Health
Top Fruits for Better Sleep Over 40
Health Points
- Certain fruits contain natural melatonin that supports restful sleep.
- Diets rich in plant-based foods help maintain your body’s sleep cycle.
- Simple dietary tweaks can promote better sleep without supplements.
Fruits like cherries, grapes, and kiwis are naturally high in melatonin, the hormone key to managing your sleep-wake cycle. Enjoying an evening serving of these fruits can fit easily into a healthy diet and may make falling asleep easier.
Melatonin, which helps signal bedtime to the body, naturally increases at night. However, factors such as blue light from screens and changing schedules can disrupt this rhythm.
“At nighttime, melatonin levels naturally rise, sending an ‘It’s bedtime’ signal to the body. This helps you feel sleepy and lowers core body temperature so you can drift off,” says Samantha Cassetty, a registered dietitian in New York.
While melatonin supplements exist, they are typically used only for short-term relief and may carry risks, so experts recommend getting melatonin from foods first.
“As a dietitian, I always go for the food-first approach,” registered dietitian Lorraine Kearney shares.
Eating melatonin-rich foods about an hour before sleep can help boost its levels naturally. Fruits high in melatonin include cherries, grapes, kiwis, goji berries, pineapples, strawberries, oranges, bananas, and tomatoes.
For example, tart cherry juice has been shown to raise melatonin levels and improve sleep time. Kiwi and pineapple have also been linked to better sleep quality in research studies.
Bananas and almonds provide tryptophan and other nutrients that support the body’s melatonin production, while tomatoes supply high melatonin content and are a staple of the Mediterranean diet.
To support healthier sleep, consider making one of your two daily fruit servings a melatonin-rich choice before bedtime.
Interested in learning more about how your diet can boost your sleep quality? Discover more evidence-based sleep tips and try incorporating these delicious fruits into your evening routine for a restful night’s sleep.
