Foods to eat for a better night's sleep

Well all this week is sleep week here on Sunrise and this morning we're talking about with an expert about how different foods you're eating at bedtime keep you up at night. What you eat before bed can have a major impact on your sleep. Just ask sleep doctor Cam Atwal at Adventist Health. Remember chocolate has caffeine and sugar so to the two no-nos. Yeah that's a bummer but what are some foods we might not know are messing up our Z's. Celery, cucumbers and watermelon all have high water content. You'll be up going to the bathroom all night. Tomatoes, eggplant, aged cheese and cured meats have tyramine. It's a protein that stimulates the brain. And skip the big salads and black beans before bed. They're hard to digest and cause bloating. Okay let's get to the good stuff. What helps us sleep? Walnuts and almonds have natural melatonin. So do fruits like cherries, kiwis and bananas. And warm milk anyone? The old adage of a warm glass of milk there are some signs to that. Have a slice of turkey maybe also. So those kind of foods have a lot of natural occurring tryptophan. Dr. Atwal brings up one more thing. Don't go to bed hungry either. Then you can have the opposite problem where your body at night is dipping in its blood sugar especially for diabetics. I tell them that a light snack close to bedtime and again 30 to 60 minutes is probably a good idea for all of us to have that in mind. Ideally eat big meals about two hours before bed and a small snack 30 minutes before. Well he's getting a good night's. And then coming up tomorrow at 610 here on Sunrise we're talking about over-the-counter sleep meds. What you need to know if you take them and the most common mistakes people make. So any of the foods surprise you? I didn't think the salads, tomatoes, eggplant I never would have thought. I never would have either. I didn't think celery it would be bad to eat before I go to sleep. I was aware that beans probably would not be the best thing to eat before I enter the bed at night. You made a nice little joke during that story about it. I'm also proud to say even working this crazy shift I've never taken anything to help me go to sleep at night. Really? I'm guilty. Really? Dr. Atwal actually has some really interesting stuff about how long you should really be taking over-the-counter sleep meds. Interesting. So find out tomorrow. I'm with you I'm so tired I just drop off.