A good night’s sleep is something millions of us don’t get right now. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one third of us get less than seven hours of sleep each night.

That’s bad news, because sleep deprivation can lead to “brain fog” and depression. It also makes us pack on belly pounds, and it hikes our risk for having a heart attack.

I sat down with the team at Good Day LA to discuss foods you can eat for a more restful nights sleep. Here are 5 ket nutrients that can improve your sleep:

• GABA. You know how your mind gets going like a hamster on a wheel right before bedtime? Well, GABA—which is short for GAMMA-AMINOBUTYRIC ACID—acts like an “off” switch for your over-busy brain. It helps you relax, reduces your stress, and even eases pain, so it can soothe you gently to sleep. You can boost your body’s own levels of GABA by eating foods like nuts, fermented foods, shrimp, tea, tomatoes, and cocoa.
• MAGNESIUM. This ties in with GABA, because magnesium increases your GABA activity. It also relaxes your muscles and helps to regulate your circadian rhythms—which are those internal “clocks” that tell you when it’s time to sleep. To get plenty of magnesium in your diet, eat foods that are rich in magnesium, like dark chocolate, nuts, avocados, and pumpkin seeds.
• GLYCINE. This amino acid is a powerhouse when it comes to helping you sleep. It increases your serotonin levels, which encourages deeper and more restful sleep, and it even lowers your body temperature a little bit to help you fall asleep faster. The best way to get a big dose of this amino acid is to drink BONE BROTH every day. Bone broth mainlines glycine to your cells, and it also gives you an extra dose of that relaxing magnesium as a bonus.
• MELATONIN. We’ve all heard about this hormone, which our body produces when it’s dark in order to make us sleepy. Well, you might not know it, but you can actually get melatonin from food, too! You can raise your melatonin levels by eating foods like nuts, eggs, goji berries, and fish.
• VITAMIN D. Vitamin D is another nutrient that helps to regulate our internal clocks, so our bodies know when it’s time to sleep. Research shows that people who are low in vitamin D sleep less AND have a poorer quality of sleep. To get enough of this nutrient, be sure to eat vitamin D-rich foods like egg yolks and fatty fish.

I also shared this message with the team at Fox Detroit, check it out!