While lifestyle changes and tweaks to your nighttime routine may be helpful for improving your ability to fall and stay asleep, certain foods supportrest. But is there one you must try? We asked sleep doctors to share their number-one food to help you fall asleep—and they only had one to share.
Meet the experts: Morgan Soffler, M.D., an assistant professor of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine at New York Medical College; Sarathi Bhattacharyya, M.D., a pulmonologist, sleep medicine specialist, and medical director of MemorialCare Sleep Disorders Center at Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, CA.
“Some people find tart cherries to help with sleep,” says Morgan Soffler, M.D., an assistant professor of pulmonary, critical care, and sleep medicine at New York Medical College. “They are a natural source of melatonin, and they also have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. Small studies suggest that tart cherries can help improve total sleep time in people suffering from insomnia.”
A 2025 review published in Food Science & Nutrition analyzed the results of seven studies on tart cherry consumption, noting that participants experienced significant improvements in sleep duration, sleep efficiency, and the time it took people to fall asleep. What’s more, tart cherry also seemed to increase levels of melatonin (the hormone that signals it’s time for bed) and decrease levels of inflammatory markers, as Dr. Soffler noted.
There are different ways to consume tart cherries. The most popular way is by drinking tart cherry juice before bed, either straight or mixed with coconut water or seltzer (to cut the tartness). You can also find the cherries frozen or dried, or in supplements that contain tart cherry extract.
That said, if you’re searching for a food to help you fall asleep without any luck, it may be worth taking the opposite approach and closing the kitchen altogether in the hours before bedtime. “Avoiding eating or drinking for at least 3 to 4 hours before bedtime is ideal to promote better quality sleep,” says Sarathi Bhattacharyya, M.D., a pulmonologist, sleep medicine specialist, and medical director of MemorialCare Sleep Disorders Center at Long Beach Medical Center in Long Beach, CA. Instead, use those hours to relax and prepare your brain and body for a solid night’s rest.
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