Could Dinner Be Your Best Sleep Aid?

You Should Know: Between magnesium, blue-light glasses, and mattress-cooling gadgets (which, honestly, we do love), we’ll try just about anything in search of a good night’s rest. But sometimes the answer isn’t a fancy device or an expensive fix. New research suggests that something as simple as eating more fruits and vegetables could help you sleep more soundly.

Going Deeper: A joint study from the University of Chicago Medicine and Columbia University found that people who met the CDC’s daily recommendation of five cups of produce slept more soundly that same night. Using sleep-tracking wrist monitors, researchers saw a 16 percent improvement in sleep quality among participants with the healthiest diets.

Takeaway: Scientists are still digging into how, exactly, fruits and vegetables improve sleep. What’s already clear is that diet and sleep influence each other. Getting enough rest can make healthy eating easier during the day, and eating well can help your body recover at night.

Bottom Line: The real sleep aid might be hiding in plain sight in the produce section, not waiting on a shelf of supplements.