Sleep-inducing Foods

Photo by nonelvis.

Just as some foods and drinks can cause insomnia, others can help induce sleep.  My own experience tells me that oatmeal over warm milk and topped with walnuts and a banana makes me sleepy. But after doing some reading, I have greater insight into why these foods make me sleepy.
This post is part of a series on insomnia.  
Foods that help people feel sleepy often help the body generate melatonin. I am not a biochemist, but you can read this page that explains the process of eating tryptophan-rich foods helps the body to release serotonin which in turn helps release melatonin.
If you want to be technical and exhaustive, you can read through this list of foods high in tryptophan. They include game meat, seafood, soy-based foods, seaweed, spinach, eggs, buffalo as well as turkey and many other foods.
Foods that are more common to the American diet and more readily available include the following:

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• walnuts
• almonds
• turkey
• eggs
• oatmeal
• milk 
• cottage cheese
• herbal tea (caffeine free)
• bananas
• cherries or cherry juice
• avocados
• miso soup
• hummus
• brown rice

If you want to know about the science behind these foods, look at this list by US News and this list by Woman's Day.
I offer once common-sense caution. Try not to consume too much liquid right before bed. Having miso soup, warm milk, herbal tea and cherry juice all in one evening might make you sleepy. However, it will also wake you up so that you can make a trip or two to the bathroom.  Also, don't add sugar to your oatmeal because sugar is a stimulant.  
Related:
Multiple Causes for Insomnia
Foods that Induce Insomnia