The best vitamins and supplements for sleep

Sleep is super important for our wellbeing, physically and mentally. According to The Sleep Foundation, sleep is closely connected to mental and emotional health - even showing links to conditions such as depression and anxiety. While physically, resting up allows our body to repair cells, possibly improve cardiovascular health, and release hormoneswhich can help with our general day-to-day energy too.

But life gets busy, and most of us live in a world that makes sleep pretty difficult. Screens, stress, alcohol, late nights, early mornings and irregular waking up times. Caffeine hidden in things like dark chocolate and soft drinks. So what can we do to give ourselves the best possible chance of sleeping well?

There’s a few things, fortunately. Sleep hygiene generally involves minimising many of the above – along with things like winding down before bed, and using aromatherapy like lavender. Exercise too, yes. But aside from that, something that we can all aim to do daily is get the right vitamins and minerals to help our body do the thing it’s meant to: Sleep for somewhere around a third of the day, so that we wake up feeling energised. A way of doing this is by taking the vitamins and minerals that help our body catch Zzzzs.

Which vitamins are best for sleep?

Magnesium

Magnesium is sleep nutrient number one. The mineral is amazing for relaxation, and plays a key role in bodily functions but especially around sleep. You can find magnesium in leafy greens, almonds, pumpkin seeds, and beans, but according to Ohio State University, most Americans don’t get enough magnesium in their diets, so it’s a good mineral to take in pill form.

Potassium

Not being able to sleep isn’t just about falling to sleep, it’s about not waking up during the night too. If interrupted sleep is the concern, then upping the potassium might be useful as it plays a vital role in the deepest phase of sleep (which also happens to be where most of the restorative benefits take place). Bananas, baked potatoes, and avocados all contain enough potassium to help you reach your daily intake.

B Vitamins

A recommended dose of a vitamin B6 and B12 can go a long way for many people. For those who keep things plant-based, B12 is an important vitamin to consider taking as a supplement, as it’s found mainly in fish, poultry, eggs and dairy. Vitamin B6 is in fish and poultry too, but also chickpeas and bananas. According to the University of Adelaide vitamin B6 could be good for dream recall too.

Calcium

Strong bones! Yes, but also, regulating the REM stage of sleep. It does this because it’s great at absorbing tryptophan, an amino acid that causes the post-Christmas dinner naps, and things like that. If your diet isn’t dairy-free, you can have some natural yoghurt or milk, as well as leafy greens, salmon, and sardines. But if you’re vegan, for example, a calcium supplement could be useful.

Which supplements help with sleep?

With supplementation, we can gain access to micronutrients or other substances that our body doesn’t naturally reduce and are fairly scarce in the foods we normally eat. As with vitamins, it’s always important to stick to recommended doses, and it can be a good idea to speak to a GP about your supplement routine to be sure it is safe for you. It’s also always advisable to buy from a high-quality source. So we’ve curated a couple for you here.