What To Eat If You’re Hungry Right Before Bedtime, According To Nutritionists

In an ideal world, we’d all eat a nice, healthy dinner.After dinner we’d eat a small portion of something sweet – maybe a piece of dark chocolate – and then a few hours later we’d curl up in bed and sleep all night, our stomachs full until the next day.

The reality is more complicated.Whether it’s staying up late, eating very little for dinner, or feeling hungry for no reason (which does happen), many people end up craving a pre-bedtime snack.

While we’ve long heard that eating before bed has been linked to weight gain, this is (fortunately) mostly a rumor.That said, what you choose to eat before bed may affect your weight over time, as well as your ability to sleep soundly.

So, if you know that not eating a bedtime snack will leave you with a rumbling tummy, what should you eat?We consulted with nutritionists.Here are their top choices.

Walnuts

According to registered dietitian Tracy Lockwood Beckerman, a rumbling stomach at night is your body’s way of telling you it needs more calories and nutrients.Therefore, you should choose foods that have the highest nutritional value, but don’t require special attention.

That’s what makes walnuts such an excellent choice.”Walnuts are nutrient-dense, rich in calcium, magnesium, vitamin B, protein and heart-healthy plant-based omega-3 fatty acids,” says Beckman.”Because walnuts are rich in a variety of beneficial nutrients, studies have found that walnut consumption can help prevent type 2 diabetes and other cardiometabolic risk factors.”

Bananas

Not only are bananas delicious, they can also help you fall asleep.Beckman says, “Bananas contain potassium, which is a natural muscle relaxant that helps you sleep.Bananas also contain tryptophan, which not only improves your mood, but also helps you sleep soundly.”

One thing to note is that bananas do contain a fair amount of sugar, about 15 grams per banana.While too much sugar can affect sleep, the sugar in bananas is natural and has less of an impact on blood sugar than refined sugar.And bananas have enough other benefits to still be worth a bedtime snack – and are less likely to interfere with sleep.That said, if you’re particularly sensitive to sugar, you might want to skip this step.

Chocolate nut

Let’s face it: most of us want something sweet before bed.So Beckman’s chocolate-covered nuts before bed should be good news.”It’s definitely right to eat dark chocolate and nuts before bed to satisfy hunger because nuts contain blood-stabilizing protein and healthy fats,” she explains.”Dark chocolate also has just the right amount of sweetness.”

It is important to note that dark chocolate does contain caffeine – a piece of 70 to 85 percent solid dark chocolate contains about 80 milligrams of caffeine.A cup of coffee contains about 100 mg of caffeine.If you eat a handful of nuts covered in dark chocolate, you’re unlikely to consume the caffeine in a whole bar of chocolate, but caffeine affects each of us differently – so if you know that even the smallest amount of caffeine you consume can affect your sleep, then another option may be better.

Almond Berry Greek Yogurt

If you’re willing to put in a little work (and by that we mean mixing several foods together), registered dietitian Abby Vichill recommends Greek yogurt with almonds and berries.

“It’s a good choice because it’s balanced with protein, carbs and fat,” she says.”The carbs are in the berries (and yogurt), the protein is in the yogurt, and the fat is in the almonds.Eating something with carbs, protein, and fat before bed helps keep your blood sugar balanced and prevents your body from waking up during the night with a need for glucose.”

Rice cake with peanut butter

Vichill says this is another great bedtime snack because peanut butter is packed with protein and fat, while rice crackers are loaded with carbs.As mentioned above, these three foods are great for keeping your blood sugar balanced throughout the night.Try to avoid sugary peanut butter!

Dried shiitake (Lentinus edodes), an edible mushroom

Of course, you probably don’t have them in your house yet.But Beckman says shiitake mushrooms are one of the best sources of plant-based vitamin D, which is integral to getting a good night’s sleep.Dried shiitake mushrooms are a quick and easy way to get vitamin D, she says.”Vitamin D plays an important role in melatonin production, and we want to make sure that this hormone is fully released before bedtime to ensure quality sleep,” she says.”I recommend Pan’s dried mushrooms.”If you don’t want to spend the money on dried mushrooms, you can also saute shiitake mushrooms before you go to bed – or saute them ahead of time and reheat them in the fridge.

How to Avoid Bedtime Hunger

While it’s perfectly fine to have a snack before bed, there are plenty of things you can do to prevent hunger pangs from striking if you don’t feel like eating before bed.

“I recommend consuming enough calories early in the day.Don’t wait until dinner to eat two-thirds of your food,” says Visher.”Aim for 25-30 grams of protein at your main meal and three to five servings of cruciferous or high-fiber vegetables at lunch and dinner.”

Beckman adds that our bodies take a “nutritional inventory” at the end of the day and decide what they may have missed.”That’s why if the body isn’t getting enough nutrients and isn’t getting enough vitamins and minerals, we may experience a second wave of hunger before bedtime,” she says.

She notes that if this happens, don’t resist – just give your body something to eat.After all, a really tasty bedtime snack can bring a lot of joy!