Viral ‘pineapple sleep hack’ is good — but eating this before bed is even better: expert

Here’s a juicy tip for catching Zzzs. 

To avoid tossing and turning in bed, fighting to find a comfortable sleeping position or struggling to ward off worrisome thoughts that are preventing peaceful shuteye, virtual foodies are pigging out on pineapple for optimal beauty sleep. 

In fact, beneath the trending TikTok hashtag #PineappleHacks, which has amassed over 3.7 million views, fruit-happy snackers have credited the sweet piece of produce with helping them achieve “the best sleep ever,” owing to its melatonin-boosting properties. 

However, the pros of eating pineapples notwithstanding, an expert on bedding down says there’s an even better fruit than the tangy tropical treat that will put you fast asleep. 

“Pineapple is one of the foods which has a reasonable level of natural melatonin,” sleep coach and hypnotherapist Dave Gibson explained to UK-based health company Vitabiotics. 

Melatonin is a hormone produced by the brain in response to darkness, per the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. It helps with the timing of a human’s circadian rhythms — or their 24-hour internal clock — and with sleep. 

According to recent research, foods such as eggs, fish, nuts and certain fruits and vegetables are, too, great dietary sources of the hormone. An April 2023 analysis via UK furniture retailer Bed Kingdom also recommended chowing down on kiwi as a viable bedtime aid. 

However, a September 2023 report from Benenden Health revealed that indulging on junky, yet yummy bites like chocolate, ice cream, chips, cheese and spicy foods can all contribute to sleeplessness.  

But Gibson says when polishing off some pineapple, “[melatonin] is absorbed into the bloodstream, and then crosses into the brain where it can help reset our body clock.”

“If you have lower-than-needed levels of melatonin being produced by the pineal gland,” he continued, “then eating pineapple could help.”

Online, fatigues folks plagued by insomnia — difficulty falling and staying asleep — swear by the tart tidbit. 

“Eat pineapple before bed if you struggle with sleep,” certified nutritionist Emma Leigh, 21, penned in the closed caption of a TikTok advisory with over 40,000 views. 

“Pineapple has been shown to increase melatonin in the body by 240%,” she said. “Eating pineapple before bed helps me fall asleep faster and sleep so much deeper.”

And Valerie Ribon, a NYC health coach, told an audience of 55,000 TikTok fans that consuming pineapples before hitting the hay grants her the “best sleep ever,” adding that she either feasts on the fruit frozen or blended in a tasty after-dinner tea. 

But Gibson points to an entirely different plant for prime slumbering perks. 

“Montmorency tart cherries have the highest melatonin levels of any fruit,” said the snooze guru. “[They] would be my recommendation if aiding sleep is the aim of eating the fruit in the first place.”

And TikTok tastemakers agree.