Eating This Fruit Before Bed Is Proven To Help You Sleep Better
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While there are plenty of hacks and unconfirmed remedies floating around TikTok (many of which you should not try without consulting a medical professional), the internet is newly convinced that pineapple is the solution for better sleep.
Videos tagged #PineappleHacks have garnered 3.7 million views on the social media platform, with users raving about the fruit's melatonin-boosting properties for "the best sleep ever."
According to TikToker Emma Leigh, eating pineapple before bed can help you fall asleep faster and deeper by increasing the melatonin in your body to 240 percent. "How I trick myself into getting to sleep early AND get the best sleep," a second user wrote. Another wrote, "It's also great for waking up not puffy."
According to Dr. Amy Lee, Head of Nutrition at Nucific, there's some validity to this TikTok phenomenon. Studies have reportedly "found that consumption of pineapple does indeed result [in] a higher level of melatonin metabolites compared to other fruits." The hormone is "produced in the pineal gland of the brain" and "plays a role in sleep onset and quality," she told Delish in an email.
However, according to The New York Post, it's not the only food that's heavy on metabolites. Eggs, fish, nuts, veggies, and other fruits include the hormone and can help with better sleep. UK furniture retailer Bed Kingdom found in its April 2023 analysis that kiwi works similarly as a sleep aid.
Sleep coach and hypnotherapist David Gibson said that Montmorency tart cherries have even higher melatonin levels than pineapple—in fact, they have the highest of any fruit. "[They] would be my recommendation if aiding sleep is the aim of eating the fruit in the first place," he said, per the outlet.
Dr. Lee points out that there are plenty of other non-dietary hacks for better sleep, like "fixing the environment of the room; make sure it is pitch dark as darkness actually activates the pineal gland in making more melatonin." She also advises people to "stay away from stimulants before bedtime" like "increased sugar load" and caffeinated drinks like coffee and black tea.
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