Expert shares 5p food that helps you get to sleep

Experts have shared a cheap and accessible food which could help children to get to sleep at bedtime.

When it comes to persuading little ones to get to bed, things can sometimes be something of a challenge - even though sleep is very important for our health.

There are lots of hacks out on social media to help parents figure out how to get the kids into bed and asleep.

And this particular snack, which costs just 5p a go, could even help light sleepers to drift off throughout the night instead of waking up.

A sleep expert explained why giving a child, or indeed a light sleeper, a savoury snack before bedtime might be the thing that helps.

Bedtime can be a struggle but this 5p snack might just be the answer (Oscar Wong/Getty)

Sleep guru Martin Seeley works with MattressNextDay, and shared that giving your child foods with a particular chemical in them are good for sleeping.

He explained that the chemical is an amino acid named tryptophan which occurs naturally.

But which dishes contain this chemical?

Martin told The Mirror: "What your child eats close to bedtime can also contribute to whether they have a good or bad night's sleep.

"Foods such as oat biscuits, bananas and milk contain an amino acid called tryptophan. This makes them feel drowsy and, therefore, more likely to fall asleep."

Oat biscuits are a particularly cheap option here as a pack of 24 costs just just £1.15 from Sainsbury's, meaning each biscuit costs around 5p.

It might be a better to avoid putting cheese on the oat biscuits though, unless you want to have some fun dreams once you drift off, of course.

Simple oat bisuits can help at bedtime (lleerogers/Getty)

Martin also offered suggestions for parents who are struggling with the nightly ordeal of getting the children into bed at a sensible time, and to get them to stay in bed once they're there too.

He said: "It's tricky, but try to be firm and let them know that once they are in bed, they must stay in bed."

But what if a child doesn't take no for an answer and continues to get out of bed?

Martin suggested if this happens, parents should take a simple approach to making sure their children return to bed.

He said: "If they do get out of bed, don't react, but simply walk them back to bed without saying anything. This further supports the rule that once you're in bed, you're in bed until the morning."

And don't forget the oat biscuits before bed as well, perhaps with a glass of milk as plain oat biscuits can be rather dry.