There is more to getting high-quality sleep than just dialing in your circadian rhythms and passing out each night. Believe it or not, the nutrients you get from food play a huge role in your sleep quality, or lack thereof.
More recently, science has shown the gut-brain connection via the vagus nerve is important for not just our sleep quality, but all other areas of our health as well. Simply put, what you eat can trigger certain hormones to either give you a great night of sleep, or a poor, restless night of tossing and turning.
Keep in mind that supplements can be a valuable tool to help fill in the cracks of our diet, but sourcing our nutrients from high-quality food should always come first. So let’s take a look at the top 5 nutrients you need in order to optimize your sleep.
1. Vitamin C
Recent research published in the journals Appetite and PLoS One has shown that individuals with low levels of serum vitamin C had more sleep issues and were prone to waking up more often throughout the night (1, 2). Moreover, a 2009 study showed that when vitamin C was taken in combination with vitamin E, individuals had greatly reduced episodes of sleep apnea (3).
While the media has led us to believe that taking a multivitamin or drinking orange juice is a great way to get more vitamin C in our diet, there just might be better ways and without all the added sugar.
While taking a supplement can be beneficial in certain situations, the source you get your vitamin C from matters. Our biology has come to expect our nutrients from real, whole food sources, not just simply isolated versions in capsule form. It’s best to source your vitamin C from sources that are lower glycemic and have a high bioavailability to the human body.
High vitamin C food sources are:
Camu camu berries
Acerola cherries
Citrus fruits like lemons and limes
Broccoli
Kale
Red bell peppers
2. Vitamin D3 - Vitamin K2 - Calcium
Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol)
These nutrients work very synergistically inside the human body which is why I have them listed together. Usually, when we are deficient in one, it means another is adversely affected. Some of these consequences can even lead to poor sleep issues.
According to the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, there is a strong correlation between Vitamin D deficiency and daytime sleepiness (4).
Not to mention, according to another study published in the Journal Biological Rhythms, vitamin D is able to modulate the expression of synchronize genes involved in our circadian rhythms (5).
While it can be said for every other nutrient, Vitamin D is not best sourced from food. In fact, also known as the sunshine vitamin, we actually make vitamin D from exposure to sun - more specifically the UVB rays which interact with the cholesterol inside our bodies to produce the active form of vitamin D.
However, due to staying indoors more often, living in northern climates, and applying excess sunscreen during the summer months, a lot of the population is actually vitamin D deficient. While there are certain foods like salmon, tuna, mackerel, shiitake mushrooms, and oysters that contain bioavailable forms of vitamin D, by far the best way to get it is through healthy sun exposure.
Vitamin K2 (menaquinone)
Vitamin K2 is a more recently discovered vitamin that is different from vitamin K1 (phytonadione - the plant exclusive form). In short, vitamin K2 ensures calcium is where it needs to be inside the body. When we are deficient in K2, calcium can leach outside the bones and teeth and become stagnant inside the arteries, which is where we don’t want it.
Calcium
In combination with vitamin D, vitamin K2 helps to shuttle the calcium inside your arteries back to your bones and teeth. While research suggests that a calcium deficiency can lead to disturbances in REM sleep, upping your levels of calcium intelligently is key (6).
Supplementing with these nutrients in isolation may actually be doing your body more harm than good.
As you can see, clever marketing can trick us into believing that we need to take a calcium supplement. But conversely, we might have low levels of vitamin D and K2, and that calcium may never make it to the bones and teeth where we need it, ultimately leading to calcified arteries. So to ensure you are optimizing your sleep (and overall health) these nutrients should be taken with respect to one another.
If you live in a climate that has optimal weather all year round, make sure to get outside for just 20 minutes a day exposing your skin to the sun’s UV rays. During the winter months if you live in more northern climates, try supplementing with a high-quality vitamin D3/ K2 supplement. Good food sources of Vitamin K2 would be:
Grassfed butter
Beef liver
Pastured pork
Free-range chicken
Bacon
Fermented foods like sauerkraut, natto, and kimchi
3. Potassium
Potassium is great for much more than leg cramps and electrolytes! A study published in the journal Sleep showed that potassium may increase sleep efficiency (3). While bananas are often the first food that comes to mind when we hear the word potassium, there are much greater sources and ones with lower sugar as well.
Leafy greens
Dulse (sea veggies)
Potatoes
Broccoli
Cremini mushrooms
Avocados
4. Magnesium
Magnesium might just be one of your body’s most important minerals, as it is responsible for over 600 different biochemical processes. Simply put, without it, there are over 600 things your body can’t do that it wants to - this includes getting a better night’s sleep.
According to a recent study published in the Journal of Research in Medical Sciences, supplementing with magnesium greatly improved subjects sleep latency, efficiency, duration, and insomnia symptoms (5).
Here are some great sources of magnesium:
Almonds
Leafy greens
Dark chocolate
Avocados
Black beans
However, due to a depletion of precious minerals in our soil, magnesium is a lot less prevalent in our foods today than it was just decades ago. So supplementing in an intelligent may be beneficial to your sleep quality.
While you may see many different forms of magnesium on the market, only a few are bioavailable to the human body. Most oral magnesium supplements like citrate, sulfate, and oxide, have more stool softening properties, rather than being absorbed into our system.
The chelated forms like magnesium glycinate and magnesium L-threonate are a lot better absorbed and aren’t reported as having stool-softening properties. However, the best way to supplement with magnesium is through a topical application.
5. Omega-3s
A study conducted by the University of Oxford found that omega-3s can help you get deeper, more restful sleep (6). Omega-3s are a type of polyunsaturated fat that is essential to good health. While there are a few different types, the most bioavailable sources are from wild-caught, fatty fish such as mackerel, salmon, herring, and sardines. These sources all contain EPA and DHA which is the form our bodies use readily in the diet.
While plants, nuts, and seeds such as walnuts, chia seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, and flax seeds contain omega-3s as well, they are present in the form ALA (alpha-lenolenic acid). This type of omega-3 needs to be converted inside the body to EPA and DHA to be used.
The data is pretty clear that ALA is not as effective as DHA and EPA. According to data cited in the journal Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and Metabolism, less than five percent of ALA gets converted into DHA (7).
To ensure you’re covering all your bases, try incorporating a variety of these foods into your diet. On days where your fish consumption is low, I recommend consuming a high-quality fish oil supplement from a reputable brand.
A lot of fish oils on the market are farm raised, contain neurotoxins, and can do a lot more damage. So investing in the right fish oil that is of the highest quality is key.
Conclusion
There is a lot you can can begin doing to get a great night of sleep, tonight! Eating a diet rich in nutrients is one of them. Be sure you are including these nutrients in your diet nearly every day out of the week and supplement when needed to ensure all your nutrient needs are met. For more assurance, reach out to your doctor and get your nutrient levels tested to see where you need to improve.
Feel free to share this out with someone who you feel needs it most and leave me a comment below! Be sure to sign up for my Ultimate Autoimmune Reset™ if you’re looking for more guidance on how to take control of your health.
