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Yogurt conducive to good sleep

Does yogurt make you feel sleepy naturally?

Recently I’ve become a night owl, and have trouble falling asleep.
As I know lack of sleep is bad for my health and beauty, I want to do something about it but don’t know what.
I hear drinking milk is good for sleep but wonder if yogurt would have the same effect. Please help.

Learn from the expert! The sleep-inducing effect of yogurt

To learn more about this topic, we asked the following questions to Dr. Fumiko Hirahara, who is currently instructor at the Saeki Nutrition College and formerly worked as Senior Research Fellow at the National Institute of Health and Nutrition.

Is it true that drinking milk will help me sleep better?

Yes, it’s true. Milk contains a sleep-inducing substance called “melatonin” although only a trace amount, roughly 16-26 picograms/ml. Melatonin is a hormone secreted by the pineal gland at night, which makes you sleepy by lowering the pulse, body temperature, and blood pressure. It is also common knowledge that calcium, which milk contains a lot of, has a sedative effect. So, consuming milk and other dairy products before going to bed is recommended not only for a good sleep but also for preventing calcium deficiency which could make you easily irritable.

So yogurt will also help me sleep well?

Yes, certainly. Many people who can’t tolerate milk are apparently able to eat yogurt. Those with lactose intolerance, who experience a grumbling stomach after drinking milk, can usually eat yogurt without any issue. I often eat a low-sugar yogurt with some turmeric sprinkled over. I also eat plain yogurt with a lot of fruit mixed in for breakfast. How about enjoying a cup of yogurt at night, after taking a bath?

I’m interested but am worried about consuming too many calories.

If you eat dinner as normal without giving it much thought, you are likely to gain weight, of course. So why not reduce the amount of dinner slightly, and eat those calories you’ve avoided at dinner as a late-night snack instead? If you have trouble falling asleep, it’s important to create an environment where you can relax, under the warm light of an incandescent lamp, etc. Another important point is to live each day in a structured manner that differentiates between periods of focused effort and periods of relaxation. Research indicates that the pineal gland in our body is told to secrete melatonin roughly 14 to 16 hours after the circadian clock in our body detects the arrival of morning. So if your lifestyle loses its daily rhythm, your body becomes incapable of producing melatonin properly. Staying up late is really not good for you; it suppresses your body’s production of melatonin.

I struggle to establish and maintain a proper daily rhythm. What should I do?

Your question suggests that your difficulty living a regular pattern each day could be due to a very busy schedule or exposure to a lot of stress.
There is also a good chance that your eating habit has become imbalanced over time, eating out more frequently, and so forth. You should review and address your issue at a fundamental level, as eating more yogurt or drinking more milk alone won’t resolve it. Please understand this point first of all.