Eating bananas at bedtime may help you sleep better - study finds.

Insomnia is a common sleep disorder in which a person has difficulty falling or staying asleep. It is one of the leading contributors to diabetes, obesity, and certain cardiovascular conditions. Its immediate effects include low energy during the day, poor focus and attention, and memory difficulties.

A 6-week study published in the Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition suggests that eating a banana before bed may improve sleep quality, particularly in people with insomnia.

Bananas are also a tryptophan-rich food. Tryptophan is an amino acid known for its sleep-inducing effects, and it serves as a building block for calming neurochemicals such as serotonin and melatonin. Serotonin helps the brain relax and prepare for sleep, and it is also converted into melatonin, which regulates the sleep-wake cycle. In the study, bedtime banana consumption was reported to reduce Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) scores from 9.3 to 4.7 points. The PSQI is a 19-item scale used to evaluate sleep quality, with scores of 0–5 considered indicative of healthy, good-quality sleep.

Although there are several other dietary sources of tryptophan, such as chicken, turkey, eggs, and milk, the abundant carbohydrate content in bananas makes it easier for the brain to absorb tryptophan, since carbohydrates reduce competition from other amino acids trying to cross the blood-brain barrier.

The study also found that bedtime bananas significantly reduced ghrelin levels. Ghrelin is a hormone responsible for stimulating hunger, and it tends to rise with sleep deprivation. Ghrelin also plays a key role in increasing cravings for energy-dense foods, likely as the body's way of compensating for energy lost due to poor sleep, which in turn raises the risk of diabetes and obesity.