Drifting off to sleep can be super hard some nights, but what if we told you that getting a bite to eat [1] could help you fall asleep faster [2]? It's true, as long as you choose an evening snack that's rich in melatonin.

"Melatonin is the chemical that makes us sleepy at night. Light — either from the sun or your laptop — suppresses melatonin," W. Christopher Winter [3], MD, author of The Sleep Solution: Why Your Sleep Is Broke and How to Fix It, told POPSUGAR. That means you should power down your devices in the evening [4], but supplementing with melatonin can also help improve sleep and combat insomnia [5]. That said, taking it in the over-the-counter form you find in pharmacies may not be safe [6], particularly over the long-term. Instead, try one of these three melatonin-packed snacks:

• Walnuts: "In addition to having high levels of tryptophan (an amino acid that aids in melatonin production), walnuts [7] also have a unique form of melatonin in high levels," Dr. Winter said.
• Tart cherries: "Tart cherries have been shown to produce a surge in melatonin that can be helpful with sleep initiation," Dr. Winter explained. A 2017 pilot study found that those who drank one cup of tart cherry juice twice a day for two weeks increased sleep time by 84 minutes [8] compared to those in the placebo group.
• Kiwis: The fuzzy fruit can seriously help you fall asleep. In a small study, people who ate two kiwis an hour before bed for four weeks decreased the amount of time it took for them to fall asleep by 35 percent [9].