10 Ways to Sleep Better - Surprising ways to get more of nature's ultimate age-fighter

Getting enough sleep is a health and anti-aging must: It keeps you slim, prevents heart disease and diabetes, muscles up your memory, and more. Start following these easy tips today to wake up happier, healthier, and totally refreshed.

1.  Make breakfast your heaviest meal: Digesting food takes energy, so if you have a heavy meal late in the day, your body will have to work hard to digest it while you're trying to sleep. Aim to eat balanced meals throughout the day instead.

10 morning meals that will keep you full until lunch

2.  Balance your bedtime snack: Combining carbs with protein containing tryptophan—like a cup of whole grain cereal with fat-free milk—will make you sleepier than having just one of the two. Carbs help release the sleep-triggering chemical into your bloodstream, which tells your brain it’s time to log off.

3.  Go Bing before bed: In the evening, eat a handful of cherries, which scientists discovered are jam-packed with melatonin, the same hormone created by your body to regulate sleep patterns.

4.  Dine on seafood: Eating a fish-based diet can help you snooze more soundly. Cod, tuna, snapper, halibut, and especially shrimp contain levels of sleep-promoting tryptophan comparable to those found in turkey.

Easy and delicious fish dishes

5.  Steer clear of greasy eats: A late-night pizza slice can trigger heartburn—that burning sensation in your esophagus—and derail slumber. If you’re prone to indigestion, avoid fatty or citrus foods (as well as chocolate, mints, and carbonated beverages) close to bedtime.

6.  Avoid three-alarm chili: Stay away from spicy foods before bed. They raise body temperature, which may keep you from drifting off, and can trigger heartburn, too.

7.  Skip Chinese takeout: The food flavor enhancer monosodium glutamate (MSG)—which is often added to Chinese food, canned veggies, soups, and other processed foods—may trigger headaches and insomnia in some people. Check food labels if you suspect the additive is keeping you up.

8.  Save caffeine for the morning: Caffeine can stay in your system hours after your last cuppa joe. Snooze soundly by cutting it out after lunch or by switching to decaf or herbal teas.

9.  Watch for other hidden sleep robbers: Coffee is the most obvious source of caffeine, but don't forget that the sleep-stealing chemical is also found in sodas, chocolate, tea, and some medications. Avoid these after lunch, too.

See 10 more reasons you can't sleep—and what to do about them!

10.  Eat the right vitamins: Getting adequate amounts of vitamins B6 and B12, calcium, and iron can help you maintain healthy sleep patterns. Visit our vitamin encyclopedia to see how much you need and the best foods in which to find them.