Nurse Reveals the #1 Snack to Help You Fall Asleep Naturally
With summer comes longer days and later bedtimes, but come fall, you may be looking to reset your sleep. Melatonin is a popular supplement for easing that transition, as it helps regulate the body’s internal clock and signal when it’s time to wind down. However, for those looking for a more natural solution—one free from side effects such as drowsiness or headaches—you may be able to achieve similar results by adding one simple food to your daily diet.
RELATED: Doctors Reveal 5 Supplements They Recommend Most for Better Sleep.
Eating pumpkin seeds could help you sleep.
Family nurse practitioner Regine Josie, NP, says that there’s one snack that works as an excellent alternative to taking over-the-counter melatonin or other sleep aids: Pumpkin seeds.
She notes that these are packed with magnesium, tryptophan, and zinc, all of which can aid in relaxation and help you fall asleep sooner.
“The magnesium is there to calm the nervous system, relax the muscles, and it helps to regulate the melatonin that you already have in your system,” Josie said in a recent TikTok post. “Then you have the amino acid tryptophan, which is like a precursor to serotonin, that then is converted into melatonin. Then you have the zinc, which helps the tryptophan convert to serotonin, which then converts into melatonin and further helps to promote sleep.”
She notes that for the best effects, you should plan on having a small handful of pumpkin seeds—roughly an ounce or so—about one to two hours before you go to bed. She adds that serving your seeds strategically can help tryptophan cross the blood-brain barrier.
“Maybe sprinkle some of the pumpkin seeds onto the fruit or some carbs… That will help your chances of falling asleep,” she says. “I’m here for the alternatives, and if pumpkin seeds are going to help get us some sleep, let’s have it.”
RELATED: 6 Cozy Meals You Can Serve Out of a Pumpkin.
Pumpkin seeds could also reduce anxiety.
Those same nutrients in pumpkin seeds that help you relax at bedtime can also calm your anxiety during the day.
“If you’re going through an extremely stressed-out period of time, it’s safe to say your magnesium [levels] are low or will be low because stress really depletes our magnesium,” Maggie Michalczyk, RD, a registered dietitian and wellness advisor at New Chapter, previously told Best Life.
“A lot of us are not getting enough magnesium in general, so adding a supplement to your routine is a great way to do that. Magnesium is needed for every single cell in our bodies,” noted Michalczyk, adding that it’s also “really good for stress support, rest, and recovery.”
A 2014 study observed that those who consumed a high level of tryptophan from pumpkin seeds also saw “significantly lower” anxiety when compared to those on a low-tryptophan diet.
The benefits aren’t limited to pumpkin seeds alone. You can get all of the same nutrients from a can of 100-percent pure pumpkin at the grocery store, says Michalczyk. Besides containing zinc, tryptophan, and magnesium, you can also expect to boost your intake of fiber, healthy fats, omega-3s, and protein, not to mention vitamins A, C, and E.
So, as we head into fall and pumpkin products reign supreme, you can enjoy knowing that the trend comes with a whole host of health benefits. Just be sure to skip processed products with added sugar, which could undermine both your sleep and your health.