18 Best Food To Eat At Night for Better Sleep and Stay Awake

At night you need to eat foods that will keep you loaded and not promote weight loss. Best Food To Eat At Night should be considered before planning the diet. Sometimes even after early dinner, hunger remains. In such situations, you need to snack on something. The problem lies in finding out something to eat that will not fatten you up and fill your stomach. Eating late is not suitable for weight loss, after all. (1)

18 Best Food To Eat At Night for Better Sleep

The good news is – there are low-calorie best food to eat at night. These will not harm your waistline and will also keep you full throughout the night. Mentioned below are some foods to eat at night. Some of these may even help you sleep better, as well.

9 Foods For Better Sleep

1. Fish

Best Food To Eat At Night
Best Food To Eat At Night

Fish can be a great thing to eat at night. You will need fishes with omega3 fatty acid and vitamin D. Both the nutrients help promote serotonin production. Therefore, eating fishes like salmon will help you sleep better at night. (3)

2. Whole Grain

Best Food To Eat At Night - Whole Grain
Best Food To Eat At Night – Whole Grain

If you are looking for foods to eat at night, you must be willing to eat whole grains like brown rice, oats and, millets. These come with a high level of fiber and other beneficial nutrients. The whole-grain foods help in making you feel full without adding to the carb level. Therefore, you will not have to worry about gaining weight. You can eat brown rice or oats at night without hesitation.

3. Almond

Best Food To Eat At Night
Best Food To Eat At Night – Almonds

Almond is a tasty snack that you can eat at night for better sleep. The nut offers a high level of melatonin. Almond helps in balancing the sleep pattern. Also, almond comes with a high level of magnesium. This mineral helps promote muscle relaxation. Due to this, you get to sleep better. (4)

4. Dairy Products

Tryptophan soothes nerves and promotes good night sleep. It is the reason why drinking milk before going to bed helps in inducing proper relaxation. Milk and associate dairy products come loaded with tryptophan. Thus, if you drink milk before going to bed, you will be able to sleep better. Milk also comes loaded with melatonin. It also balances the sleeping pattern at night. Therefore, go ahead, have a glass of milk before hitting the bed.

5. Oatmeal

oats for weight loss - Best Food To Eat At Night
Best Food To Eat At Night

Oatmeal is famous for several reasons. While people turn to this wonder food for weight loss, the sleep-deprived souls also choose this to sleep better. Oats offer melatonin. Having oatmeal will help you sleep better at night. You will notice that the quality of your sleep improving as you eat oats before bedtime. This food helps in weight management. Therefore, you will not have to worry about gaining weight.

6. Honey

Best Food To Eat At Night - Honey
Best Food To Eat At Night

Honey is a beautiful thing to incorporate into your life. It does not help in beautifying you; it helps in promoting quality sleep as well. A spoonful of honey just before you hit the bed will help you sleep deep and long. You can drink honey water before going to bed as well. This water is easy to make. Put a spoonful of honey in warm water to make this healthy drink.

7. Walnuts

Like almond, walnut is also a wholesome snack to turn to at night. This nut comes loaded with tryptophan. The amino acid helps in sound sleep. You will notice that your body clock is getting regulated as you start eating walnuts.

8. Spinach

This veggie comes with excellent health benefits. It relaxes nerves and soothes muscles. Thus, eating spinach helps in relaxing. Because spinach is high on magnesium, it is a great food to eat at night.

9. Cherries

Cherries possess a high level of melatonin. This hormone is significant for sleep. You can drink cherry juice before going to sleep. If you have insomnia, you will surely get help from this.

10. Banana

Healthy Indian Snacks banana oat bread
Banana Oatmeal Bread

This fruit is famous for the taste and health it comes with. Eating a banana can help you sleep better because it possesses tryptophan. This amino acid is great for serotonin production. Due to this reason eating a banana will make you feel sleepy. Thus, don’t hesitate to pick a banana before going to bed. However, refrain from making a sugary banana smoothie at night.

8 Foods To Stay Awake

These are the Best Food To Eat At Night to stay awake all the night without having the food making contribution to sleep.

1. Dark Chocolate

You need to be careful of chocolate that comes with a high sugar level. This type of chocolate will make your nerves agitated and may hinder your sleep at night. Also, the sugar level of the chocolate will make you hungry within a short while. Sugar content is why stay away from chocolate, dark or otherwise that contains sugar.

