The Tamesis
banana
Rich in magnesium, potassium, and tryptophan, bananas are your ticket to relaxation and restful sleep—use them instead of sugary evening desserts.
chamomile tea
Swap your usual caffeine for chamomile: It can help calm your mind by reducing anxiety and stress, while inducing good drowsiness thanks to an antioxidant called apigenin.
Fat fish
Fatty fish (such as salmon, mackerel, sardines, and trout) are rich in vitamin B6, which promotes the body’s production of melatonin, helping you fall asleep faster.
milk
It’s a classic for a reason. Not only is it rich in tryptophan, but calcium can also help us sleep.
sour cherries
Natural sources of tryptophan and Melatonin, tart cherry, can help you fall off more easily. Additionally, it contains other phytochemicals that help protect tryptophan from breaking down in the body, prolonging its sleep-improving effects.
mushroom
Mushrooms naturally contain small amounts of tryptophan – choose cremini, portobello or white button mushrooms.
egg
Eggs are rich in tryptophan, which can help increase your melatonin stores before bed. One large egg provides 30% of your daily tryptophan needs.
Why Sleepy Girl Mocktail Works
You may have come across the “Sleepy Girl Mocktail” on TikTok: it uses tart cherries, magnesium powder and soda water to create a drink that promises to put people to sleep. Proponents say it can help them fall asleep faster and stay asleep throughout the night. Bare Biology nutritionist Kirsten Humprehys explains that it works because tart cherries naturally contain melatonin. Paired with magnesium (another sleep aid known for its calming effect on the central nervous system), the “cocktail” can induce sleep and improve sleep duration and quality.
“Some people find it helpful as part of a relaxation routine, but it’s not a stand-alone treatment for insomnia,” she continues. She also warns against drinking such a large drink before bed as it may wake you up in the middle of the night to go to the toilet, which of course disrupts sleep.
Pay attention to portion size when serving cocktails, Soylucicek said. “Many commercial juices are very high in sugar, which can destabilize blood sugar overnight.” Stick to 100ml, always include magnesium, and drink it with a protein-rich snack to buffer the impact on blood sugar, she says.
Foods to avoid for better sleep
“Alcohol, caffeine and sugar are the biggest things I should avoid,” Khan said. “Alcohol and coffee are both stimulants and major diuretics and can cause severe dehydration—they actually leach water out of your body. Alcohol can cause sleep problems by affecting neurotransmitters in the brain, while caffeine keeps you awake. I recommend not drinking coffee after 6 p.m.” She also recommends avoiding anything sugary, not just sugary desserts but also processed carbs like white bread and pasta. As difficult as it sounds, eating buttered white toast before bed should be a thing of the past if you have trouble falling asleep.
The worst food for sleep
- Caffeine consumed later in the day directly suppresses melatonin. “This includes coffee, certain teas and energy drinks,” Soylucicek said.
- Although alcohol initially induces a feeling of sleep, it disrupts melatonin secretion, inhibiting its production.
- Soylucicek concluded that high-sugar, ultra-processed foods can destabilize blood sugar, “leading to nighttime insomnia and impaired circadian signaling.”
