You can only suffer through so many sleepless nights before your mood fluctuates, productivity plummets and almost everyone comments on your pleasant new self! Often, we can bring our overwhelming anxious feelings and strained muscles from our work and studies into our home and sleep schedule. Desperation for some shut-eye and insomnia can bring people to new lows. Snacks can be the prevention and the cure of sleep-deprivation. Avoid waking up starving and overloading for breakfast by not going to bed on an empty stomach!
Calm your stressed mind and body with these neat three midnight snack suggestions and gain a good night’s sleep.
1. Nuts
It’s time for some nutty goodness for your midnight snack. Nut bow wow. Bad timing? We suggest almonds, pistachios and walnuts.
Almonds supply beneficial fats and melatonin so you can sleep longer and deeper than usual. Almonds contain protein and magnesium which regulates your blood sugar level during your sleep and encourages muscle relaxation. Your mind can switch from your alert state to your rest-and-relax state with this awesome superfood! Go for a small handful of roasted almonds or a tablespoon of almond butter as a midnight snack.
The routine of deshelling and eating pistachios can slow down your mind and bring about those drowsy feelings. Moreover, pistachios contain magnesium, proteins and vitamin B6 that are really important in having a high-quality sleep! Magnesium controls the levels of the sleep neurotransmitter, GABA which switches your mind from daytime to a sleep-inducing mode.
Walnuts is a superfood with vitamin E, heart-protecting omega 3 and biotin but more importantly, contains both melatonin and tryptophan. Your body converts tryptophan into serotonin (and melatonin) which is involved in motor control, stabilizes your mood, maintains bone density and influences your wake/REM cycles.
For a nutty snack with only 168 calories, try Locako’s Peanut Butter Caramel bars. It’s Keto-friendly, low-carb AND great for building your collagen structure.
2. Greek yogurt
A snack that’s low sugar, low carb, protein-packed, boosts the digestive system, no added flavours and helps you sleep at night? Sign me up! Opt for some plain Greek yogurt as a midnight snack before you head to bed.
It’s perfect to soothe your cravings for ice cream with its creamy, delicious goodness!
Yogurt contains tryptophan that can be converted to serotonin and melatonin which, as mentioned before, is very important in regulating your sleep. The calcium and Vitamin B12 in yogurt helps your body utilise the melatonin so you can become drowsy and ready for bed.
Add carbohydrates in the form of granola or oats to detox and clear up the amino acids in your blood so tryptophan can reach the brain more rapidly. Greek yogurt is not high in sugar that can give you an energy spike which is almost as bad as caffeine and acid reflux from spicy foods. You can also jazz up the yogurt to the desired sweetness with fruit, like bananas. We suggest not using too much sweeteners because they can prevent you from entering sleep mode.
Pro-tip: Get a truly superpowered bedtime snack by consuming greek yogurt combined with some nuts!
Yogurt is packed with protein, such as casein, that is easy to digest and weighs less heavily for lactose intolerant people. Some personal trainers even consume yogurt before bed due to its protein content. By consuming this awesome midnight snack, you can maintain your lean muscle mass development and inhibit any muscle loss that occurs during your restorative sleep. The protein in plain greek yogurt can encourage protein metabolism and replenish your depleted energy from your tiresome day.
As an added bonus, the probiotics in yogurt encourages the good bacteria in your digestive system and boosts your health. You should definitely give greek yogurt a try to kick-start your sleep!
We suggest a portion of 170 grams of greek yogurt which is equivalent to 94 calories.
3. Dark Chocolate
Indulge in this seductive sleep snack treat! Cocoa powder contains tryptophan and melatonin and a high level of magnesium (about 500 mg of magnesium per 100 gram serving) which regulates our sleep schedules. Chocolate is rich in phenylalanine that increases our endorphins which can make us feel love and excited.
For a triple threat, we suggest the BARnanaz’ Chocolate Almond Banana! It’s beautifully portioned to control caffeine levels and choc-full (get it?) of health-boosting antioxidants as a midnight snack to get you prepped for bed. It’s perfect for your sweet tooth!
However, you must portion control how much chocolate you consume. We recommend a cup of homemade, unsweetened chocolate or a small piece of chocolate. White chocolate is preferable as there is no theobromine and low amounts of caffeine. Dark chocolate has relatively high levels of caffeine and theobromine which can accelerate our heart rate and prevent us from getting a good night’s sleep. You should eat a moderate amount of dark chocolate before bed.
Snack hack: Consume a dried fruit (e.g. apricot or date) filled with a teaspoon of peanut butter and a few dark chocolate chips to suit your sweet needs!
Want a Certified Organic product that you can trust? Try Absolute Organic’s Cacao Powder! Absolute Organic sources its premium and high-quality cacao seeds from Amazonian communities. You deserve the best.
Summary
Get your groove on (…or not) with this list of top 7 midnight snacks! Our suggestions can get you to sleep, fortify and improve your health and indulge your cravings. It’s time to get some sleep with these seven mid-night snacks!
