Tossing and turning in bed and wishing for a restful night of sleep? You’re not alone. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 1 in 3 American adults aren’t clocking the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep per night. Reaching for more caffeine is not the only consequence of not catching enough zzz’s at night. Chronic sleep deprivation can also increase your risk of conditions like heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.
Traditional sleep advice focuses on building better habits, such as keeping a consistent sleep schedule, reducing caffeine intake and shutting off screens at least 30 minutes before bedtime. However, paying attention to what is on your plate may also help improve your sleep.
Carbs are an important part of a balanced diet, even though there is a lot of misinformation about the benefits of carbs, thanks to diet culture. There’s often a lot of discussion about “good” versus “bad” carbs, but most experts agree that all carbs can fit in a healthy diet. When it comes to carbs and sleep, the advice is familiar—choose complex carbs more often and refined ones less often. Read on to find out the best “bad” carb for better sleep.
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How Carbs May Improve Your Sleep
The relationship between diet and sleep is complex, but following a healthy diet pattern rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains is linked to better sleep, per a 2021 review from Sleep Medicine Review. “Carbs can either be a helpful sleep food or can negatively impact sleep quality, depending on whether it's a complex or simple carbohydrate, and what we are pairing with it,” says Karman Meyer, RD, LD, a registered dietitian and author of Eat to Sleep: What to Eat & When to Eat It for a Good Night's Sleep.
For example, a 2020 study from the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that women in menopause who consumed more added sugars and refined carbohydrates were 11% more likely to have insomnia. “There are sleep-beneficial nutrients found in carbohydrate foods, such as vitamin B6 and fiber, and it's often the case that complex carbs will contain more of these nutrients compared to their refined counterpart (e.g., wheat bread versus white bread),” says Meyer.
The Best Carb for Better Sleep
Many foods may help improve your sleep, such as milk, fatty fish and tart cherry juice. When it comes to carbohydrate foods, our top pick for sleep is rice. Rice has an unearned reputation for being a “bad” carb even though it has a lot to offer nutrition-wise. Here’s why experts pick rice as the best “bad” carb for sleep.
It Contains Melatonin
Anyone who has struggled with insomnia may already be familiar with melatonin, a sleep hormone that helps regulate the body’s internal clock. Our body naturally produces melatonin in the brain’s pineal gland, but you can also boost your melatonin levels with food choices.
Julie Pace, RDN, a registered dietitian nutritionist and owner of Core Nutrition Health & Wellness, explains how high-glycemic-index carbohydrates like rice could help with better melatonin production. The glycemic index refers to how quickly your body absorbs the sugar in a food and high-glycemic-index foods are broken down quicker than lower-glycemic-index foods. “It works by increasing your blood sugar, which boosts tryptophan," she says. "Tryptophan increases serotonin, often referred to as ‘the feel-good hormone,’ and triggers melatonin production, making it easier to fall asleep”.
Additionally, rice contains some levels of melatonin as well. In fact, the combination of carbohydrates and melatonin in rice seems to make it particularly beneficial for sleep. A 2020 study in Nutrients that included 60 Japanese adults found that those who consumed rice with all three meals for two months reported better sleep quality.
It Delivers Magnesium
In addition to melatonin, magnesium is another popular natural sleep aid. “Magnesium plays a role in regulating the body's stress response by influencing the production of stress hormones, such as cortisol. By helping to lower stress levels, magnesium may promote a sense of calm and relaxation, making it easier to unwind and fall asleep,” says Jamie Lee McIntyre, M.S., RDN, a dietitian and nutrition consultant at JamieLeeRDN.com.
A 2022 study with almost 4,000 participants, published in Sleep, found that those with higher magnesium intakes had better-quality sleep. While white rice contains some magnesium, swapping it for brown rice will optimize your magnesium intake. Consuming 1 cup of cooked long-grain brown rice provides 21% of the Daily Value for magnesium, per the USDA.
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It Has GABA
Magnesium supports better-quality sleep in more ways than one. “Magnesium is involved in the regulation of neurotransmitters in the brain, including GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid), which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that has a calming effect on the brain,” says McIntyre. “Sufficient magnesium can help enhance GABA's function, potentially promoting better sleep.”
Oral GABA supplements have increased in popularity, but more evidence is needed to establish the effectiveness of supplements or GABA-containing foods, per a 2020 review in Frontiers in Neuroscience. Yet, nearly 50% of US adults do not get enough magnesium in their diet, per the Department of Agriculture. So, increasing your intake of magnesium-rich foods like brown rice to indirectly support GABA production (as well as melatonin) may be a better approach.
It’s Budget-Friendly and Versatile
As food costs continue to increase, some pantry staples like dried beans and rice remain budget-friendly options. There are countless ways to incorporate more rice into your diet to support better sleep. Try pairing rice with other sleep-enhancing foods like cherries by making this . And savory dishes aren’t the only way to enjoy rice; this Mango Sticky Brown Rice would be a great bedtime snack.
The Bottom Line
Rice is a versatile pantry staple with a reputation for being a “bad” carb despite all the essential nutrients it offers. If you are among the many Americans who struggle with sleep, you might want to consider adding rice to your plate. The combination of carbohydrates and magnesium in rice (especially brown rice) can support the body’s production of sleep-enhancing melatonin and GABA. Score even better zzz’s by pairing rice with another sleep-supporting food like salmon or pistachios.
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