Jakarta (ANTARA) \u2013 A new study has found that eating walnuts, which\nare rich in melatonin, may help people fall asleep faster.<\/p>\n
According to a report published by Health on Thursday (22 October),\nresearchers examined the relationship between walnuts and sleep by\nrecruiting 76 adults aged 20 to 35 for an 18-week trial.<\/p>\n
In the first phase of the 2025 study, which lasted eight weeks,\nparticipants were divided into two groups. One group ate 40 grams of\nwalnuts with dinner every day, while the other did not.<\/p>\n
Participants were instructed not to eat other kinds of nuts during\nthis period. After a two-week break, the groups switched: those who had\neaten walnuts stopped, and the other group began eating them.<\/p>\n
Throughout the study, participants provided urine samples to measure\nmelatonin production. For seven consecutive days in each phase, they\nalso wore wrist trackers that monitored sleep patterns, activity levels,\nskin temperature and light exposure.<\/p>\n
During the walnut-eating phase, participants experienced a\nsignificant increase in melatonin production at night, took less time to\nfall asleep and scored higher for overall sleep quality. They also\nreported less daytime sleepiness.<\/p>\n
The study also found that walnut consumption helped improve sleep\nquality. Each serving of walnuts contained an average of 84.6 milligrams\nof tryptophan, 118 nanograms of melatonin and a\ntryptophan-to-competing-amino-acid (CAA) ratio of 0.058.<\/p>\n
Behavioural sleep medicine psychologist Daniella Marchetti, PhD,\nDBSM, said each of these factors is important for better rest.\nTryptophan is the \u201cbiochemical starting point\u201d for the synthesis of\nserotonin and melatonin, both of which regulate sleep.<\/p>\n
Melatonin is known as a hormone because its levels rise at night and\nsignal that it is nighttime.<\/p>\n
\u201cEating foods that contain melatonin can strengthen this signal and\nhelp the body prepare for sleep,\u201d Marchetti said.<\/p>\n
She added that the tryptophan-to-CAA ratio also plays an important\nrole.<\/p>\n
There are many good reasons to eat walnuts as a snack, including\nsupporting heart and cognitive health.<\/p>\n
\u201cHowever, these findings are strong enough to suggest that walnuts\nare a food that can improve sleep quality, but they cannot currently be\nconsidered an adequate replacement for insomnia treatment,\u201d Marchetti\nsaid.<\/p>\n
For those who want to eat walnuts in the evening, Marchetti\nrecommends 30 to 40 grams after dinner or as a bedtime snack.<\/p>\n
This timing gives the body time to increase melatonin, which can take\ntwo to three hours after consumption.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/study-eating-walnuts-may-help-you-fall-asleep-faster-1792756444", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }