bedtime snack and herbal tea to help sleep

Foods and drinks that can help you sleep

February 18, 2026

Key Takeaways

What you eat and drink impacts your sleep, with certain foods stabilising blood sugar and promoting sleep hormones.
Magnesium-rich foods, proteins, and slow-release carbohydrates may improve sleep quality and help you relax.
Caffeine and alcohol disrupt sleep by fragmenting it; avoid heavy meals and sugary snacks before bedtime.
Cheese can affect sleep by intensifying dreams, but it can also help if it suits your digestion and is consumed earlier in the evening.
For better sleep, try night-time snacks like a banana with peanut butter or warm milk with cocoa; they support relaxation and reduce night waking.

Introduction

Many people notice that what they eat and drink affects their sleep — especially in what they eat and drink in the evening.
One of the many areas that impacts on our sleep is blood sugar, hormones, digestion and the nervous system. Small changes to food and drink can sometimes make a noticeable difference. This article explains why different foods can affect your sleep and gives some suggestions and recipes you might like to try.

Why food affects sleep

Your body uses nutrients to make the chemicals that regulate sleep. Stable blood sugar helps prevent night waking and protein provides amino acids needed for sleep hormones.

Foods and drinks that may support sleep

Magnesium-rich foods:

oats
pumpkin seeds
almonds
bananas,
leafy greens
small amounts of dark chocolate (my personal favourite … small is relative).
seeds,

Foods that support serotonin and melatonin:

oats,
milk or yoghurt,
turkey or chicken,
eggs,
nuts,
seeds
bananas.

Slow-release carbohydrates

Slow-release carbohydrates: oatcakes, wholegrain toast, porridge and cereal.

If you wake in the night feeling alert or hungry

This can happen when blood sugar drops during the night. A small snack can help you settle back to sleep.
Night-time snack ideas: milk or oat milk, banana with peanut butter, oatcakes with cheese, a few nuts, or a small bowl of cereal or porridge.

Do you have a favourite snack or bedtime drink? If so please let me know. My dads was whisky and hot water but while that may help yo fall asleep it can disrupt your sleep later in the night and it interferes with sleep quality

Why some foods and drinks can make sleep harder

Not everyone reacts in the same way, but certain foods regularly show up in sleep diaries as being linked with poor sleep.

Caffeine, alcohol, heavy late meals, sugary snacks late at night, spicy foods and large amounts of fluid before bed.

Understanding why can make it easier to decide what works for you.

Caffeine

Caffeine blocks adenosine, the chemical that builds sleep pressure during the day.

In simple terms, caffeine tells your brain:
“You’re not tired.”

It can stay in the body for 6–10 hours, and for some people even longer.

Common sources include:

coffee
tea
green tea
cola
energy drinks
dark chocolate

If you struggle with sleep, reducing caffeine after lunchtime often helps.

Alcohol

Alcohol can make you feel sleepy, which is why many people believe it helps sleep. In reality it often:

fragments sleep later in the night
increases night waking
reduces REM sleep
increases snoring and sleep apnoea

People often fall asleep faster after drinking, but wake more during the second half of the night.

Heavy or late evening meals

Large meals late at night keep digestion active when the body is trying to wind down. This can:

raise body temperature
trigger reflux or heartburn
increase night waking

The body sleeps best when it can focus on rest rather than digestion.

Food and drink for better sleep

Food and drink are just one piece of the puzzle — but sometimes a helpful one.

Sugary snacks and desserts

Sugar causes a rapid rise in blood sugar followed by a drop.

During the night, this drop can trigger the release of adrenaline and cortisol to bring blood sugar back up — which can wake you suddenly.

This is a common cause of:

2–4am waking
racing thoughts at night
feeling wide awake suddenly

Spicy foods

Spicy meals can:

increase body temperature
trigger reflux
irritate digestion

All of these can make sleep lighter and more disrupted.

Drinking large amounts before bed

Drinking lots of fluid in the evening can simply mean more trips to the bathroom during the night.

Hydration is important — but spreading fluids earlier in the day often supports better sleep.

Does cheese at night cause nightmares?

This idea has been around for a long time. You’ll still hear people say “don’t eat cheese before bed or you’ll have strange dreams”.

Research doesn’t support a direct link between cheese and nightmares.

What does seem to happen is more subtle.

Cheese can make dreams more vivid for some people

Cheese is high in:

protein
fat
certain amino acids (including tryptophan)

For some people, this can:

increase REM sleep
make dreams feel more intense or memorable

Vivid dreams are not the same as nightmares — but they can be remembered more clearly, which may give the impression that something “caused” them.

Cheese can trigger indigestion or reflux

If cheese causes:

heartburn
reflux
bloating

This physical discomfort can fragment sleep. When sleep is lighter or broken, dreams are more likely to be remembered — and they may feel unpleasant.

Salt and thirst

Some cheeses are quite salty. This can:

increase thirst
lead to night waking
make sleep lighter

Again, lighter sleep = more dream recall.

Cheese can actually help sleep for some people

Interestingly, a small amount of cheese can help some people sleep better. Because it contains:

protein
fat
tryptophan

Cheese with a small amount of carbohydrate (for example oatcakes and cheese) can:

help stabilise blood sugar
reduce night waking
support sleep continuity

This is why it sometimes works well as a small bedtime snack.

So what’s the real answer?

Cheese doesn’t cause nightmares. But:

it may increase dream vividness
it may worsen reflux for some people
it may make sleep lighter if it causes discomfort

If cheese suits your digestion, a small amount earlier in the evening is usually fine.

As with most sleep advice, the best guide is your own experience.

If you notice something affects your sleep, it’s worth paying attention — without turning it into a hard rule.

What about dark chocolate?

You might have spotted that dark chocolate falls int both categories This is because it contains magnesium, which supports relaxation — this is why it sometimes appears on “sleep friendly” food lists.

But it also contains caffeine and theobromine, which are stimulants.

So both things are true.

Earlier in the day

A small amount of dark chocolate can be helpful because of its magnesium content.

In the evening

It can make sleep harder because of the caffeine and theobromine.

The darker the chocolate, the more stimulant it usually contains.

A simple rule for the blog:

Dark chocolate is best earlier in the day rather than in the evening.

What about cocoa before bed?

Pure cocoa powder does contain small amounts of caffeine, but much less than coffee, tea or even dark chocolate. Typical amounts:

Cocoa drink: very small amount of caffeine
Dark chocolate bar: much higher
Coffee: far higher

So a small, milky cocoa drink in the evening is usually fine for most people.

Why cocoa can actually help sleep

Cocoa contains:

magnesium → supports relaxation
tryptophan → supports serotonin production
warmth → signals the body to wind down
comforting routine → helps the brain associate the drink with bedtime

When cocoa is mixed with milk, the drink becomes even more sleep-friendly because milk provides additional tryptophan.

The important bit: quantity matters

A bedtime cocoa should be:

small
milky
lightly cocoa-flavoured

Think:
1 teaspoon cocoa in warm milk, not a large, strong hot chocolate.

Large, rich hot chocolates (especially with lots of cocoa or sugar) can feel stimulating and heavy for digestion

A small milky cocoa drink in the evening is usually fine. Cocoa contains magnesium and tryptophan, which can support relaxation. The key is keeping it light and not too strong.

Night-time snacks if you wake in the night

Milk or oat milk, banana with peanut butter, oatcakes with cheese (see above), a few nuts, or a small bowl of cereal or porridge.
Why it helps: a small snack can raise blood sugar gently and help the body settle back to sleep.

A realistic approach

You don’t need to eat perfectly to sleep well.

Small changes can make a meaningful difference:

eat regularly during the day
avoid going to bed hungry
consider a small evening snack if you wake early
reduce caffeine gradually
notice what works for your body

Sleep rarely depends on one thingl

Sleep friendly snacks

Peanut butter bagel or toast

Half a wholegrain bagel or toast with peanut butter (and optional banana).
Why it helps: carbohydrates support serotonin production, while protein and healthy fats help prevent blood sugar dips that can wake you in the night.

Banana oat sleep bowl

Oats, warm milk, banana, cinnamon and nut butter.
Why it helps: oats and banana support serotonin, milk provides tryptophan, and nut butter slows energy release overnight.

Greek yoghurt, honey and nuts

Greek yoghurt, honey and walnuts or almonds.
Why it helps: protein, fat and a little carbohydrate help stabilise blood sugar during the night.

Warm tart cherry juice with water or milk.
Why it helps: tart cherries naturally contain melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate sleep.

Savoury oatcakes and cheese

Oatcakes with cheese and cucumber or tomato.
Why it helps: slow-release carbohydrates plus protein support steady overnight energy.

Sleep friendly drinks

Dale Pinnock inspired sleep tea

Chamomile tea, fresh ginger, cinnamon, lemon and honey. You can simmer this slowly.
Why it helps: chamomile supports relaxation, ginger aids digestion, and a warm drink signals to the body that the day is ending.

Cherry sleep drink

Warm tart cherry juice with water or milk.
Why it helps: tart cherries naturally contain melatonin, the hormone that helps regulate sleep.

Golden milk

Warm milk with turmeric, cinnamon, pepper and honey.
Why it helps: warmth promotes relaxation, turmeric may reduce inflammation, and milk provides tryptophan.