2. Coffee

black coffee for weight loss -Best Food To Eat At Night
Best Food To Eat At Night

Now, there is no secret that coffee activates the nerves. Energy is why people drink coffee right after waking up. The caffeine level will alert your nerve and will disturb your sleep. Therefore, this is a drink to avoid at night. Too much coffee during the day may lead to insomnia.

3. Alcohol

It may seem strange, but alcohol does hinder sleep. It may cause new drinkers to fall asleep quickly. But alcohol does not help in promoting a good night’s sleep. It disturbs REM or rapid eye movement. Therefore, in the long run, you will find it hard to fall asleep after drinking alcohol. Alcohol is another thing to avoid before bed if you are prone to drink. (5)   

4. Water

Water is excellent for health. However, if you drink too much before going to bed, you may find its’ ill effect. Yes, too much water just before the foundation is sure to cause an interruption in sleep. However, that does not mean you should cut down on the water. Drink plenty of water throughout the day to avoid dehydration.

5. Fatty Food

Fatty foods have many ill effects on the body. These cause weight gain. Also, fatty foods make it difficult to fall asleep. Heavy meal causes sleep interruptions.

6. Spicy Food

Eating fatty and spicy foods leads to indigestion. If you eat these just before going to bed, you will feel uncomfortable. As a result, falling asleep will be difficult. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid spicy food before going to bed. These can also promote weight gain.  

7. Cauliflower

Cauliflower comes with a high level of insoluble fiber. Fiber is why this veggie, even though very beneficial, might not be suitable as a late-night snack or night food. The fiber activates the digestive system within the body. Fiber is the reason you may find it difficult to sleep after eating cauliflower. Therefore, to avoid restless sleep, you may want to stay away from eating this veggie at night.

8. Grapefruit

Grapefruit is a famous fruit that is both healthy and tasty to have. Grapefruit could be a great snack. However, the sugar level of the grapefruit could make you overly energetic. Due to this, you may find it difficult to sleep after eating grapefruit.

Why Eating Late Is Harmful

You must have heard that late-night meal is harmful; this is a valid concept. Eating too late at night leads to a lot of problems. To understand the problem related to eating late, you must first understand your body’s digestive system. Yes, your digestive system works hard to digest the foods you eat. It keeps the body fresh and away from problems. However, your task is to help the digestive system to work. Best Food To Eat At Night keep your digestive system healthy.

When you eat late, your digestive system becomes stressful. It works double-time to digest the food you have eaten. Due to this, you need to refrain from eating after 7 pm. Eating beforehand helps your digestive system to work well. The stomach takes time to become empty. Keeping the digestion system free is why whatever you eat after 7 pm does not get much time to digest.

Eating comes with many health-related problems. It does not only add to your waistline; it may add to heart problems. Yes, along with your digestive system, your heart will go through stress as well. As a result, you will face heart problems. Besides, your blood sugar may increase due to this.

You must avoid eating late because it may make weight loss a problematic affair. The calorie you accumulate late at night turns into fat. An accumulated calorie is why you must stay away from eating late, and if possible, you should not eat after 7 pm. Only Best Food To Eat At Night should be consumed after this time.

Acid reflux is another problem with eating late. Acid reflux exposes the heart to the risk of experiencing pain. The pain may arise when your digestive system tries to digest food after you go to bed. In case you suffer from this problem, you should eat two hours before going to bed.

What is the best food to eat at night for weight loss?

If you are feeling hungry at night, you may want to have some healthy snacks. To keep yourself away from the risk of gaining weight, you can eat low-calorie yogurt along with fruits. Yogurt is going to help satiate your hunger and also will keep you full without bloating you.

What foods to eat at night to help you sleep?

There are several foods you can eat before going to bed. In case you feel hungry even after dinner, you can adhere to some snacks. Walnuts or almonds are great snacks to have at night—these help in promoting deep sleep. 

What is the best meal to eat at night?

A whole-grain meal will be best to have at night. You can eat oats, bring rice or millet at night for easy digestion and weight loss. 

What should I eat after 10 pm?

You can turn to a healthy meal at night. Apple and peanut butter can be a great way to fill yourself out and accumulate the health benefits of apple and peanut butter. You can also eat cereal with chunks of nuts and milk.

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About Dhruv Athi, Nutritionist, Dietician

Dhruv Athi is a Licensed Nutritionist based in India. Dhruv is a Health Care Professional & Diet Consultant with a successful track record of helping people cure their ailments with natural and alternative means of healing medicine. In a nutshell, Dhruv offers every assistance for your Health-related concerns and Goals.

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