Making mindful choices can improve sleep quality.
It's not surprising that how you sleep has a large impact on how you feel throughout the day. But what you do throughout the day — including how you choose to nourish your body — also impacts the quality and duration of your slumber.
Here's how to optimize your 15 to 17 waking hours for a restful, restorative night.
Start Your Day with Coffee — But Know Your Cut-Off Time
You don't need to give up your morning cup for a good night's sleep. Starting the day with coffee may provide health benefits such as lowering risk of some diseases, including type II diabetes, hypertension, and depression. The caffeine in coffee is a stimulant that works primarily by binding to and inhibiting some of the central nervous system's adenosine receptors, which promote drowsiness.
What’s in your stomach plays a role in how much and how quickly you feel the effects. Caffeine is absorbed into the bloodstream faster on an empty stomach. If you tend to get the jitters, adding high-fiber foods, like fruits, oatmeal, or whole wheat bread can slow the digestion of caffeine and help prevent a crash.
To prevent coffee from messing with your sleep, though, avoid having a cup in the late afternoon or evening. That's because it takes three to five hours for your body to remove half of the stimulant. Try drinking herbal tea or decaf to minimize late-night effects.
Eat the Mediterranean Way
Following a Mediterranean diet — consuming high quantities of fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts, olive oil, moderate amounts of fish and poultry, and limited amounts of red meat and sugar — can support sleep in the long run. The eating style has been linked with improved sleep duration, efficiency, and quality. It's also been linked with a reduced risk of insomnia symptoms in older adults, according to a 2025 review published in Food Science & Nutrition. The article authors theorize the diet's anti-inflammatory and antioxidative properties, plus key nutrients like polyphenols, omega‐3 fatty acids, and complex carbohydrates, may play a role in its sleep-promoting effects.
Prioritize These 2 Micronutrients
The minerals magnesium and zinc have both been shown to improve sleep quality. Magnesium, primarily responsible for regulating nerve function, blood sugar levels, and blood pressure, also plays a role in restorative sleep phases; when deficient, you might wake up more often in the middle of the night and experience reduced slow-wave sleep (which promotes memory consolidation). Get your fill by eating leafy greens, legumes, nuts, and seeds for magnesium, and meat, fish, eggs, dairy, and fortified cereals for zinc.
Wind Down with Tea
After dinner, make a mug of herbal tea part of your bedtime routine. Reach for chamomile, valerian root, or lavender tea before bed, which have been shown to improve subjective sleep quality and shorten sleep latency (read: the amount of time it takes to fall asleep).
RELATED: Why You Should Avoid the “Forbidden Zone for Sleep"
Optimizing sleep doesn't mean you have to sacrifice your favorite rituals. Making a few small swaps will set you up for a more energized day and an optimal night of sleep.
Lauren DeLuca is a COACH X, sleep coach, and sports and nutrition specialist.