Diet and sleep: what to eat (and avoid) in the evening

What and when you eat affects how easily you fall asleep and how restorative your night is.

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What to limit

  • Caffeine after early afternoon โ€” it can stay active in your system for 6+ hours.
  • Alcohol close to bedtime: it can help you fall asleep but fragments sleep later in the night.
  • Heavy, fatty meals less than 2-3 hours before bed.

What can help

Foods containing tryptophan, magnesium or complex carbohydrates (dairy, bananas, oats, nuts) in a light evening meal are commonly associated with easier sleep onset.

Popular picks

Organic Relaxing Bedtime Tea

An organic herbal blend (chamomile, verbena, lime blossom and similar plants) that many people make part of a calming wind-down ritual before bed.

See on Amazon โ†’

Magnesium Dietary Supplement

A commonly used dietary supplement that some people take as part of an evening routine โ€” not a treatment for insomnia, and worth discussing with a pharmacist or doctor before starting.

See on Amazon โ†’

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