Are you having difficulty sleeping or staying asleep through the night, or do you wake up feeling fatigued and groggy in the morning? If that’s the case for you, don’t feel alone – according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), one in three Americans fail to receive enough regular restful rest (1).
Lack of sleep can have serious repercussions:
Enhance mood (2-3), energy (4-5), productivity (6-7) and overall health (6). Stress also raises your risk for chronic diseases, including diabetes, heart disease and obesity (7).
There are natural solutions available to enhance both quality and quantity of sleep, such as eating food high in melatonin – a hormone which regulates your sleeping-wake cycle.
Melatonin, produced naturally by your pineal gland in response to darkness, helps you fall asleep more quickly and sleep deeper (8, 9).
But factors like stress, aging and exposure to artificial lighting may decrease melatonin levels and disrupt sleep (10).
Consuming foods rich in melatonin can help increase its levels and thus enhance sleep.
We will also explain what melatonin is and its effect on your body – including ways you can optimize your diet to promote better restful sleep. We provide 31 foods high in melatonin to show their amount per 100 grams (2/3 cup or 4 ounces). Finally, we provide insight into its function within your diet for improved restful slumber.
Let’s get this party going! Let’s launch into action now.
What Is Melatonin? Melatonin is a hormone produced by your pineal gland, a small gland in your brain (11). Melatonin is commonly referred to as the “sleep hormone” or the “hormone of darkness,” since it helps regulate your circadian rhythm – that internal clock that tells us when to sleep and wake up (11).
Melatonin is produced through the conversion of tryptophan into melatonin by means of vitamin B6, magnesium and zinc – three substances found in many foods like turkey, cheese and eggs – but don’t rely solely on tryptophan to produce this hormone (12). You also require other factors that play a part in this conversion such as B6, magnesium and zinc for proper functioning of this process.
Melatonin production is affected by both nutrients and light/dark cycles; with levels typically reaching their highest point at night and decreasing during the day.
Your pineal gland secretes melatonin when darkness falls; when light returns, production ceases. This signals your body that it’s time for sleep or wakefulness.
Melatonin can offer many health and wellbeing advantages. Here’s just 13:
Increase the speed and length of your sleep cycles while improving quality, decreasing disturbances, strengthening immunity and fighting inflammation; protecting brain from oxidative stress and neurodegeneration while supporting mental wellbeing – these all are ways of increasing success when trying to get to sleep faster and sleeping through.
Reduce jet lag and seasonal affective disorder with these foods that contain melatonin. Melatonin is produced naturally by our bodies but also found in many food sources (14).
Eat more melatonin-rich foods to increase your melatonin intake and promote better sleep, such as goji berries, tart cherries and fatty fish – these natural and nutritious ways can contribute to increasing daily melatonin consumption and helping support good night’s rest.
Foods containing or stimulating the production of melatonin may be helpful for people experiencing difficulty sleeping or looking to improve their overall sleep quality.