Your brain naturally produces a hormone called melatonin, which helps regulate your cycles of sleeping and waking. Healthy levels of melatonin can help you get to sleep and enjoy a deep and restful sleep. If you're having trouble sleeping, you may get the rest you need by eating foods that either contain melatonin or help your body produce more of it.
Oats
Oats are one of the best food sources of melatonin, reports Iowa State University. But since no foods contain high amounts of melatonin, even the foods that contain the most melatonin --- like oats --- contain just small amounts, so you'd have to consume about 20 bowls of oats to get 1 to 3 mg of melatonin, which is the same amount found in a typical melatonin supplement pill. AskDrSears.com recommends eating oatmeal and raisin cookies as a snack and washing them down with a glass of milk at least one hour before bedtime, because oats contain some melatonin, while milk is rich in an amino acid called tryptophan, which helps your brain produce more melatonin.
Rice
Rice is another one of the best food sources of melatonin, according to Iowa State University. Not only does rice contain melatonin, but it also contains tryptophan. So eating a dinner that includes rice, such as a stir fry meal or casserole baked with rice, can help your body's melatonin levels rise to prepare you for sleep when it's time for bed. But AskDrSears.com cautions that eating a large meal too close to bedtime may interfere with sleep, so it's best to choose a light dinner and eat it several hours before going to bed.
Milk and Dairy Products
Milk and the various dairy products made from milk, such as cheese, yogurt, and ice cream, contain high amounts of tryptophan, notes AskDrSears.com. Milk and dairy products are also rich in calcium. Your body uses tryptophan to produce more melatonin and calcium helps that process take place in the brain. As such, you can promote a good night's sleep by drinking a glass of milk in the evening or eating a bedtime snack that includes some kind of dairy product.
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