Good sleep is more than just feeling rested — it’s tied to your long-term health. Poor sleep has been linked to weight gain, heart problems, diabetes, and even mood disorders. While many people focus on routines like avoiding screens before bed, few realize that food is one of the most powerful tools for improving sleep quality.
Our diet directly influences the quality of our sleep. As such, maintaining an appropriate diet throughout the day helps us to benefit from a good night’s rest.
So, if you’re asking Richard Uzelac, fitness enthusiast, what should we eat to optimize our sleep?— he’ll break down practical food choices, mealtime habits, and hidden disruptors so you can wake up feeling restored and ready.
Understanding Your Sleep Rhythm
Almost all of our body’s biological functions are regulated by 24-hour cycles: that’s what we call our circadian rhythm. Our internal clock acts as the conductor that will regulate different function’s circadian rhythms.
This process regulates the production of the sleep hormone melatonin in the evening and the awake hormone dopamine in the morning. It helps lower our body temperature and heart rate at night and also plays a role in memory consolidation while we sleep.
An important element that helps our biological clocks synchronize with a 24-hour rhythm is light. The retina captures variations in light, which effectively tells our brains to secrete the appropriate daytime or nighttime hormones, making us awake or sleepy.
Defining Sleep Cycle
Sleep consists of approximately 90-minute cycles, typically ranging from four to six cycles each night. Each cycle includes distinct phases: around 20 minutes of light sleep, restorative deep sleep, and REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, during which dreaming occurs.
To enhance sleep quality, it’s crucial to fall asleep as closely as possible to the start of the first cycle. Delaying this can result in feeling unrefreshed upon waking. Our bodies exhibit various signals—such as yawning, tired eyes, and difficulty concentrating—when it’s time to sleep. Therefore, it’s important to head to bed at the first signs of fatigue to catch the “sleep train” and maximize restorative sleep.
How Food Shapes Your Sleep
Most people struggle to wake up energized or fall asleep easily—and it’s not just about routine. In the morning, your brain needs dopamine and norepinephrine to kickstart focus and motivation. At night, it relies on serotonin and melatonin to relax and prepare for sleep. Aligning your diet with your body’s natural rhythms, you can wake up sharp and wind down smoothly.
What Meals Does Richard Match to His Day for Better Sleep?
1) Breakfast
For breakfast, I always try to include some animal protein. It helps my body make more dopamine—the brain chemical that gets me up, motivated, and ready to take on the day. On top of boosting my energy and alertness, starting the morning with protein actually supports my body’s natural sleep-wake rhythms, setting me up for better rest at night. In a way, I’m getting ready for bed as soon as I eat breakfast!
Eat animal proteins like eggs, yogurt, cheese, or lean ham to help your body produce dopamine, the “get-up-and-go” neurotransmitter.
2) Lunch
At mid-day, I make sure to add some protein to my meal—whether it’s from animal or plant sources—so I have enough energy to get through the rest of the day. Some of my go-to options are grilled chicken or turkey, a piece of salmon, or a couple of eggs. If I want something plant-based, I reach for lentils, chickpeas, tofu, or a quinoa salad. Adding these to lunch helps me stay satisfied and focused right up to dinner.
You’ve got a few tasty options for protein: about 4 oz of fish or chicken, 2 eggs, 4 oz of tofu, or around 5 oz of cooked legumes like lentils, beans, or chickpeas. Legumes aren’t perfect because they have more carbs, but they still work. Pairing these proteins with fiber-rich legumes helps you feel satisfied and keeps your energy steady, thanks to their low glycemic impact.
3) Snack
For an afternoon snack, I like to reach for a piece of fruit or a couple of squares of dark chocolate. These little carbs help my body release insulin, which actually nudges more tryptophan into my brain—the amino acid that turns into serotonin, the feel-good, calming brain chemical. To make this work even better, I add a small handful of nuts like walnuts or almonds, since they’re packed with tryptophan too. Together, this combo is my go-to for a relaxing, mood-lifting boost in the afternoon.
4) Dinner
In the evenings, I always choose a vegetarian meal—no meat, fish, or eggs. That’s because animal proteins have tyrosine, which helps produce dopamine, the motivator chemical that’s great in the morning but not what I need at night. At night, my body needs to create serotonin, the calming neurotransmitter that helps me relax and sleep. Serotonin comes from tryptophan, an amino acid found in plant-based proteins like legumes, soy, wholegrain rice, sunflower seeds, and even chocolate. Eating these plant proteins at dinner helps promote better sleep since some amino acids in animal protein actually compete with tryptophan and slow its effect. Plus, plant-based dinners are easier to digest, so my body can cool down and get ready to rest.
Animal proteins come with a little catch: they contain amino acids that compete with tryptophan, which slows its journey to the brain. Since tryptophan is key for making serotonin, this can actually affect your sleep.
On top of that, animal proteins—and especially cooked fats—take longer to digest, which makes your body work harder and produce more heat. But at night, your body actually needs to cool down to fall asleep easily.
A better choice? Go for a portion of plant-based protein and foods that naturally boost serotonin, like:
- Walnuts and almonds
- Yogurt and cheese
- Carbs from whole grains or fruits
Sleep disruptors
Several factors can interfere with sleep and prevent restorative rest.
Dietary disruptors:
1) Coffee
Due to its caffeine quantity, coffee stimulates the nervous system for 6 hours after its consumption. To a lesser extent, tea also helps to stimulate our brains.
2) Alcohol
Although alcohol can cause drowsiness, it also triggers a release of adrenaline throughout the night and reduces melatonin levels.
3) Excess animal protein at dinner
It is advisable to consume vegetable proteins at night, as they contain carbohydrates and tryptophan, which promote serotonin synthesis.
4) Cabbage and fermented foods
Cabbage and fermented foods like sauerkraut can lead to bloating and thus decrease the quality of your sleep.
5) Spices
They cause a process called thermogenesis, which slightly increases your body’s core temperature as it processes the heat. Your body actually needs its temperature to drop by a degree or two to initiate and maintain sleep.
6) Fried fatty foods
Cooked fats – especially those that are fried – increase digestion time and can therefore disrupt sleep.
Nutrients That Support Rest
Magnesium is especially important for good sleep. A deficiency can show up as stress, irritability, anxiety, or even night cramps. Optimize your magnesium intake!
Build magnesium into your meals with foods like:
- Dark chocolate
- Nuts )
- Whole grains (oats, brown rice, rye)
- Legumes (lentils, beans, chickpeas)
- Leafy greens like spinach
- Sardines or seafood
Beyond Food: Habits That Matter
1) Stress and anxiety
Stress and anxiety are notorious sleep stealers, creating difficulty falling asleep and often leading to insomnia. Practicing mindfulness meditation and self-hypnosis are effective tools to lower stress levels, allowing you to transition into a restful state more easily.
2) Blue light
The use of screens (computer, TV, phone) at night should be eliminated. The blue light emitted by these devices is highly stimulating, activating photoreceptors in the eyes and dramatically disrupting your body’s circadian rhythm. This interference reduces the secretion of melatonin (the sleep hormone) and cuts into your total sleep time.
3) Heat
At night, our bodies need to lower their temperature in order to have quality sleep. Therefore, avoid hot baths and showers before going to your bed and cool down your room at night to an ideal 62.5°F (17∘C)
Good sleep isn’t just about closing your eyes—it’s the foundation of health. Knowing what to eat to optimize your sleep is one underrated subject. Bringing this topic, Richard wishes you a good sleep every day.
