OK, so since I’ve been hammering it at the gym as my advanced age, I’ve noticed my sleep quality has suffered. Some supplements have helped, but unevenly and not enough. I’ve pretty much maxed out on the sleep hygiene steps.
Does anyone have a repertoire of foods, dishes or snacks that they feel promotes better sleep?
Gummies, which is not really a food. What supplements have you tried?
(This first paragraph is just to give you some insight into my personal views so that you can decide if you want to ignore my thoughts on this 
) I don’t believe in “magic” foods that “fix” things. I do believe that food/diet is important and can hold some insights but not in the 1:1 ratio that it feels like you are hoping for . . . . given that, some things to think about . . . .
Since you say you’ve been going harder at the gym - some things to consider could be looking at your broader daily routine and patterns. And what do you “think” is happening that is keeping you awake at night? Not being able to find a comfortable position, mind racing, digestion, etc?
If you’re working out in the early morning, do you find you have an energy crash mid-day, even taking a quick nap? This could of course alter your sleep patterns. If you’re working out late/afternoon or early evening, maybe that is impacting things. At my age, I find that if I’ve had a hard workout, especially legs, doing a light 15 minute stretch shortly before bed helps me a lot - but I find what keeps me up is not being able to get comfortable and/or my hips get very sore at night.
But of course, this is very individualized . . . . if you find something that works for you, I’d be curious to hear!
I have been a lifelong terrible sleeper, and by my late 30s had put into practice all the things one is supposed to do to aid in getting better sleep—it’s a very long list. I then noticed in my mid-50s that having ANY alcohol in the evening was very detrimental to my sleep quality. I’ve since been eschewing alcohol after 7 PM, and it has definitely helped. (It also helps that I live in a place where day drinking is not just tolerated, but encouraged!) The other benefit is that you save money by cutting yourself off at the end of happy hour 
I don’t think specific foods are good for sleep, but there are certainly eating habits that are bad for sleep. Eating too late and/or eating so much in the evening that you’re still stuffed when you go to bed are detrimental.
As @Thimes mentioned, exercise in the morning, not in the evening. I also do a rather punishing workout five mornings a week, and that makes it very easy to fall asleep at night.
No late night snacking, no alcohol, and no exercise too close to bedtime.
Sorry, that’s all I got. Warm milk & honey used to be my mom’s go-to when I was a kid (my aunt had a different approach when I was 12: a couple of sips of her port did the trick 
).
6 Foods High in Melatonin and Why You Need It
This is from Web MD – sounds reasonable.
I find a small portion of (edit: complex ) carbs before bed helps me sleep.
Edit: the complex carbs can be in combination with some cheese, pb , nuts, or other protein. Nuts or cheese by themselves don’t do the trick for me.
That’s so interesting about nuts! Healthy snack food (in moderation), and pretty doable in the evening — unless one prefers fish, milk, or eggs for snacking instead, that is
We use melatonin all the time when we travel. It def helps deal with the jet-lag, but you better be ready for some crazy brain cinema…
Scotch
But, in all seriousness, exercise is actually supposed to help with sleep, particularly deep sleep. Foods in general may not actually do too much one way or the other (other than don’t eat them too close to bedtime and avoid any that might be an acid reflux trigger - ex. I can’t do deep fried in the evening and have any expectation it will do anything other than make me wake up at 3am and need a Tums). If your exercise routine does not already include calm wind down activities at the end (yoga or the like), that might be something to consider.
Under the “sleep hygiene”, have you also done any work around meditation/mindfulness around bed time? That can be helpful (YMMV). My partner insists on having the television on when we sleep and I’ve gotten him to compromise on a YouTube channel that is constantly a beach with lapping waves at night. It alleges it is “live”, but I don’t know where in the world would be that dark 24/7. But, it works. The combination of the background waves and constant, unchanging (low) light are helpful.
I use a Garmin watch, which includes sleep tracking. The tracker tells me when I’ve carried too much stress into my sleep (busy days at work or not enough meaningful down time before bed or a combination of the two). I have wondered if a supplement like L-theanine would help too, but I already take enough pills for other things. I’m not inclined to add more at this point. But I use the watch “data” to make adjustments (ex. read a book in front of the fireplace instead of watch the news or doomscroll after dinner) and it seems to help.
I could not, would not sleep a second. My ideal bedroom is pitch-black and dead silent. That said, my PIC’s made a habit of turning on the white (brown, purple, blue) noise app on his iPad (iPhone, etc.) to block out any intrusive sounds. Comes in real handy in hotel rooms, in loud cities & or near loud backyards (cardinals, I’m talking to you!!), and ignoring our cat’s early AM demands for an audience while he has breakfast.
I wear ballistics grade ear plugs nightly. That also comes in handy in loud cities (incessant trolley in downtown San Diego that runs at all hours of the night!!!). We make it work.
Maybe it’s the exercise regimen that needs adjusting. What kinds of exercises are you doing, how often, and at what time of day? Other than negative changes to your sleep patterns, how does your exercise make you feel, both physically, mentally, and emotionally? How long have you been at your exercise routine?
ZMA (zinc, magnesium and B6), 5-HTP, and Melatonin gummies.
Yeah, melatonin doesn’t work on me worth a damn. Haven’t tried ZMA.
I’m not insomniac. I usually fall asleep easily, and almost always get 8-9 hours. Occasionally I wake early, but that’s the prostate’s separate problem. My issue is that I rarely wake fully rested.
I work out in the morning. I don’t crash mid-day, but I’m sore enough that I do stretch out. After dinner, sitting for too long a time becomes uncomfortable.
My muscular recovery is under control. Maybe I just need more downtime for my adrenals.
Tthis might be one of those occasions where professional medical advice might be more helpful than a food forum.
If you’re getting 8-9 hours of sleep on average, but don’t feel rested, maybe something else is going on.
“Tthis might be one of those occasions where professional medical advice might be more helpful than a food forum.”
Well, of course. I simply wanted to know if people here use any foodstuffs to promote good sleep-- before I totter off to Sloan-Kettering or Mayo…
My workouts are pretty heavy. I’m sure I’d sleep better with lightening up and taking more recovery time. I view my sleep quality issue as minor at this point.
Coincidentally, I just read this:
This is a common symptom of sleep apnea.
I had an ex who refused to believe he had apnea until I literally shook him like a ragdoll to wake him up - he’d stopped breathing long enough that the silence woke me up.
He, too complained about never feeling rested
