While it is important to avoid going to bed feeling hungry, you should pay attention to midnight cravings so your calories won’t add up. Nutritionists advise sticking to snacks that have 150 to 200 calories and some bedtime snacks can even promote slumber. Here are some safe snacks to have late at night.
A small bowl of soup
Warm liquids are naturally calming and soups make a great bedtime snack. Moreover, they are easy on the digestive system. Just make sure to avoid the heavy ones like lentil or bean soups.
Cherries
Not only are cherries a good snack, they are also a great sleep fix as they are one of the few natural foods that contain melatonin, a chemical that helps control the body’s internal clock. A study even found that drinking tart cherry juice can help fight insomnia.
Ginger tea and dried dates
Drinking Nighttime tea before bedtime is a great sleep ritual just make sure that it is a caffeine-free herbal variety like ginger tea. Dried fruits, like dates are also sleep promoters because they contain fiber which helps with the digestion.
Bananas
This fruit is great in all situations but it also promotes sleep because it contains natural muscle-relaxants magnesium and potassium. You can also make a banana smoothie by mixing bananas with low-fat milk that contains vitamin D and calcium, two nutrients associated with decreased odds of having sleep problems.
A small bowl of rice
Bread and noodles have a negative effect on sleep but a new research has shown that a diet with rice decreased the risk of poor sleep by up to 46%. Rice may improve tryptophan and melatonin production and it’s soothing and satisfying at the same time.
