Eat your way to better sleep: Here are some foods that will help you snooze



MILWAUKEE -- Registered dietitian Lisa Grudzielanek joins Real Milwaukee to about about foods that can help and hinder your shuteye.

Best Food to Promote Sleep

• Magnesium-Rich Foods
 Magnesium promotes sleep and muscle relaxation
 Magnesium deficiency can cause insomnia
 Leafy greens, avocado, pumpkin and sesame seeds, almonds, black beans,

• Tryptophan-Rich Foods
 Research shows that foods with tryptophan produces serotonin, which helps promote sleep
 Turkey, eggs, milk, pumpkin seeds are good sources

• Vitamin B6 Rich-Foods
 B6, is needed to make melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone triggered by darkness
 Chick peas, beef liver, salmon, turkey, chicken, banana

• Cherries & Tart Cherry Juice
 One of the few food sources of melatonin
 Have a handful an hour before bedtime
 When adults with chronic insomnia drank a cup of tart cherry juice twice a day they experienced some relief in the severity of their insomnia.
Worst Sleep Stealers

• Avoid caffeine, alcohol, and high-fat foods
 Keep your caffeine intake to under 300 mg per day and avoid it close to bedtime
 Alcohol disrupts sleep pattern
 High-fat food too close to bedtime disrupt digestion and restful sleep