You may find countless tips and tricks when looking for ways to improve your sleep, especially if you tend to have episodes of insomnia.
Insomnia is a sleep disorder characterized by difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or both. It usually leads to daytime sleepiness, lethargy, and general feelings of unwellness.
The approach of eating a banana before bed has been around for a long time, and research seems to suggest that the idea may be backed by some science.
This article explores how bananas may help you sleep.
Bananas contain a few nutrients that may help enhance sleep and relaxation.
Magnesium
One medium-sized banana (126 grams) contains about 34 mg of magnesium or 8% of the daily value.
Magnesium may enhance your sleep via several different pathways.
First, magnesium helps maintain a normal circadian cycle, which refers to your internal body clock that’s responsible for maintaining adequate sleep and wakefulness periods.
Additionally, studies show that supplementing with 500 mg of magnesium daily may increase melatonin production and reduce cortisol levels. Cortisol is also known as the stress hormone.
Melatonin is a hormone produced during the sleep cycle that may help you adhere to healthier sleep patterns. It helps reduce the time it takes to fall asleep and may increase sleep time.
What’s more, low magnesium intakes are associated with very short sleep, which is characterized by sleeping periods shorter than 5 hours.
Thus, by eating a banana at night, you may take advantage of magnesium’s sleep-enhancing effects. Other good dietary sources of magnesium include avocadoes, nuts, legumes, and whole grains.
Tryptophan
Tryptophan is an essential amino acid, meaning that you must get it from foods like bananas because your body doesn’t produce it.
Evidence has linked tryptophan-containing foods with improved sleep, including increased sleep time and efficiency, less difficulty falling asleep, and less waking at night.
Tryptophan improves sleep quality because it’s converted into serotonin once it enters the brain. Serotonin is a hormone known to regulate sleep by acting as a precursor to melatonin.
In other words, tryptophan enhances sleep quality by promoting serotonin production, which leads to higher melatonin levels.
Other nutrients involved in sleep quality
Bananas contain a few other nutrients that may help enhance sleep. They include:
- Carbs. Evidence shows that high carb foods may increase the chances of tryptophan entering the brain to be converted into serotonin and melatonin. They may also reduce the time it takes to fall asleep.
- Potassium. Low potassium levels may disturb sleep in people with high blood pressure. It may also improve sleep quality by reducing muscle cramping at night.
While research seems to support the beneficial effects of the nutrients in bananas for better sleep, no studies have analysed bananas’ direct effects on sleep.
Besides providing sleep-promoting nutrients, bananas may help improve your sleep by easing digestion and promoting feelings of fullness.
May aid digestion
Bananas are rich in resistant starch, a type of starch that your body can’t digest. Instead, the bacteria in your gut can ferment it, meaning that it acts as a prebiotic or food for them.
Fermentation of resistant starch leads to the production of short-chain fatty acids (SCFA), such as butyrate.
Butyrate has been shown to promote healthy digestion by reducing inflammation and promoting intestinal function.
Evidence suggests that people with chronic intestinal inflammation tend to report poor sleep and lower sleep efficiency
May promote feelings of fullness
Bananas are also rich in pectin, a type of soluble fibre commonly found in fruits and vegetables.
Research shows that pectin may increase fullness feelings by delaying gastric emptying — the time it takes your stomach to empty its contents.
Therefore, by eating a banana at night, you might reduce poor sleep related to feelings of hunger.
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