16 foods inducing child sleep better at night – Sleep Guide II

What foods could help baby better sleep at night? Can foods help children get better sleep? What are the vegan Foods inducing child sleep? Yes moms & dads, an answer to all these queries lies directly below.

To know the Impact of lack of sleep in children, get right here!

Foods inducing child sleep

Sleepy baby
Calm sleep

The pains are heard all round the world, when toddlers or preschoolers don’t have proper nap time. That not just infuriates tired parents but have a great impact on the growing child as well. Apart from less sleep being a prominent reason of hindering various cognitive developments, it also is an important factor in turning kids obese or even diabetic. You could find your kid irritable, hyperactive & too loud if a proper sleep is not triggered.

Hence there has to be an optimum sleep basis the age of the child from birth till they learn to get that sleep themselves, which is by 3years. There can be many factors forcing a bad sleep. I’ve penned down some remedies which prompt kids a good sleep. Amongst those, diet of a child plays a very important role in his lifestyle, development & sleep patterns.

So, let me help you know the importance of foods which will help in soothing your kid & help him have a good sleep. Don’t expect a sleep magic as soon as any of the listed foods are fed to child. But be certain that these foods will compliment your ritual & methodologies in giving a good lasting sleep to the child.

**Listed Foods inducing child sleep also help in their growth, however if toddlers have any stomach or allergic problems, do refer out on foods with your paediatric.

Getting to know some science behind the Sleep –

Sleep is controlled by the “neurotransmitters”, which are basically hormones controlling most of the factors. One such hormone which starts its production once the darkness increases & regulates sleep is “Melatonin”(produced by Pineal gland in brain). Deficiency of Melatonin results in Insomnia & many sleep disorders. Now, as a matter of fact, most of the foods sources are deficient in Melatonin, but its precursor, an amino acid called “Tryptophan” can be found in many natural foods. Tryptophan in turn helps in Melatonin & Serotonin production. Even serotonin (a good feel hormone) can help in the production of melatonin which helps regulating the circadian rhythms & thus a good sleep.

So the outcome is clearly to improve the intake of Tryptophan, Serotonin along with carbohydrates which induce Melatonin production. Carbs release insulin in body, which help more of tryptophan to reach the brain cells. These hormones basically act as nerve & muscle relaxants & induce sleep. It helps children in :

  1. Reducing Irritation (I swear, that crankiness blows me off!)
  2. De-stressing (since serotonin is a feel good hormone induced by Tryptophan intake)
  3. Reduces any untoward behaviour problems (Again for a feel good factor) 
** Don’t plan to give Melatonin supplements directly to children without any doctor’s suggestion. Definitely one should route it in the form of natural foods to have a positive impact on a child’s growing body.

Avoid giving ….

Further, completely avoid foods containing caffeine & sugars (even a BF’ing mother should avoid its intake) few hours before the toddlers bed time. Foods as coffee, sugary juices, extra sugars do no good to a child’s body, rather they have a completely adverse effect on the sleep cycles. Post feasting on excessive sugary snacks, blood sugar levels increases & then decreases little time later again. Due to these changes in sudden blood glucose level, our body releases “Adrenaline hormone”. This hormone may awake even a toddler who has slept. So better completely avoid them for your lil ones. It will be helpful in not making them awake in the night once they have slept:). Yes scientific, I have experienced it myself for 5-6nights when my kid was around 1.5years & from then I completely resisted on giving sugary foods to him.  

Vegan Foods inducing child Sleep – 

Sleep inducing foods
Sleep inducing foods
  1. Oatmeal with milk- easy & nutritious, Inducing sleep another great impact.
  2. Toast with peanut butter – Tastes really yumm, even we adults can bite it!
  3. Banana / Banana +Milk (good source of Serotonin + Melatonin) – Full of calcium as well!
  4. Barley – Milk porridge (Good source of Carb + Tryptophan), Quinoa – Perfect food for toddler!
  5. Rice + Milk Kheer /Pudding – Sweet tooth cravings can be supplemented !
  6. Whole wheat crackers + cheese – Perfect to much on!
  7. A cheesy egg sandwich (of whole wheat bread) – Definitely will be loved by little one!
  8. Whole grain pasta/ whole grain bread topped with cheese – That’s my fav too!
  9. Dairy products as Tofu, Cheese, Eggs, Yoghurts (If your kid is allergic to dairy products, don’t give him)
  10. Roasted or Sprouted Soybean – Again perfect to munch!
  11. Potatoes, Sweet Potatoes, Pumpkin (as puree or combination)
  12. Dry fruits (cashew, pistachio), specially Almond powder added to Milk – Better health, immunity a bonus!
  13. Leafy Green veggies as Spinach, Cabbage, Turnip, which are full of other important nutrients also
  14. Beans, which are full of growth nutrients apart from inducing sleep
  15. Sesame & Flax seeds
  16. Yumm Cherries & Oranges

Turkey & Tuna are great sources of Tryptophan in non-vegan, but I’ve listed down only the vegan ones here!

Mommies, why not try some of these foods inducing child sleep before the bed time which are nutritious & filling as well. 3-in-1 purpose:). They’ll just make your sleep process a little smoother & you’ll take a step towards a peaceful sleepy nights soon.

Do share if you were suggested any other foods apart from these vegan ones to help kids induce good sleep!

Till then Happy Sleeping!

Jhilmil

Quest to live the life surrounded with the charming little bundle's of joy. When they speak, I sing, When they smile, I rejoice , When they hug, I hold them never to lose, Such is my passion for these Gifts of God.This love urged me to navigate separately from my Travel Blog & establish an "All-In-One" Blog for budding mothers. Mum's have multi-tasked this world ,with all her professional commitments , she still makes an extra effort to be a loving, caring and be an intellectual mommy! Cheers, for me too come from the same fraternity, post having a superb academics & close to 8 years of professional experience and blessed with a little one "who has indeed changed my life from Autumn to Spring";)

This Post Has 10 Comments

  1. Simply Mom Bailey

    I don’t buy the theory of food helping with sleep or not helping with sleep. Antidotally it hasn’t worked for us. As this breastfeeding mama drinks as much coffee as she can, and my newborn sleeps the best out of all my children.

    1. Jhilmil

      Hey see it varies from person to person, but these are something which have worked for me & nearby friends. Coffee has caffeine & we all know the effects of it on a breast feeding infant. As I have mentioned, only single food will never trigger a great sleep, it needs to be combined with many other factors as in good fixed routine, energizing play time & some other factors, which I’ll be sharing in my next post! Standalone, none can work, cumulatively all things will work out to give a great night sleep.

  2. supersirriousmom

    I’ll have to try a few of these with my son, I’m so curious to see if it will help him.

    1. Jhilmil

      Yea, try them out with other techniques, i’ll publish in my guide III tomorrow. Cumulatively both the things should try to work out in few 15-20 days. Just be slow & continuous in your efforts!

  3. stayathomescience

    Great post! I plan to share this information with my husband as well (who is always munching on something high in sugar before bed and complaining he can’t get to sleep…!).

    1. Jhilmil

      OH.. No sugars before bed! DO share with him 😉

  4. Melissa

    This is so interesting. I hadn’t really thought about food that might help my little one sleep!

    1. Jhilmil

      Yea, food +other night routine cumulatively helps for sure!

  5. Inez

    This is so great! My son always has milk before bed but if there’s a bit of a longer stretch between dinner and bed, for whatever reason, I’ll give him a banana, too. Looks like I should do that regularly! Thanks for this!

    1. Jhilmil

      I’m consistent with Milk & banana! A perfect health combo & yes sleep is a plus:)

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