While I try to avoid eating less than three hours before bed, sometimes a girl just gets hungry. Luckily there are some snacks light in calories that make great bedtime snacks because they could actually help you fall asleep.
Here are some great suggestions from Joy Bauer for snacks that could help you improve your sleep:
Eat a light snack before bedtime to help produce serotonin (the calming hormone). Try a light snack — 200 calories or less — that’s mainly carbohydrate with a touch of protein. Many scientists claim that by combining an ample dose of carbohydrate together with a small amount of protein (which contains the amino acid tryptophan) your brain produces serotonin, which is known as the “calming hormone.” And when we’re calm, we are certainly more apt to fall asleep. Suggested bedtime snacks:
- 1 slice of whole wheat toast topped with 1 small slice of low-fat cheese
- 1/2 cup healthy cereal topped with 1/2 cup skim milk
- 1 banana with 1 teaspoon of peanut butter
- 1 rice cake topped with 1 tomato slice and 1 slice turkey breast
Dune
Great ideas!
1Yea awesome! I love my bananas so I could live with that!
2that rice cake sounds delicious
3I do plain oatmeal for my bedtime snack and mix in things like honey, cinnamon, vanilla soy milk, dried cranberries, or nuts. It's also really good with a little mocha-flavored Splenda mixed in. It always makes me nice and drowsy.
4the diet hot chocolate is also really good and fills you up and i use skim milk instead of water ..there isn't any protein in it but it works!
5Weird..I use banana and PB as a wake me up afternoon snack!
6I'm a late night snacker; thanks for the great tips.
7I thought it was bad for you to eat at night, and should wait at least 3 hours between you last food intake and bedtime.
8Aww nobody is perfect! If I've started my day with a generous workout and accomplished a great deal, while running around NYC... I'll treat myself to a Guiness or a Boddington beer before bed. Otherwise, if I get hungry before bedtime, I'll have some chamomile tea with a small cup of yogurt. Fage non-fat Greek yogurt is the best, with a touch of cinnamon or fresh fruit mixed in.
9I didn't know that a light snack before bedtime could produce serotonin - but I might try that, because I have a lot of trouble getting to sleep when I'm feeling anxious or nervous about something! Is this the same reason why we get that super sleepy feeling after eating lunch or is that something else?
10Post New Comment
Please share your opinion with our community, but make sure it is on topic and follows our Community Rules. We moderate comments and prohibit personal attacks, threats, spam, lewd images, or the promotion of your personal website.