, serotonin and potassium. Prunes also have helpful nutrients like magnesium, vitamin B6 and calcium, and help make melatonin.

Whole grain cereals are a great source of melatonin and fiber as well. If you have trouble falling asleep, you can also try drinking tart cherry juice before bed because tart cherries are anti-inflammatory and contain melatonin.

The saying about drinking a glass of warm milk before bed also has some truth to it. Milk has B vitamins and the amino acid tryptophan, both of which can help you sleep.

Other foods that contain tryptophan include yogurt, cheese, chicken, turkey, fish and eggs. Nuts such as almonds or walnuts and soothing beverages like chamomile tea or passionflower tea are also great for late-night snacking.

Eating a healthy, balanced diet can help you fall asleep more easily and help you improve your sleep in general. Try these tips for improving your sleep with your diet so that you can get better rest and feel your best.

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Written By:

Paisley Hansen is a freelance writer and expert in health, fitness, and growing young. When she isn’t writing she can usually be found reading a good book or hitting the gym. She loves hearing from readers so feel free to contact her through Facebook.

Reviewed By:

Founder Ray Spotts has a passion for all things natural and has made a life study of nature as it relates to health and well-being. Ray became a forerunner bringing products to market that are extraordinarily effective and free from potentially harmful chemicals and additives. For this reason Ray formed Trusted Health Products, a company you can trust for clean, effective, and healthy products. Ray is an organic gardener, likes fishing, hiking, and teaching and mentoring people to start new businesses. You can get his book for free, “How To Succeed In Business Based On God’s Word,” at www.rayspotts.com.