Does eating a banana before bed help you sleep better?

Eating a banana before bed and all your sleep problems disappearing like snow in the sun: it sounds tempting, but it’s one of those home remedies that makes us wonder whether we should believe it or not. What’s the deal with this miraculous sleep aid?

Sleep better with a banana

Because besides sleeping better after a cup of lettuce water, a glass of wine or a cheese board, people also swear by eating a banana. Yet these kinds of claims are often difficult to substantiate with scientific research. Quest took a closer look at the folk belief.

True or false

A banana contains the substance tryptophan. This substance helps produce serotonin and melatonin. These two substances not only make you feel sleepy, but also help you wake up less often during the night. But a real effect of eating a banana on your night’s sleep? That’s difficult to establish. That’s because studying the presence of tryptophan in our food and drinks isn’t so easy. Let alone determining whether it was precisely that substance, from that one banana, that caused you to sleep like a log that evening.

Also read:

• You’ve been eating your banana the wrong way your entire life
• Vegan gets one banana to eat as a business-class meal
• Go for it with that Dutch banana: these Dutch researchers succeed

Source: Quest