A healthy natural sleep is a necessity, although most of us look at it as a luxury. The reason why we’re not getting enough quality sleep on regular basis is the modern lifestyle.

According to Gallup, about 40% Americans are not getting enough sleep. On average, they sleep 6.8 hours per night, which is one hour less than it was the case in the previous century. Stress is the number one reason why we find it difficult to fall asleep. Still, eliminating it doesn’t guarantee you’ll sleep better.

In fact, stress is just one of many causes of sleep disorder. Others include artificial light coming from TVs, computers, cellphones, which disturbs our natural sleep pattern. However, it appears that the number one cause of insomnia is a bad diet. Because of that, we’ve decided to provide you with a list of foods to eat and those to avoid in the evening.

Foods to Eat Before Sleep

Of all nuts, cashews have the lowest calorie value, so eating them at night will not interfere with your weight-loss diet. On top of that, cashews are very right in magnesium, a nutrient necessary for a quality sleep.

According to some studies, magnesium is the most important nutrient when it comes to battling insomnia. However, we also must not forget about calcium. In order to sleep well at night, you need to ingest enough calcium, so dairy products are recommended in the evening.  Go for yogurt or low-fat cheese a couple of hours before getting to bed.

Hormone of happiness, serotonin can’t be excreted without the presence of vitamin B6. That’s why it is wise to eat foods rich in this vitamin just before you go to sleep. It will help you stay relaxed the whole night. The best sources of vitamin B6 include fish like tuna and salmon, but also vegetables like garlic.

Foods to Avoid Before Going to Bed

We assume that you already know that caffeine-rich drinks are killers of the night sleep. It’s a common knowledge, which is why we’re going to focus on foods that aren’t known as enemies of rest, but still wreck havoc on your sleep.

According to a website called Health 2 Blog, the worst enemy of a good night sleep is red meat. The logic behind this claim is that our bodies need time to digest it. Instead of getting a rest, your body will work the whole night and you’ll wake up tired.

You should also avoid pasta and other carbohydrates like cereals, sweets, etc. In simple terms, carbs are sugars and sugars give energy. That means that if you eat a lot of them before getting to bed, your body will want to burn them. There are two scenarios – you either burn the carbs or those calories turn to body fat.

Stay away from any kind of spices if you want to sleep well. Spicy food is great for the morning as it accelerates your metabolism and increases your body temperature. However, at night, you want to be calm and relaxed, so it’s better to stay away from them.