Foods Containing L-Tryptophan

Foods containing L-tryptophan can help make you sleepy, and sleep better through the night. L-tryptophan is an amino acid known to induce sleep.

Sleep experts recommend eating carbohydrates alongside l-tryptophan foods for dinner or bedtime snacks. This will relax your brain and body. A sweet, carbohydrate-only meal or snack will have the opposite effect - it will stimulate your system and make it difficult to sleep.

Foods with higher amounts of l-tryptophan include:

• dairy foods
• beans
• meats - chicken, eggs, seafood, beef, pork, turkey
• hazelnuts and peanuts
• hummus and sesame seeds
• tofu, soybeans

Meals to induce sleep

Lighter meals are more relaxing, as a heavy meal can increase your metabolism and heartrate in order to digest it. This can keep you awake. It is ideal to go to bed with a comfortable stomach, rather than one that is too full. Meals like these can help you relax and sleep well:

• pasta with cheese
• scrambled eggs with cheese
• meat and vegetables

Bedtime snacks

It takes about an hour to digest food, so try these relaxing snacks about an hour before you plan to go to bed:

• milk with whole-grain cereal
• apple pie with ice cream
• peanut butter sandwich
• cookies with milk