Why Chickpeas Are The Best Bedtime Snack, According To A Dietitian

Food and sleep are deeply intertwined. Just as some eats can keep you from catching Z's (like, say, sugar and caffeine), other foods can help enhance your shut-eye. Perhaps the most popular instance is Thanksgiving: Ever notice how you feel blissfully sleepy after a few servings of turkey? That's because the meat contains high levels of tryptophan, an amino acid that's a precursor to serotonin (which, as you'll see, plays a significant role in our sleep). 

While Thanksgiving turkey seems to gain all the hype, registered dietitian Jessica Cording, M.S., R.D., CDN, reminds us that we can find tryptophan in a host of other sources: "It's in pretty much all animal protein," she says on the mindbodygreen podcast. "But you are also going to find it in some plant foods."

Chickpeas are complex carbs, which as Cording notes, "help our body produce serotonin." While you might associate serotonin more with mood, the neurotransmitter actually converts to melatonin in the brain's pineal gland—that said, it's necessary for sleep.

Chickpeas also contain high levels of magnesium, which plays a role in more than 300 diverse biochemical reactions1 in the body that control everything from blood sugar and blood pressure regulation to energy production to—you guessed it—sleep.* Research has shown how magnesium can support restorative, deep sleep2, specifically by maintaining healthy levels of GABA—a neurotransmitter that promotes relaxation and a good night's rest.*