It’s important to eat your evening meal about 4 hours before bed and limit fluids 2 hours before bed. If you’re hungry, have a light snack before bed. When you choose snacks, don’t pick simple carbohydrates (e.g., bread, cookies) or fatty foods. These types of foods might make it harder to sleep. Eat complex carbohydrates with a protein (e.g., whole grain cereal with milk, toast and peanut butter).

What is tryptophan?

Tryptophan is a substance in the body that’s needed to make serotonin and melatonin, which both help with sleep. Some researchers think that eating tryptophan-rich foods like these might help sleep:

• beans, lentils, hummus
• almonds, hazelnuts, peanuts
• eggs
• bananas
• cottage cheese, cheese, milk, yogurt
• seafood, meat, poultry (turkey is the best source)

You can try eating foods with tryptophan to see if they help your sleep. Don't take tryptophan supplements (unless your healthcare provider tells you to) because they can cause harmful side effects. If you have questions, talk to your doctor or pharmacist.

What are ghrelin and leptin?

Ghrelin and leptin are 2 hormones in the body that help control body weight and appetite. Ghrelin is made in the stomach and makes you feel hungry. Leptin is made in the fat cells and tells your body when you feel full.

When people get enough sleep, these hormones work well together. However, poor sleep can cause ghrelin to increase, which increases your appetite even more than normal. Poor sleep also decreases leptin, which makes your body think it's not full and you'll likely eat more. Damage to the ghrelin-leptin balance can also affect insulin, which is a hormone that controls blood sugar.

A recent study showed that people who slept less than 8 hours a night had lower leptin levels, higher ghrelin levels, and more body fat than people who slept longer. Another study showed that people who were sleep-deprived had higher ghrelin levels. They craved unhealthy foods instead of healthy foods.