What to Eat After a Workout at Night? (35 Foods to Boost Results)

Main image courtesy of Peloton .

You’ve had a chaotic day from beginning to end, and finally, you get a moment to yourself. A nighttime workout gives you the chance to restore your equilibrium. Even though it can be harder to hit the gym late at night, evening workouts are beneficial and can be even more convenient if you know how to work out at home. Whether you're lifting weights, practicing yoga, or engaging in treadmill workouts for losing weight, nighttime exercise can fit into your busy schedule.

In fact, working out at night can come with perks like improved power , performance, flexibility, and reaction time. It feels so cathartic to spend time focusing on yourself as the stress of the day melts away, since you’ve channeled your remaining energy into exercising , your body and mind are refreshed, relaxed, and re-centered by the time you’re ready to sleep.

But there’s one question left on your mind. Now that it’s late, what should you eat to help your body recover without disrupting your ability to sleep soundly?

It’s important to eat the right types of food at night to avoid any weight gain and to avoid risking a good-quality sleep. Image courtesy of SciTechDaily .

You are probably asking yourself, “Is it bad to not eat after a workout at night?” While eating immediately before bed doesn’t seem like the best idea, it is important to eat alongside working out.

Not eating after a workout at night can lead to low blood sugar, fatigue, and disorientation.

Also, exercising subjects muscles to micro-tears which repair themselves to build strength. The body needs ample nutrition to repair itself via glycogen stores. Plus, working out at night adds a layer of complexity to food choices because the food should aid recovery without sacrificing sleep quality.

When you’re considering what to eat late at night after a workout, it’s vital to replenish carbs and protein. And electrolytes are helpful after a particularly long or strenuous workout.

So before you turn in for the night, eat something that gives you essential nutrition while facilitating these mechanisms:

While many people feel relaxed post-workout, exercise can actually release stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline. It can be harder to fall and stay asleep with heightened levels of these hormones.

It’s important to look for foods that help balance stress hormones. For example, high-fiber and complex carbohydrates that are rich in nutrients can help regulate blood sugar and cortisol. Additionally, foods containing antioxidants, beta-sitosterol, melatonin, and magnesium can help stabilize stress hormones for restful sleep.

Other stress-fighting nutrients include omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin B, and protein.

The relationship between diet, digestion, and sleep is especially relevant for those with heartburn/acid reflux, IBS, and other digestive disorders, but gut health is something everyone should consider.

When weighing your post-workout meal options before bed, be sure to avoid excessively large meals or foods that are hard to digest. These will tax your digestive system while it’s trying to rest, potentially keeping you up.

If you eat sensible quantities of the proper food after your nighttime fitness routine and get great sleep, your body will thank you when you discover what's good to eat at night after a workout.

Science says that eating after exercising and before bed might actually enhance protein absorption . Being smart about your nightly recovery meal may help you rebuild muscle and avoid a difficult recovery after an intense workout session.

Choosing the right foods to eat after a workout and before you go to sleep are crucial for your body to digest. Image courtesy of Nature Made .

Consider some of these foods before a restful and rejuvenating night of sleep during or after your post-workout meal to avoid depleting muscle glycogen stores:

Broccoli and leafy greens like spinach will give you some magnesium.

Avocados are rich in omega-3 fatty acids and magnesium, making for a great evening recovery food. Bananas are another magnesium-rich fruit that reduces inflammation and balances cortisol for bedtime relaxation.

Forest fruits (raspberries, strawberries, and blueberries) provide anti-inflammatory antioxidants .

Look to chia seeds, flax seeds, and walnuts for omega-3s, and add pumpkin seeds to your meal to get some magnesium.

Almonds , peanuts, lentils, and chickpeas can be good sources of protein.

These slowly-digesting carbs add glucose to your diet to rebuild muscle . Fortified cereal provides B vitamins, and quinoa is a source of protein to keep blood sugar in check before bed. Additionally, oatmeal is packed with nutrition and is great for melatonin.

Chicken, beef, organ meats, and eggs are sources of B vitamins, including B12 , which help metabolize sleep-disrupting cortisol.

Anchovies, herring, mackerel, salmon, sardines, and tuna have omega-3s to reduce inflammation. Tuna, salmon, and shrimp also have the benefit of high protein for blood sugar balance.

Nutritional yeast also has plenty of protein, plus B vitamins and amino acids.

Fermented and probiotic-rich foods aid digestion while helping regulate blood sugar. These include kimchi, sauerkraut, greek yogurt, kefir, and kombucha.

