When the midnight hunger pangs hit, you have two choices: roll over and go back to sleep, or jump out of bed and skip to the fridge, knowing you're headed straight for the cheese drawer. As if cheese lovers needed another excuse to munch on their favorite dairy product, it turns out that some cheeses can actually help you get a better night's sleep. These include cottage cheese, mozzarella, cheddar, and parmesan, and what makes them good for eating before you head back to dream land is the high amount of tryptophan they contain.

Tryptophan is the same chemical found in turkey and is what gives the protein the reputation for making people sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner. Most cheeses that many people keep on hand also contain the chemical, like Brie, Gouda, and Colby, and they're perfectly fine to eat late at night, too, but for maximum effect, try the aforementioned ones. How does tryptophan work to make you sleepy? Tryptophan isn't naturally produced in the human body, so it has to be ingested.

Once consumed, it contributes to the production of serotonin and melatonin, two hormones which are known to promote relaxation and restful sleep. But it's more than just tryptophan in cheese that works to give you a good night's sleep; the protein and calcium play parts, too. According to a research review published in , optimal protein consumption may promote a better quality of sleep, and a study written up in found that low calcium levels have led to insomnia.

With the tryptophan,.