Training for that rewarding half or full marathon—or even a 5K—requires more than just adding miles to your walking or running routine to build endurance. It also means getting enough uninterrupted, high-quality sleep. This is because sleep is critical to post-exercise muscle recovery, which brings about the fitness gains you’ll need come race day.
One way to help you get that sleep? By eating the kinds of foods that help enhance it and limiting the foods that hinder it. The foods you eat or don't eat, as well as when you eat them, can greatly affect your sleep—for better or worse. More good news? Some of the same foods that help support better sleep may also help fuel your workouts and support post-training muscle recovery. Bonus perks to consider, for sure.
Before diving into the foods that boost sleep, let’s take a closer look at the role sleep plays in muscle recovery.
During exercise, your muscles sustain tiny, microscopic tears. This is actually a good thing. Your body heals these tiny tears in the days after a workout, which is the process by which muscles recover and gain strength, mass, and endurance. You may think this is only important for strength training and gaining strength and muscle mass, but it applies to endurance training too.
How does sleep support this muscle-building process? The deepest, non-REM stage of sleep, also called N3, plays a key role in balancing out levels of anabolic and catabolic hormones in your body. Catabolic hormones trigger the breakdown of muscle and fat into energy. Anabolic hormones—such as testosterone, growth hormone, and IGF-1—do the opposite. They trigger the protein-building process that helps repair tissue and build muscle mass.
Going without sleep—or not getting enough deep sleep—can decrease levels of muscle-building anabolic hormones, while increasing the catabolic ones. At the same time, a lack of sleep increases cortisol levels. Cortisol is a stress hormone that speeds up the breakdown of protein in the body, meaning it also hampers post-workout muscle recovery.
Even a single night without enough sleep can mess with muscle recovery by throwing these hormones out of balance. A chronic lack of sleep can lead to “catabolic dominance,” which simply means that protein-depleting catabolic hormone levels are always higher than muscle-building anabolic hormone levels.
The bottom line is you may be training diligently for your upcoming marathon. But if you’re not getting enough sleep (especially the deeper stages), your muscles may not be repairing themselves sufficiently. So, you may not be making measurable fitness gains.
Food choices are not the only potential cause of sleep deprivation. There are numerous potential causes behind poor sleep. Work and travel schedules, stress, family responsibilities, a lack of exercise, or erratic sleep habits can all play a role—but so can your diet.
If you’re having trouble getting enough sleep, talk with your doctor. They can help you get to the root causes of your insomnia and suggest steps you can take to resolve them.
In the meantime, think about the foods that may be aiding or hindering your sleep and adjust your eating plan accordingly. There are many different sleep-enhancing foods that can help you past the finish line this marathon season. Here are just a few to include in your overall eating plan:
Magnesium-rich foods: Magnesium is a mineral that helps relax tense muscles, which can help you fall asleep. But magnesium also helps you stay asleep. Spinach, avocado, bananas, and sweet potatoes are all rich in magnesium.
Melatonin-rich foods: This hormone helps you fall and stay asleep. Pistachios, almonds, tart cherry juice, eggs, and milk are some of the foods high in melatonin.
Tryptophan-rich foods: Ever feel super sleepy after Thanksgiving dinner? Likely it was the tryptophan in the turkey. This amino acid boosts levels of serotonin and melatonin—2 hormones that induce that sleepy, relaxed feeling after a holiday meal. Besides turkey, other foods high in tryptophan include chicken, fish, eggs, edamame, and tofu. One thing to note: Try not to eat meat too close to bedtime, as it can take a long time to digest, and may keep you from falling asleep.
Omega-3 fatty acid-rich foods: Omega-3 fatty acids can help increase both sleep duration and quality. Salmon, trout, sardines—along with walnuts, flaxseeds, and chia seeds—are a few of the foods high in omega-3 fatty acids.
The good news about these sleep-inducing foods? Many of them can also help fuel your workouts and help you recover from them.
Of course, there is always the flip side of the eat-to-sleep-better coin: Foods that you’ll want to limit or avoid (especially close to bedtime), because they may disrupt your sleep.
If you’re not getting enough of the deep, quality sleep you need, think about taking these foods off the menu, especially close to bedtime:
Sugar-laden foods. Cookies, candy, cake, and other foods with a lot of added sugar can prevent you from reaching the deeper stages of sleep. You may also find you sleep fewer hours and wake up more often during the night.
Foods high in saturated fat. Fried foods, meat, butter, cheese, coconut or palm oil, and ultra-processed fast foods are items you may want to limit or avoid. Research suggests saturated fat can reduce the amount of time spent in deeper, more restorative stages of sleep. Plus, saturated fat has been linked to a higher risk of sleep disorders and other health conditions.
Hot and spicy foods. Eating spicy food, especially close to bedtime, can lead to indigestion, heartburn, and acid reflux. All of these can keep you from falling or staying asleep. Spicy foods can also raise your body temperature, which is known to impact sleep quality.
Beer, wine, and cocktails. Alcohol before bed may relax you and help you fall asleep more quickly. But it can also disrupt your sleep later in the night, once the alcohol in your system has metabolized. Avoid alcohol as a way to relax before bed. And talk with your doctor if you think you may have a dependence on alcohol.
Acidic foods: Avoid eating citrus, tomatoes, and other acidic foods late in the day or too close to bedtime. These foods have a place on your plate, but only if eaten earlier in the day. Otherwise, they can trigger the release of stomach acid and digestive enzymes that can lead to sleep-disruptive stomach upset, acid reflux, and other GI-tract discomforts.
Try adding some of these foods to boost your sleep. Then note whether your sleep improves, and whether you’re making greater fitness gains. More importantly, try to eat an overall balanced and nutritious diet. That’s one with plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, lean sources of protein, nuts, seeds, whole grains—and plenty of water to stay hydrated. Think the foods you eat are affecting more than just your sleep? Here are 5 signs that your food plan may need a bigger tune-up.
The information in this and other Active&Fit® blog articles is not intended to take the place of regular medical care or advice. Please check with your doctor before using this information or beginning any fitness or self-care program. Images used for this article do not depict any members of the Active&Fit Direct program.
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This article was written by Gail Olson, edited by Celina Johnson, and clinically reviewed by Elizabeth Thompson, MPH, RDN, and Jaynie Bjornaraa, PhD, MPH, PT, LAT, ATC, CSCS, CSPS, on July 6, 2026.