Sometimes you find yourself hungry later in the night after having your dinner a few hours ago. Without filling your tank, you might find it hard to get good sleep, and you are also trying to avoid adding weight.
As disciplined as you are while trying to avoid late-night food and snack, some snacks will help you address such needs when the situation occurs. Therefore, there are still healthy snacks out there that you can take late in the night, and you will still retain your average weight or even shed more.
So, no cause for alarm when your stomach starts rumbling at midnight as we will be highlighting some of the late-night snacks you can munch, and you will be fine.
Here is one fact you need to know – science has proven that eating too late at night could make weight control harder, but a small, nutrient-rich snack under 200 calories is generally acceptable at night.
Consuming some snacks could even help you get better sleep due to their healthy compounds. Below are the top five healthy late-night snacks recommended for you.
Healthiest Late Night Snacks
The following are some of the healthiest late night snacks based on their calories, nutrients and overall health benefits.
1. Tart Cherries
You can add tart cherries like Montmorency or their juice to your late-night snack options because few studies have shown that they may help you sleep better.
Cherries also contain anti-inflammatory benefits, which may protect you against inflammation-related conditions like arthritis and heart disease.
Another important thing to note about tart cherries is that they contain the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin. You must take them only in a small amount.
Apart from that, they also contain the phytochemical procyanidin B-2, which is meant for the protection of the amino acid tryptophan in your blood,
2. Banana With Almond Butter
Findings have proven that a combination of a small banana dipped in a tablespoon (16 grams) of unsweetened almond butter is a tasty, 165-calorie pairing that gets you a better sleep.
As one of the fruits rich in the nerve messenger serotonin, your body converts to melatonin, banana produces over a 4-fold increase in melatonin blood levels within two hours of eating it.
Apart from being also suppliers of some melatonin, almonds and almond butter are a good source of healthy fats, vitamin E, and magnesium, which has been linked to good sleep because it supports melatonin production.
All in all, a banana dipped in almond butter is likely to increase your body’s melatonin levels to support a good night’s sleep, provided it is only about 165 calories.
3. Kiwis
Medically, you are advised to take not more than two peeled kiwis pack daily. This is because they have 93 calories, 5 grams of fiber, and 190% of the recommended daily intake (RDI) of vitamin C.
Nutritious and figure-friendly, the fuzzy-skinned, sweet-tart fruit may help you get better sleep.
Taking Kiwis can lead to a 35% decrease in the time it takes you to fall asleep, and also, you may experience slept about 13% longer sleep and 5% of better sleep. This is because they contain a good amount of the nerve messenger serotonin, which has a relaxing effect that can guarantee fast sleep. Another health benefits of kiwi that makes it one of the healthiest late night snacks is that is can lower blood pressure.
4. Pistachios
This is another snack, which stands out among other nuts for their high levels of sleep-promoting melatonin.
Findings have shown that one ounce of shelled pistachios is measured 28 grams) and it contains about 160 calories, as well as about 6.5 mg of melatonin.
5. Protein Smoothie
Apart from this being a muscle repair component, it also helps anti-aging, especially if you exercise routinely. You can blend 8 ounces (240 ml) of low-fat milk with 2/3 cups (110 grams) of frozen pineapple around 160 calories to give yourself a treat.
In summary, milk and pineapple are rich in tryptophan, making both serotonin and melatonin, which aid sleep.
