Can’t Fall Asleep? This Nut May Help

A handful of almonds may help you sleep better.

Falling asleep can be tricky, especially if your mind is racing or you’ve spent too much time doomscrolling. We’ve all been there. If tricks like keeping your phone outside of your bedroom or the military sleep method aren’t doing it for you, having a snack may actually help.

That’s right, new research actually suggests that noshing on almonds during the day may help boost your ability to fall asleep and stay asleep at night.

What You Should Know About Food and Sleep

Certain foods can have major benefits for sleep. Foods like almonds (the star of this new sleep research) contain both magnesium and tryptophan. Previous research has found foods rich in magnesium can help support relaxation and a balanced circadian rhythm. And, your body converts tryptophan, an essential amino acid, to serotonin and melatonin — which help regulate sleep and support better sleep.

Here’s how the research shows snacking mindfully can help you sleep better.

Going Deeper on the Nut

A new study published in Frontiers in Nutrition found that for those who struggle to sleep, adding a snack of about 50 whole almonds per day helped support better sleep. The researchers looked at a group of 175 participants who had self-described poor sleep quality, but didn’t have major sleep disorders like sleep apnea or chronic insomnia. Participants ate either almonds mid-morning and as an evening snack, or another nutritionally similar snack for five months. 

To measure how helpful almonds were for dozing off, researchers analyzed brain wave recordings, blood tests, and self-reported sleep scores. Those who ate almonds reported fewer sleep disturbances than those who ate other snacks. Blood tests also revealed higher levels of melatonin in the blood of the almond snackers.

“Almond consumption was associated with improvements in subjective sleep efficiency and sleep continuity in adults with poor sleep quality,” the authors wrote in the study. “These findings suggest that almonds may enhance perceived sleep quality, with slight objective improvements among responders.”

One caveat worth knowing: the trial was funded by the Almond Board of California. That doesn’t invalidate the results, but it’s a reason to want independent research backing them up before calling almonds a sleep aid.

The Takeaway

Almonds have many health benefits beyond sleep, so adding a small handful to your daily diet is a low-risk experiment. It’s important to note participants who ate almonds perceived their sleep was better, while objective markers weren’t significantly different. So while the snack may be beneficial for sleep, more research is needed to dive into exactly why this was. Additionally, while participants had about 50 almonds a day, one serving of almonds is actually one ounce, or about 23 almonds.

Bottom Line

Adding this nutrient-dense nut to your daily diet may be one of many small tweaks you can make to support restful sleep. It will also provide you with healthy fats and antioxidants known to boost heart health. If you’re having consistent trouble sleeping or struggling with insomnia, you should speak with a healthcare provider.