You know about the warm milk and chamomile tea. But did you ever imagine that bananas could help you get to sleep? Here's a list of the best take-out on the drive to the Land of Nod:

Almonds contain tryptophan (just like warm milk, and that Thanksgiving turkey that lays you out in front of a Bowl game every year), and tryptophan is an amino acid that turns into melatonin, the neurotransmitter that tells you it's night time. Potatoes clear away acids that can interfere with tryptophan.

You would not think honey would be on this list, because it's sweet, and sweets are usually a source of energy, not shut-eye. But researchers have learned that the glucose in honey coerces the brain to reduce the amount of orexin in your system. Orexin is the neurotransmitter most closely aligned with alertness.

Fresh off a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, cherries make the list with a fairly unique nutritional super-power: they are one of the only natural sources of melatonin.

Not only do bananas contain both melatonin and the feel-good hormone serotonin, they sweeten the deal by being chock full of magnesium, which is a muscle relaxant.

Oatmeal is not just for breakfast. A good warm bowl of oats on the other side of your day stimulates your brain's melatonin production. Have some whole wheat bread on the side, and the insulin it causes to be released into the body will help the tryptophan get to the brain where it’s converted to serotonin. Note that tryptophan is most effective when the stomach is basically empty, not full, and when there are some carbs in the stomach, not lots of proteins.

In addition to their high level of tryptophan, flax seeds contain omega-3 fatty acids. These compounds have been proven to help reduce the anxiety, depression and stress which are leading causes of insomnia, and have been shown to be effective against sleep apnea.

A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that consuming jasmine rice four hours before bedtime cut the amount of time it took to fall asleep in half when compared with eating a high-glycemic-index meal at the same time interval. Because jasmine rice ranks high on the glycemic index, meaning the body digests it slowly, it releases glucose gradually into the bloodstream.