10 Snacks to Eat and Avoid Before Bed
Nutrition & FitnessDiet & Nutrition

The 10 Best and Worst Bedtime Snacks

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Updated on March 17, 2026
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Best and Worst Bedtime Snacks
Fried foods, nuts, and fruit: Which options are smart to eat in the evening and at night?

Who doesn’t love putting up their feet and tucking into a bowl of popcorn or ice cream at the end of a long day? While the occasional bedtime snack is fine, capping off every day with sweet or salty fare may spell trouble.

“Snacking later into the night increases the chance of weight gain, obesity, and cardiometabolic diseases,” says Kristin Kirkpatrick, RD, a dietitian and author of Skinny Liver: A Proven Program to Prevent and Reverse the New Silent Epidemic — Fatty Liver Disease.

Many of us are more likely to reach for less-than-healthy foods in the evening, and you can blame your body’s built-in survival mechanisms for this. Research has shown that our circadian rhythms (the body’s internal processes that follow a 24-hour cycle) raise our hunger and cravings for sweet, salty, and carbohydrate-heavy foods when we’re tired — which tends to be at nighttime after a long day, for most of us.

The downside of late-night cravings is that they can add unnecessary calories that lead to significant weight gain if left unchecked. Research explains that late-night eating could throw off our internal clocks and may be associated with higher total caloric intake and body mass index (BMI).

“To offset these innate cravings, I have found that your first defense should be drinking a glass of water or [caffeine-free] tea, rather than heading to the snack pantry,” Kirkpatrick says.

Ideally, you’ll stop eating two to three hours before going to bed. If you’re actually hungry and you need a snack to dip into slumber, chances are you’re not eating enough during the day, Kirkpatrick explains. Still, if you do need to eat, or you crave a quick bite before bed, “it is important to choose a small, low-calorie, nutrient-dense snack at this time of the day,” Kirkpatrick says.

In fact, some snacks contain nutrients that may relax your body, helping you fall and stay asleep. Read on to discover the best bedtime snacks, as well as the snacks to avoid before getting some sleep.

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Can Eating a Bedtime Snack Mess With Your Sleep?

Marie-Pierre St-Onge, PhD, associate professor of nutritional medicine at the Columbia University Irving Medical Center in New York City, says it depends on what, how much, and when you’re eating it.
1

Best: Tart Cherries and Juice

Tart cherries
Tart cherries contain melatonin, a key hormone for regulating sleep.

 Eating fresh tart cherries or juice increases the level of melatonin in the body, which helps you get to sleep a little easier, according to Kirkpatrick.
While studies on the effect of tart cherries on sleep are still ongoing, early research suggests that tart cherries may improve sleep quality, increase sleep duration, boost melatonin levels, and decrease inflammation.

If you choose to go the tart cherry juice route, skip fruit juice concentrates, as these typically contain added sugar.

 When choosing a juice, opt for one that’s labeled 100 percent fruit juice; it will contain more nutrients and fewer additives than a sweetened fruit juice or a juice concentrate. But beware that even 100 percent fruit juice is usually quite high in sugar.

 If you find cherry juice too tart, try diluting it to taste with water or plain seltzer.
2

Worst: Ice Cream

Ice cream

Traditional ice cream is high in saturated fats and added sugars, which can trigger cravings that lead to overeating, according to Jonathan Valdez, RDN, CDCES, the owner of Genki Nutrition in New York City.

Plus, “the amount of sugar in ice cream increases blood sugar and makes it more difficult to get to sleep and stay asleep,” Kirkpatrick says.

3

Best: Almonds or Walnuts

Almonds in bowl
“A small handful of nuts will satisfy cravings and hunger while inducing sleepiness,” Kirkpatrick says. That’s because nuts like walnuts and almonds offer natural melatonin, zinc, and magnesium.

Research also suggests that magnesium intake is associated with longer sleep and better sleep quality.

 Just ensure the nuts have low or no added sodium, because “salt can disrupt the sleeping cycle,” Kirkpatrick says.
4

Worst: Chocolate

Chocolate
Like ice cream, chocolate tends to be high in sugar, meaning it’s not the wisest option for a bedtime snack. You may think dark chocolate is a safe choice late in the day, as these bars are typically lower in sugar than milk chocolate. But chocolate is also a source of caffeine, a stimulant that disrupts the body’s sleeping pattern throughout the night, says Kirkpatrick. And the darker the chocolate (the higher the percentage of cacao solids), the more caffeine it has.

