You seem to crave a snack an hour or so before you go to bed. You’ve been trying to ignore it to help you sleep, but what if a snack is just the thing you need? Specific bedtime snacks, like edamame, can help you sleep better and keep you feeling full. Edamame is a soybean that contains a chemical known as tryptophan, an essential amino acid known to help you rest.
Not getting enough sleep is a common problem. In fact, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) noted that in 2024, 14.5% of adults participating in a survey had trouble falling asleep almost every day over the course of 30 days. It also stated that many people have difficulty staying asleep throughout the night, leading to increased fatigue. Since it’s recommended that you get at least seven hours of quality sleep to keep your body working optimally, trying a snack that helps knock you out might be just the push your body needs. You can curb your curiosity and appetite by learning how the unexpected legume edamame can help you get that essential night’s rest. Because who doesn’t love food with health benefits?
Eat edamame before bed for a better night sleep
With the hustle and bustle of life, falling asleep at night can be challenging. Despite your best efforts, you toss and turn, wondering when sleep will come. Give yourself a better chance of falling into a relaxing slumber by adding a few edamame to your nighttime routine. Edamame is a soybean that’s low in calories and high in protein. Adding it to your nighttime routine will have surprising health benefits, like helping you sleep. To start, this soybean is full of rich vitamins like magnesium and iron. “Magnesium is also thought to affect levels of melatonin, the hormone associated with when we fall asleep and when we wake up, known as our circadian rhythm,” Dr. Indira Gurubhagavatula, an associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania told HealthDay News.
Edamame is also high in tryptophan. You can thank this amino acid for making you sleepy after eating turkey on Thanksgiving dinner. Tryptophan is used by the body to produce melatonin and serotonin, per Medline Plus. And who doesn’t need a little more melatonin to help you fall asleep? However, turkey doesn’t have anything on edamame when it comes to tryptophan. This legume has an impressive 592 milligrams per cup.
Other bedtime snack ideas to help you sleep
Edamame is great when it comes to consuming tryptophan, but it’s not the only nighttime snack you can grab. Snacks rich in proteins and vitamins can help your body relax and stay asleep longer. A study showed a positive correlation between sleep and specific macronutrients like iron, zinc, and magnesium (via Public Health Nutrition). So, eating foods high in these nutrients before bed might be helpful, such as almonds or cashews.
It’s not just vitamins, though; amino acids are also essential. For instance, a study found that omega-3 fatty acids may be associated with better quality sleep (via the National Library of Medicine) . The study also stated that the group that consumed the eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) had the best results in the study. So, make a small salmon roll an hour or two before bed. You might also want to have a splash or two of tart cherry juice. Another study showed that cherry juice helped to alleviate inflammation and upped tryptophan levels in participants (via the National Library of Medicine). Chamomile tea is also a known nighttime snack to help you fall into slumber. A study published in BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies showed chamomile tea consumed twice daily slightly helped the participants with daily functioning and sleeping at night. It helped to slightly improve sleep latency and reduce the amount of times the participants woke up at night.
