What is the best diet for healthy sleep? A nutritional epidemiologist explains

Growing evidence shows that common dietary patterns can affect sleep quality and contribute to insomnia.

I am a nutritional epidemiologist and am trained to look at population-level diets and how they affect health.

In the US, a large percentage of the population suffers from poor sleep quality and sleep disorders such as insomnia and obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the upper airways become blocked and breathing stops during sleep. At the same time, most Americans eat far too many fatty and processed foods, too little fiber and too few fruits and vegetables.

While it is difficult to determine ...