5

Best: Cereal With Minimal Sugar and Low-Fat Milk

Cereal in bowl

Pair a bowl of low-sugar cereal with some low-fat milk for a one-two punch. A cereal with minimal sugar (Kirkpatrick suggests looking for less than 5 grams [g] of sugar per serving and at least 3 g of fiber) provides the body with high-fiber carbs to keep you full, while low-fat milk offers the amino acid tryptophan. “Tryptophan produces serotonin in the body, which is converted into melatonin, inducing sleep,” Kirkpatrick says.

6

Worst: Alcohol

Beer
Drinking alcohol before bed may help you fall asleep faster, but it won’t help you stay asleep. “Drinking before bed actually disrupts the body’s natural sleep cycle,” Kirkpatrick says. Alcohol inhibits rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, a phase of deep, restorative sleep when vivid dreams occur.

This may cause you to wake up during the night and sleep either less deeply or for a shorter time. Alcohol’s initial sedative effect also wears off once the alcohol is metabolized, and this can lead to sleep disruption, too.

Plus, “[drinking alcohol before bed] can lead to drowsiness the following day, making it difficult to complete daily functions,” Kirkpatrick says.

7

Best: Yogurt

Plain yogurt
Dairy foods like yogurt contain melatonin, which improves sleep efficiency and reduces the number of episodes of awakening, Valdez says. Yogurt is rich in calcium, a bone-building mineral that also plays a role in processing hormones (like tryptophan and melatonin) that help you sleep.

 Just make sure you select plain, unsweetened yogurt, to which you can add fresh fruit, vanilla extract, or cinnamon.
8

Worst: Potato Chips

Potato Chips
Potato chips are a classic late-night snack. But they’re typically high in unhealthy fats and empty calories, says Valdez. In other words, potato chips provide plenty of calories and saturated fats, while offering few to no nutrients. A single cup has 140 calories and 8.8 g of fat (1.4 g from saturated fat).

Chips are also salty, “which can make a person even hungrier and lead to overeating,” Kirkpatrick says. If you’re not careful, you may take in more calories than you need, leading to weight gain over time.

9

Best: Roasted Chickpeas

Roasted Chickpeas
Roasted chickpeas are a nutrient-dense, low-calorie snack that’s high in protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals, Valdez says. This makes them a healthier alternative to salty snacks like potato chips. Plus, they help control blood sugar, which is crucial for sleep quality.

10

Worst: Fried Food

Fried chicken and fries

Fried foods like chicken strips and french fries are high in fat, and fat takes longer to digest than carbs and protein. This is a bad idea when it comes to bedtime snacks. “Ingesting heavy, greasy foods before bed can shift the body’s focus away from sleep,” Kirkpatrick says.

“Fried foods are also more likely to induce heartburn and other discomforts, making it more difficult for the body to rest before bed,” she adds.

The Takeaway

  • Many people reach for late-night snacks before bedtime, especially because hunger tends to increase when you’re tired.
  • Snacks like ice cream, chocolate, and potato chips aren’t good options before bed because they’re often high in sugar and saturated fats, which can disrupt sleep.
  • If you’re hungry before bed, opt for healthier options like yogurt, tart cherries, or nuts, as these are lower in calories and help induce sleep hormones like melatonin and tryptophan.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
  1. Ask the Doctors. Junk food cravings tied to hormones, circadian cycle. UCLA Health. November 15, 2021.
  2. Jacob R et al. Associations of timing of food intake with energy intake, eating behaviour traits and psychosocial factors in adults with overweight and obesity. Frontiers in Nutrition. May 30, 2023.
  3. Tart Cherry Juice for Sleep: Does It Really Work? Cleveland Clinic. November 28, 2025.
  4. Barforoush F et al. The Effect of Tart Cherry on Sleep Quality and Sleep Disorders: A Systematic Review. Food Science and Nutrition. September 16, 2025.
  5. Added Sugars. American Heart Association. August 2, 2024.
  6. Is 100% Fruit Juice Good for You? Cleveland Clinic. October 25, 2022.
  7. Foods That Help You Sleep. Sleep Foundation. August 5, 2025.
  8. Zhang Y et al. Association of magnesium intake with sleep duration and sleep quality: findings from the CARDIA study. Sleep. April 2022.
  9. Rocha PLA et al. Development of a Caffeine Content Table for Foods, Drinks, Medications and Supplements Typically Consumed by the Brazilian Population. Nutrients. October 21, 2022.
  10. Gardiner C et al. The effect of alcohol on subsequent sleep in healthy adults: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Elsevier. April 2025.
  11. Full Proof: Explaining How Alcohol Can Interfere With Sleep. Cleveland Clinic. January 30, 2025.
  12. A Guide to Calcium-Rich Foods. Bone Health and Osteoporosis Foundation.
  13. Potato chips, lightly salted. U.S. Department of Agriculture. October 30, 2020.
  14. Gray S. The Health Benefits of Chickpeas. University of Connecticut. November 2024.
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