3 Foods to Help You Sleep Better—and the Recipe That Contains Them All

Antara Sinha
Updated

Sometimes, easing what ails you is as simple as enjoying a home-cooked meal. We've chosen some of the best ingredients to help you sleep—and created a recipe that shows you just how easy it is to get these foods into your diet.

New Year. New Food. Healthy eating starts here with the Cooking Light Diet.

Foods for Better Sleep

JASMINE RICE
Eating high glycemic index foods (such as jasmine rice) four hours before bedtime shortened the time it took to fall asleep compared to consuming low GI foods (such as barley or bulgur), says a study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

MILK
If you're having difficulty falling asleep, mild exercises during the day in addition to eating calcium-rich dairy products may help you snooze aster, according to a 2014 study.

PUMPKIN SEEDS
Tryptophan, the amino acid that is more notoriously associated with turkey, is jam-packed into pumpkin seeds. Your body uses tryptophan to synthesize the hormone melatonin that helps regulate sleep.

Make It: Easy Jasmine Rice Pudding

Soothe yourself at the end of the day with a bowl of warm, creamy comfort.