Trouble Falling or Staying Asleep? Try Eating This Nut, Says New Research

The speed at which you fall asleep (or struggle to) has a scientific name: it’s called “sleep latency”—a covetable trait when you picture the people in your life who fall asleep as soon as they close their eyes. Another rest-related term is “sleep efficiency,” which measures how much of your time in bed is actually spent sleeping.

A team of six researchers in India has cracked a new discovery, showing that a handful of almonds could improve both these measures.

“Sleep disturbances are associated with adverse metabolic, neurocognitive, and inflammatory outcomes,” says the research team, specializing in areas of health like endocrinology (related to metabolism and hormone function), lung health, and general medicine.

Publishing their work in July 2026 in the scientific journal Frontiers in Nutrition, the team highlights that almonds have “micronutrients known to support sleep via muscle relaxation and neuroendocrine regulation.” It’s worth noting that the trial is listed as being “supported by Almonds Board of California.”

The study involved 175 participants, all of whom had poor sleep quality. Eighty-eight of the participants engaged in “regular almond consumption”; while 87 ate a non-almond snack with the same number of calories. Participants were between the ages of 21 and 55 years old.

The almond intervention continued for five months, at which point the researchers hypothesized that the almond-eating group would show sleep improvements both by objective measures and subjective judgment. To measure this, they employed brain-wave recording, blood tests, and personally reported participant sleep scores.

What researchers discovered

By the end of the study, the almond group reported fewer sleep disturbances and an easier time falling asleep. Additionally, blood testing showed “significantly higher” melatonin concentrations.

The clearest benefits were related to how the participants perceived their sleep quality.

An important note, as with consumption of most nuts, is to be mindful of the amount. Harvard University’s The Nutrition Source says while the almond is a nutrient-dense food, it’s also calorie dense. Around 23 almonds weighs out to one ounce, equivalent to a single serving.

For daily wellness updates, subscribe to The Healthy newsletter and follow The Healthy on Facebook, Instagram, and Google. Keep reading:

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