The 5 Healthiest Bedtime Snacks for Better Sleep, According to a Top Dietitian – Well+Good

Food can be confusing. Should you be avoiding gluten at all costs? Gobbling up avocados as fast as humanly possible? Well+Good's nutrition experts are setting the story straight when it comes to food, cutting through the hype and hand-wringing and getting you the most comprehensive information on what you should (and maybe shouldn't) put in that body of yours. See All

I know everyone raves about breakfast in bed, but let me be the first to say that dessertin bed is highly, highly underrated. On this weeks episode of You Versus Food, host and dietitian Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, RD, says that theres absolutely a healthy way to choose what to eat before bed so you go to sleep feeling satisfied andin my casedreaming of chocolate chia seed pudding.

A question I get asked a lot is, Is it bad to eat late at night? Well, today well dive into this quandary and Ill give you some tips about what to eat if you do opt for a pre-slumber snack, says Beckerman at the top of the episode. According to Beckerman, a larger pre-sleep snack may upset your stomach, disrupt your sleeping patterns (or circadian rhythm), and even minimize the quality of rest you get from your eight hours.

When you lie down, you lose the gravity you need to keep the food youve eaten moving from top to bottom, adds Beckerman. The esophageal sphincter, the valve closing your stomach from your throat, may not close completely as a result. This causes some of your stomach acids to move upward, causing some of that oh-so-painful heartburn.

Thats not to say that a bedtime snack is always a bad idea. In fact, the right kind of snack may act as a sleeping potion of sorts that lulls you softly into your dream world. If youre someone who struggles with glucose control, are often awoken by hunger pains, or are trying to increase your muscle mass, sometimes a late-night snack can be a good thing, says Beckerman. In general, she recommends keeping it small, at about 200 calories. If you can incorporate protein, it can help repair and rebuild muscles in need of a tune-up thanks to the release of human growth hormone while you snooze, adds Beckerman. Below, find two snacks that fit the bill.

Bananas are high in potassium and magnesium, which can help your muscles relax. Eating carbohydrates with a banana with tryptophan, found in nut butter, can make the amino acids more available to the brain, and may increase your ability to sleepso this treat is a sleep-aid wonder, says Beckerman. Yet another reason why these two ingredients are literally a dream team.

Related Stories

{{ truncate(post.title, 18) }}

If you want to keep things super simple before you call it a night, plain Greek yogurt is going to hit the spot. Plain Greek yogurt is filled with many properties that can positively impact your sleep. For starters, its a high-protein food thats low in sugar and filled with probiotics. The protein will help keep you full at night and probiotics can help improve sleep quality, says Beckerman.

To hear about even more of Beckermans go-to somnolent snacks, watch the full video. (Spoiler: Chia puddingis on the table.)

Link:
The 5 Healthiest Bedtime Snacks for Better Sleep, According to a Top Dietitian - Well+Good