What Is the Best Thing to Eat Before Going to Bed? Your Guide to Sleep-Friendly Snacks

December 6, 2025 •

4 min read

Research indicates that what you eat before bed significantly impacts sleep quality by influencing key neurotransmitters and hormones. Choosing the right small, nutrient-dense foods is often considered the best thing to eat before going to bed to promote rest rather than disrupt it.

Quick Summary

This guide covers ideal small, nutrient-dense snacks, like almonds, kiwis, and tart cherry juice, that can promote better sleep by providing essential minerals and compounds.

Key Points

Choose nutrient-dense snacks: Opt for small snacks under 200 calories that are rich in vitamins, minerals, and sleep-promoting compounds like melatonin and tryptophan.
Combine protein and complex carbs: This pairing helps make tryptophan, an amino acid precursor for serotonin and melatonin, more available to the brain.
Timing is key: Eat your snack 1 to 2 hours before bedtime to allow for proper digestion and prevent discomfort or sleep disruption.
Avoid sleep disruptors: Steer clear of caffeine, alcohol, spicy foods, and high-fat or sugary items, which can interfere with sleep onset and quality.
Stay hydrated, but mindfully: Drinking plenty of water is good, but avoid large amounts of fluids right before bed to prevent nighttime bathroom trips.
Prioritize specific foods: Incorporate foods like almonds, walnuts, kiwis, tart cherries, Greek yogurt, and oats, which have been shown to aid sleep.

The Science Behind Your Bedtime Snack

Eating a snack before bed is a complex topic, but modern research helps clarify the pros and cons. The primary goal of a smart, late-night snack is not just to satiate hunger, but to leverage specific nutrients that aid the body’s natural sleep cycle. Your body and brain need compounds like tryptophan, melatonin, and magnesium to wind down properly.

Tryptophan: This essential amino acid is a precursor to the sleep-regulating hormones serotonin and melatonin. Since your body can't produce it, it must be obtained through diet. Combining tryptophan-rich foods with a small amount of complex carbohydrates can help it cross the blood-brain barrier more effectively, increasing its sleep-promoting effects.

Melatonin: A hormone that controls your sleep-wake cycle, or circadian rhythm, melatonin can be found naturally in some foods. Consuming these foods can supplement your body's natural production, signaling that it's time to rest.

Magnesium: This mineral acts as a natural muscle relaxant and helps calm the nervous system by binding to GABA receptors in the brain, promoting rest and relaxation. Many people are deficient in magnesium, so incorporating it into a bedtime snack can be beneficial.

Top Sleep-Inducing Snacks

For a healthy, restorative night's sleep, consider these expert-approved snacks:

A small bowl of oatmeal with nuts and berries: Oats are a source of natural melatonin and complex carbohydrates, which can aid in tryptophan absorption. Pairing them with magnesium-rich nuts like almonds or walnuts and antioxidant-packed berries creates a balanced, sleep-supporting snack.
Handful of almonds or walnuts: Almonds are packed with magnesium and melatonin, while walnuts are known for their high melatonin content and omega-3s. A small handful is enough to deliver benefits without being too heavy.
Greek yogurt with sliced banana: Greek yogurt contains tryptophan and calcium, which helps with melatonin production. The banana provides magnesium and potassium, known for muscle relaxation. It’s a perfect combination of protein and carbs.
Two kiwis: A small, compelling study showed that eating two kiwis an hour before bed helped participants fall asleep faster and improve sleep quality. This is potentially due to its serotonin and antioxidant content.
A glass of tart cherry juice: Tart cherries are a natural source of melatonin and have been shown to help improve sleep duration and efficiency, especially for those with insomnia. Opt for an unsweetened variety to avoid a sugar spike.
Protein smoothie with milk and oats: Blending low-fat milk (a source of tryptophan and melatonin) with whole-grain oats can create a satisfying, hunger-curbing drink that promotes muscle repair overnight.
Hard-boiled egg and whole-grain crackers: Eggs are a good source of protein and tryptophan, and pairing them with complex carbs from crackers can aid sleep without causing a blood sugar spike.

What to Avoid Before Bed

Just as important as what you should eat is what you should avoid. Certain foods and drinks can actively disrupt your sleep, leading to restlessness and poor sleep quality.