Eating certain foods depending on the type of fitness activity you do can play a part in how your body will respond and digest it. Image courtesy of Jack City Fitness .

Here’s how to select the above foods mindfully to help you achieve your individual fitness goals:

Strength training recovery requires high levels of protein and a moderate amount of carbs.

• Meat, fish, eggs, and yogurt

• Whole grains

After a late-night cardio workout, aim for a balance of protein and carbs. Since you’re likely breaking a sweat, try foods that relax your mind and body.

• Fruits, veggies, nuts, and seeds high in magnesium

• B12-rich proteins

• Whole grains

If your yoga is particularly exhausting as a strength and aerobic exercise, eat these:

• Slowly digesting carbs

• High protein foods like meat, fish, eggs, and yogurt

• Fruits and veggies

You’ll want to bring down those stress hormones and reduce inflammation with adequate protein and carbs.

• Magnesium, antioxidant, and omega-3-rich vegetables, fruits, proteins, nuts, and seeds

• Fish

• Yogurt

• Whole grains

Working out at night is a part of many people’s everyday lives, so it’s important to know how to adjust your body and take care of it in the process. Image courtesy of Health .

No matter which nutritious, sleep-friendly foods you eat after your nightly workout, these pointers will help you get optimum results from that combination of exercise, nutrition, and sleep:

It’s already so easy to wake up dehydrated and groggy, since your body is deprived of hydration for approximately eight hours overnight. So if you’re exercising before bed, it’s extra essential to stay hydrated.

It always helps to have the best water bottle for gym workouts that you never think twice about taking everywhere with you throughout the day and evening.

Knowing what’s good to eat at night after a workout is only the first step. Even those foods that are easiest on the stomach could still cause problems if you eat too much too fast after working out or if you go to bed immediately after eating.

Take a breather before chowing down and another rest period before laying down. How long to cool down before your post-exercise meal and how long you should wait to work out after eating depends on the type of food and exercise.

It’s easy to snack, and doing it late at night can be tempting for many. While there are many bad foods to consume during the night time to satisfy your hunger, there are also healthy, nutritional options instead. It’s important to choose something balanced and that will make your body feel good.

Yogurt, fruit, cottage cheese, hummus and peppers, hard-boiled eggs, and even something as filling as salmon can help to keep you from being hungry in the night and also help support your body after an intense workout.

Many people who workout notice that they tend to sleep better at night, and this can be said about those who go to the gym late in the evening, or way past when everyone else is in bed. Sleep is one of the most important things to make sure you’re getting enough at night because it helps to improve your brain performance, mood, and health.

For the late night gym-goers, doing a late night workout, eating a late night snack, and then going to bed helps them to fall asleep faster depending on the workout you do. Those who do high-intensity workouts have been known to stay up later due to the amount of adrenaline in their body afterwards.

While doing constant cardio and high-intensity workouts is essential to building muscle mass and losing weight, it’s also important to stay active without all of the strain on your body too. After too many days of HIIT workouts, your body can potentially go into burnout and you could lose motivation to continue your fitness journey because of it.

Instead, there are low-intensity workouts to opt for instead that can help to give your body some rest while still being active. Some great low-intensity workouts that can also be done late at night include yoga, walking, and even stretching.

Have you ever been to the gym where you have seen the machines that you have always wanted to try, but there’s someone else on them instead? Going to a gym late at night during non-peak hours is the best way to try out those machines that you’ve been dying to get your hands on.

Whether it’s a cardio machine, or a piece of weight lifting equipment, there are tons to try out in your local gym to improve your overall health.

Pre-workout is an essential part to anybody’s workout to help and get hyped up for their workout. Not only does it help to boost energy levels , but it also helps to improve your strength, increase focus, and even help to prolong your endurance to keep you wanting to go on for much longer than normal.

For the people who enjoy working out late at night, caffeine-free pre-workout is a great option to check out. This can also be great for caffeine-sensitive people where it can give you the same effects without keeping you up all night long. BCAAs are a great option that can come in many delicious flavors to keep you pumped and prolong your workout.

Choose wisely when eating late-night snacks to avoid weight gain, while also satisfying your hunger. Image courtesy of A. H. Beard .

If you mindfully try any tasty combination of these fitness fuel foods, working out late is less likely to interrupt your sleep schedule.

Experiment to figure out what to do after a workout at night. It all comes down to what tastes good to you and nourishes your body while letting you wake up feeling invincible the next morning.

What’s your favorite stomach-friendly and nutritious snack for a solid night’s sleep?

Tell us on Instagram @goalfive, and boost your fitness routine with helpful workout accessories and comfy, loose workout clothes for women .