How the Right Foods and Drinks Can Help You Wind Down for Better Sleep
Before we start talking about sleep, here are new feature updates:
💧 Water tracking: In the Progress screen you can now track your water intake by adding cups of water.
📲 Weight Sync with Apple Health: Your weight in Apple Health will now also be synced with Welling. To enable this feature, go to Apple Health app > Welling and enable the permission.
⭐ Adjust Favorites before logging: You may sometimes not eat the exact same portion that you have Favorited. Now you can adjust the portions and the items before you log it.
📷 Food and photos in meals: We made it easier to view what is inside your meals on the Progress screen with text and photo previews.
Now onto our main topic today: sleep 💤
How the Right Foods and Drinks Can Help You Wind Down for Better Sleep
What we eat and drink in the hours before bed can have a surprising impact on sleep quality. Certain foods and drinks contain natural compounds that promote relaxation, helping prepare the body and mind for a restful night. Just as caffeine can keep us awake, foods rich in specific nutrients can make it easier to unwind and fall asleep, ultimately supporting our overall health and mood.
Including foods that contain magnesium, tryptophan, or melatonin in your nighttime routine may make a real difference in sleep quality. Magnesium helps relax muscles and ease stress, while tryptophan supports the production of serotonin and melatonin, hormones that regulate sleep cycles. Melatonin itself is a hormone that signals the body it’s time to sleep, so eating foods that boost its levels naturally can help improve your sleep cycle over time.
To get started, try adding these relaxing, sleep-friendly foods to your nightly routine. Chamomile tea, known for its calming effects, contains an antioxidant that promotes relaxation. Other great choices include almonds, which are rich in magnesium; kiwi, which has been shown to improve sleep duration; and tart cherry juice, a natural source of melatonin. By making these small dietary changes, you may notice improved relaxation and sleep quality—setting yourself up for a more restful night!
Food and drinks that can help improve sleep quality:
Almonds
Turkey/Fatty fish
Chamomile tea
Kiwi
Tart cherry juice
Walnuts
Bananas
Warm milk
Here are some medically reviewed recipes that help improve sleep quality with their calories and macros
🥗 5 Minute Peanut Butter-Banana Cinnamon Toast (EatingWell)
Nutrition Facts per toast: 266 cal | 9g fat | 38g carbs | 8g protein
🍞 Quick and Easy Salmon Salad (EatingWell)
Nutrition Facts: 254 cal | 22g fat | 2g carbs | 14g protein
🍨 Tart Cherry Nice Cream (EatingWell)
Nutrition Facts per 3/4 cup: 73 cal | 0g fat | 18g carbs | 1g protein
🥑 West Coast Avocado Toast (EatingWell)
Nutrition Facts per toast: 429 cal | 22g fat | 46g carbs | 16g protein
