Tip of the week: Eating your way to better sleep

Seek light carbs. Eating a meal just before bedtime can keep you awake, but certain light snacks can actually aid sleep. Sleep specialist Dr. Michael Breus recommends oatmeal with milk about 90 minutes before you turn in: “The milk’s protein helps you metabolize the oatmeal’s carbs, which raises serotonin, a hormone that promotes sleep.”

Have a banana. Bananas can be a go-to late-night nosh: They’re “like big, yellow sleeping pills”—loaded with magnesium and potassium, which help relax muscles and encourage deep sleep.

Remember Mom’s advice. Warm milk sweetened with honey works too. It’s not the tryptophan in the milk that does the trick, though; there’s too little of that. “A better scientific explanation” is that the protein, carbs, and touch of fat fill you just enough to prevent your waking from hunger.

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Source: Every Day With Rachael Ray