A special hormone, melatonin, helps to regulate sleep. Foods with high melatonin can help to adjust the balance of this hormone, which decreases in humans with age.
Melatonin is produced in the human body, but with age the amount of the synthesized substance decreases, which leads to sleep disorders.
The good news is that melatonin is found in large quantities in some foods, so a proper diet will help to overcome the unpleasant problem.
Melatonin: Ways to replenish it with food
In healthy people, the body produces a sufficient amount of melatonin on its own. This process is triggered in the evening and at night, starting at 8 p.m. Doctors recommend going to bed before midnight so as not to miss the peak of melatonin synthesis.
Some even a late bedtime does not prevent excellent sleep. But sooner or later it will lead to a violation of the sleep hormone, and this is a direct route to chronic insomnia. If you already notice that you have not slept well and often wake up, it is worth looking at your diet and introducing more natural products that have melatonin in them.
If you have severe insomnia, you can take melatonin supplements. They have different concentrations, so you can easily pick up the right product. Specialists do not recommend getting too carried away with synthetic sleeping pills, otherwise later it will be difficult to fall asleep without pills. Melatonin has no such effect: it is maximally identical to the hormone that is produced in the human body. But we still advise you to consult a sleep specialist if you have complex sleep disorders.
Top 10 food with highest Melatonin
Let’s break down which foods contain melatonin or tryptophan. This is a great way out for those who prefer to take medication only in extreme cases.
Table 1 – The Best Food Sources of Tryptophan
| Food | Concentration, in mg per 100 g food |
| Fresh cherries | 1300 |
| Dutch cheese | 790 |
| Rabbit meat | 330 |
| Hen | 290 |
| Walnut | 240 |
| Beef | 210 |
| Cottage cheese | 210 |
| Eggs | 200 |
| Corn porridge | 180 |
| Rice grits | 150 |
Meat and dairy products are record-breakers in terms of tryptophan, which in the human body is converted into melatonin. But a lot of the useful substance is contained in fresh cherries, nuts and cereals. All of the above products must be in the daily diet.
Products of animal origin
If you have a sleep disorder, lay on meat and dairy products. Such food will help make up for the lack of essential amino acids and improve the production of melatonin. For convenience, we have divided all foods of animal origin into several categories.
Meat and meat products
Meat eaters are less likely to suffer from sleep disorders, and for good reason. Meat products are high in tryptophan, which means that melatonin production will be better in those whose diet is rich in meat.
Table 2 – Tryptophan content of meat
| Food | Concentration, in mg per 100 g food |
| Turkey | 330 |
| Rabbit meat | 330 |
| Chicken | 300 |
| Hen | 290 |
| Lamb | 200 |
| Beef | 210 |
The highest amount of melatonin is found in lean meats, so adjusting your diet to treat insomnia will not result in extra inches on your waistline. And turkey, rabbit or chicken dishes will help improve your sleep.
Fish and seafood
The gifts of the sea are also rich in tryptophan. We have put in a separate table the foodstuffs where melatonin is concentrated. If you don’t like meat, eat fish more often. It has not only tryptophan, but also essential polyunsaturated fatty acids, and seafood has a lot of iodine.
Table 3 – Tryptophan content in fish and seafood
| Food | Concentration, in mg per 100 g food |
| Red caviar | 380 |
| Squid | 300 |
| Herring | 250 |
| Pink salmon | 220 |
| Cod | 210 |
| Chum salmon | 200 |
| Pollack | 200 |
| Stavrida | 200 |
| Sea bass | 190 |
| Mackerel | 180 |
| Sudak | 180 |
| Pike | 180 |
Red caviar and squid are champions of high melatonin content. If you don’t like seafood, eat more fish. Herring, pink salmon and cod are good for replenishing the alpha-amino acid tryptophan. River fish also has the hormone of sleep, but a little less, so if you have serious problems with sleep, give preference to marine species.
Milk and dairy products
Cheese lovers are especially lucky. It is in such food concentrated maximum melatonin. But some other types of dairy products do not lag behind in high levels of useful substances, so they should definitely be present in the diet.