Caffeine: Found in coffee, tea, chocolate, and some sodas, caffeine is a stimulant that can keep you alert for hours. Even dark chocolate contains enough caffeine to cause issues for sensitive individuals.
Alcohol: While it might seem to help you fall asleep initially, alcohol fragments sleep later in the night and can disrupt the deep, restorative stages.
Spicy, heavy, and high-fat foods: A large, heavy, or greasy meal before bed can lead to indigestion, heartburn, and discomfort, especially when lying down. These foods are difficult to digest and can make sleep elusive.
Sugary snacks: Ice cream, cookies, and other high-sugar treats can cause a spike and crash in blood sugar, potentially disrupting sleep.
Citrus and acidic foods: These can trigger acid reflux and heartburn when consumed too close to bedtime.

Creating Your Perfect Bedtime Snack

Finding the right bedtime snack is about more than just picking a single item. The optimal approach involves balancing nutrients, controlling portion sizes, and timing your snack correctly.

Balance your nutrients: Aim for a snack that includes a combination of complex carbohydrates and a moderate amount of protein. The carbs help the tryptophan from the protein reach the brain, while the protein promotes satiety. A handful of pumpkin seeds with a few dried cranberries is a great example.

Mind your portion size: A light snack of around 150-200 calories is generally recommended. This curbs hunger without overloading your digestive system, which would require energy to process and keep you awake.

Timing is everything: Ideally, have your bedtime snack 1 to 2 hours before you plan to go to sleep. This gives your body enough time to begin digestion without interfering with your sleep-inducing hormones. Avoid eating right before you lie down to prevent discomfort and reflux.

Bedtime Snack Comparison Table


Snack	Key Nutrients	Primary Benefit for Sleep
Almonds (handful)	Magnesium, Melatonin, Healthy Fats	Promotes muscle relaxation and sleep-wake cycle regulation
Tart Cherry Juice (8 oz)	Melatonin, Antioxidants	Aids in sleep duration and quality, combats inflammation
Greek Yogurt & Banana	Tryptophan, Calcium, Magnesium	Helps produce melatonin and relaxes muscles
Kiwi (2 fruits)	Serotonin, Antioxidants	Improves sleep onset time and quality
Whole-Grain Oatmeal	Melatonin, Magnesium, Complex Carbs	Natural source of sleep hormones and stabilizes blood sugar
Turkey & Whole-Grain Crackers	Tryptophan, Complex Carbs	Provides amino acid precursor for serotonin and melatonin

Conclusion: Mindful Snacking for Restful Sleep

Choosing the best thing to eat before going to bed is a mindful process that can lead to significant improvements in your sleep quality. Rather than reaching for sugary or heavy foods that can disrupt your sleep cycle, opt for light, nutrient-dense snacks rich in sleep-promoting compounds like tryptophan, melatonin, and magnesium. By balancing protein and carbohydrates, watching portion sizes, and timing your snack correctly, you can curb late-night hunger and set yourself up for a restful night of sleep. Remember that consistency with your eating habits and overall diet, as supported by good health resources like Healthline's 9 Best Foods and Drinks to Have Before Bed, is key to long-term success.

Frequently Asked Questions

Not necessarily. While large, heavy meals can cause digestion issues and disrupt sleep, a small, nutrient-dense snack can actually be beneficial. For many people, a light snack helps stabilize blood sugar and satisfies hunger, which can lead to better sleep.

Complex carbohydrates from whole grains are the best choice. Foods like oatmeal or whole-grain crackers provide a slow release of energy, which helps stabilize blood sugar and aids in tryptophan uptake to the brain without causing a disruptive sugar spike and crash.

Yes, sugary snacks like cookies or ice cream can cause a spike and then a rapid drop in blood sugar. This can stimulate your body, making it harder to fall asleep and potentially disrupting sleep later in the night.

Yes, although alcohol may make you feel drowsy initially, it significantly interferes with the quality of your sleep, particularly REM sleep. This often leads to waking up more frequently during the night and feeling less rested.

Yes, high-fat, greasy foods can be difficult and slow to digest, which can lead to discomfort, heartburn, and indigestion when you're trying to lie down and sleep. It's best to avoid them in the evening.

Combining a small portion of complex carbs with a tryptophan-rich protein source is a great strategy. The carbs increase insulin, which helps clear out competing amino acids and allows tryptophan to enter the brain more easily, where it can be converted into serotonin and melatonin.

Yes, spicy foods can cause heartburn and indigestion, which is worsened by lying down. It can also elevate your body temperature, which is a signal to stay awake, disrupting your ability to fall asleep comfortably.