Mind the Mojitos: Alcohol can initially make you drowsy and help you get to sleep, but it also tends to wake you up, and keep you up, in the middle of the night. If you're drinking more than one or more alcoholic beverages as a nightly sleep aid, but waking up at 3:00 a.m., cut back on or completely eliminate your nightly nightcap.
Stay Clear of Spicy Foods. Hot and spicy foods stimulate your taste buds, but they also stimulate your digestive tract. That, in turn, can rob you of a good night's sleep. Large meals eaten late at night or right before bed can do the same thing.
More: What and When to Eat Before You Workout
Sleep-Inducing Foods to Try
Can you find better sleep from you plate? More research is needed to confirm whether certain foods actually help you sleep, but preliminary findings suggest that edibles containing tryptophan, or certain vitamins and minerals, may help you get to sleep, stay asleep, and sleep more deeply. Here are a handful of foods you might want to try.
Low-Fat or Skim Milk: A decades-old home remedy for insomnia, a warm (or cold) glass of milk before bedtime really may help you get to sleep. Milk is loaded with tryptophan—an amino acid your body needs to produce serotonin, the mood-enhancing brain chemical that promotes relaxation. Serotonin is also converted by the body to melatonin, the sleep-regulating hormone that may help you get to dreamland faster.
More: The Great Milk Debate: 9 Common Questions
Beans. Beans offers several sleep-inducing compounds. The protein in beans helps boost serotonin levels and provides the building blocks for trptophan. The low-glycemic carbohydrates in beans build pathways that help get tryptophan to the brain. Two other compounds in beans to help you sleep: magnesium, a mineral thought to reduce anxiety, and vitamin B12, which may help you get to sleep faster.
More: Why Beans Make an Inexpensive, Low-Calorie Power Food for Athletes
Cherry Juice: Although only a handful of studies have looked at the sleep-inducing benefits of tart cherry juice, the findings are promising. One study found that tart cherry juice boosted levels of melatonin in people and helped them sleep longer and more soundly through the night.
More: How Juicing Can Power Your Workouts
Bananas: Bananas are packed with magnesium and potassium, which together help relax tense muscles and trigger the production of serotonin and melatonin.
Nuts: Peanuts, almonds and walnuts contain tryptophan, the amino acid that the body converts to serotonin and melatonin.
Salmon: DHA, the essential fatty acid abundant in salmon and other cold water fish, helps trigger production of melatonin, which helps you fall asleep faster.
More: 7 Foods to Help Keep Stress at Bay
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