We all love a cheeky bedtime snack. And for those of us trying to be healthy, sometimes that might be a bit of fruit – maybe even a banana.
Well, what if we told you that those bananas might just be the reason why you’re having bad dreams?
Despite them being great for your health and full of potassium, sleep experts at Sleep Junkie claim eating them too close to bedtime can contribute to a restless night’s sleep and could even make you have vivid dreams and nightmares.
Despite them having around 27mg of magnesium per banana, which is a mineral that’s often used to help people drift off to sleep, the experts say it’s bananas’ high levels of melatonin that can sometimes cause the nighttime scaries.
Bananas provide up to 26% of your daily recommended intake of melatonin, but those high levels just before bedtime can be what makes it hard to get a good night’s sleep.
Although experts at Slumber Yard do caveat that vivid dreams are only likely to happen in people who are already producing enough melatonin naturally or are supplementing with melatonin.
As well as vivid dreams, too much melatonin can also cause dizziness, headaches and even agitation.
Sleep experts say that eating too much fruit containing melatonin can leave you feeling groggy the following day after a restless night’s sleep.
What should you eat instead?
Some cold-cut turkey could be just the thing for a good night’s kip, as it contains the amino acid tryptophan, which increases the production of melatonin (but not at too high levels that’ll cause nightmares).
And if you’re trying to up your protein intake for your workouts, it’s thought that the protein in turkey can promote tiredness as there’s evidence to say that consuming moderate amounts of protein before bed is associated with better sleep quality.
Walnuts and milk are also meant to be great pre-bedtime snacks. And if fruit’s your thing, you can opt for kiwi due to its sleep-boosting properties.
In a four-week study, 24 adults consumed two kiwi fruits one hour before going to bed each night, and at the end of the study, participants fell asleep 42% more quickly than when they didn’t eat anything before bedtime.
The proof’s in the (kiwi) pudding!