Table 4 – Tryptophan content in milk and dairy products
| Food | Concentration, in mg per 100 g food |
| Swiss cheese | 1000 |
| Roquefort Cheese | 900 |
| Cheddar | 735 |
| Poshekhonsky cheese | 700 |
| Brynza | 510 |
| Parmesan | 482 |
| Dry milk | 350 |
| Cottage cheese | 200 |
| Feta | 200 |
| Yogurt | 72 |
| Milk | 43 |
| Low-fat cream | 43 |
| Kefir | 43 |
| Ice cream | 35 |
The greatest amount of melatonin is concentrated in hard cheeses. Choose any variant you like: it is guaranteed to contain a lot of useful amino acid tryptophan. Another good source of the sleep hormone is fatty cottage cheese. And with cream is another story: the more fatty the product, the less tryptophan it contains. It is interesting that dried milk has more useful substances than fresh milk, but we recommend not to deny yourself the usual whole milk. There are plenty of other options among dairy products to saturate the body with melatonin.
Eggs and egg products
These foods will also help make up for a lack of tryptophan, albeit not as effectively as seafood, meat or cheese.
Egg powder contains a lot of the sleep hormone. It is usually added to baked goods and any other dishes that require eggs. Making egg powder produces a highly concentrated product that is rich in nutrients. But regular eggs also contain melatonin, albeit in much smaller quantities.
Plant-based products
This section is a must for those who, for various reasons, cannot consume animal products. Plant foods also contain a lot of melatonin, the main thing is to know exactly what to buy.
Fruits and berries
In summer, you should not deny yourself the pleasure of eating fresh fruits or berries. They also contain melatonin, which normalizes sleep and helps to fight insomnia.
Cherries are the perfect food to make up for the lack of alpha-amino acid, which normalizes the production of the sleep hormone. Choose as sour varieties as possible: they contain maximum tryptophan. But sweet cherries are also good. And doctors recommend eating a banana before going to bed. It doesn’t contain a lot of melatonin, but there are substances that relax the muscles. And so, the rest will be of higher quality.
Vegetables and greens
In season, you need to have time to eat as many fresh vegetables as possible. They contain many vitamins and trace elements, and some plants have an increased concentration of melatonin, which improves sleep.
Vegetables don’t have as much melatonin as cheese or seafood, but that’s not a problem. You can make a delicious vegetable salad and eat it as a side dish to meat or fish. Cauliflower, basil and potatoes are good sources of tryptophan.
Nuts and seeds
This category contains the most melatonin of all plant foods. If you suffer from sleep problems, try eating a handful of nuts every day. They make up for the lack of tryptophan, and nuts are also full of fatty acids that are good for skin, hair and nails.
Ordinary sunflower seeds contain the highest concentration of tryptophan and melatonin. Slightly less useful substances are contained in sesame and peanuts. Menus for sleeping problems should definitely include salads with sunflower seeds, sesame seeds or nuts. But you should not eat too many nuts: they are too caloric and can cause heaviness in the stomach.
Legumes, grains, and cereals
These foods are also great for improving sleep hormone production. You can eat cereal or legume porridge as a separate dish, but better as a side dish to meat or fish.
In the diet must be present peas, oatmeal and lentils. In terms of their high melatonin content, legumes almost catch up with nuts, and this is a good option for people who are allergic to nuts. And when making bread, muffins or other baked goods, try replacing wheat flour with buckwheat flour. It contains a little more tryptophan and works better for sleep disorders.
Herbs that contain melatonin
The hormone is synthesized not only in the human body, but also in plants. To them, it helps protect themselves from the external environment, and also normalizes the growth rate of the roots and the above-ground part.
Plenty of plant melatonin contains:
- St. John’s wort;
- fescue;
- grape leaves;
- barley;
- tea;
- hops.
These plants can be used to make infusions and decoctions according to different recipes. Tea, despite its tonic effect, also improves the production of melatonin, unlike coffee. It is also worth adding corn, rice, barley and oats to your diet. They make up for the lack of tryptophan and normalize sleep.
