In the current world where everything wants to catch your attention, it can be hard for the majority of us to have a fixed sleeping pattern, considering as well that some may be working from home these days. Screens from our phones or laptops keep us from browsing, reading or watching content; hence, a little sleep booster may help if you don’t want to count the sheep.
There are drinks that may induce sleep whenever you are having a difficult time falling asleep. These drinks can give you a boost in feeling sleepy and even improve your overall health and wellness. The good thing is some of the best ones can be easily prepared at your home.
Check out these 5 sleep-boosting drinks for you to have a few sips before going to bed.
Green tea
Although it originated in China, green tea is enjoyed and consumed all over the world primarily because of its taste and excellent health benefits. In fact, green tea is considered one of the healthiest beverages available globally.
The health benefits of green tea are pretty much endless. So, sipping a cup of green tea before bedtime won’t just give you that needed boost but also other body essentials. For thousands of years, green tea has been used in traditional medicine that can improve crucial health areas, such as cardiovascular functions, mental health, and gut health. It can generally aid in preventing high blood pressure, regulating digestion and healing wounds [1].
Now, let’s go to how green tea helps induce sleep. To begin with, sipping green tea can be truly beneficial for people suffering from sleep-related problems. This is because green tea contains L-theanine and a lot of Teami’s Blends. These are amino acids with many essential properties, including helping you to relax and reducing anxiety that you may experience before sleeping [2].
Moreover, green tea can enhance the quality of your sleep without giving you that feeling of lethargy and sleep in comparison to other natural and synthetic supplements for sleeping.
Chamomile tea
Next is chamomile tea which is a traditional option in the world of natural sleeping options. Many health experts have suggested drinking chamomile for years to help people with insomnia. This is because chamomile promotes significant sensory activation where you can experience drinking a calm and soothing drink, plus it is caffeine-free!
Generally, chamomile tea contains chemicals that are called flavonoids. These flavonoids that chamomile has are a type of nutrient found in many plants, which also play a vital role in giving chamomile effective medicinal effects [3]. Additionally, this tea is known to help in relaxation and induce sleep. There are several clinical trials that tested chamomile tea’s sleeping effects. Studies have shown that 10 out of 12 cardiovascular patients can fall asleep faster after consuming chamomile tea [4].
Moreover, in a study conducted on rats, the researchers proved that chamomile extract could help sleep-disturbed rodents in falling asleep. This is because they claim that chamomile tea can function like benzodiazepine, which is a prescription drug that helps in reduce anxiety and induce sleep. Some studies also suggest that chamomile combines with benzodiazepine receptors.
Furthermore, chamomile tea has long been used for traditional folk remedies to treat numerous health issues. On the research side, researchers have increased exploring chamomile tea’s effectiveness in managing fatal illnesses like cancer and diabetes.
Warm milk
Drinking warm milk may seem like an old practice, but it is really effective in giving you a good night’s sleep. This is because milk has tryptophan which increases your serotonin, commonly known as the neurotransmitter that basically tells your brain to be happy, which also happens to be a forerunner in a sleep-regulating hormone called melatonin.
When you have enough tryptophan, your serotonin levels increase which may also lead to an increase in melatonin levels. Melatonin promotes sleep and helps in combating different sleep disorders, such as insomnia, jet lag, sleep apnea and shift work sleep disorder.
There are a lot of studies showing that drinking warm milk can enhance the quality of sleep and decrease movement at night, making you become low active. It may be considered a healthy sleeping ritual that is soothing in which it can help your body prepare to rest.
Tart cherry juice
Here’s another sleep-boosting drink that can also give a wide variety of health benefits – tart cherry juice.
First things first, drinking tart cherry juice has shown a significant effect in decreasing insomnia for those who are suffering from this sleeping problem. In a study that was published by the Journal of Medicinal Food in 2010, the researchers found that drinking tart cherry juice of about 16 ounces during the day can help with insomnia.
One major explanation for the sleeping-boosting effect of tart cherry juice is melatonin. Unlike in warm milk, melatonin can be directly found in cherries. Melatonin is an antioxidant that is known to regulate sleep cycles. Tart cherry juice also has tryptophan that helps in producing melatonin. In fact, every 100 grams of tart cherries have around 9 milligrams of tryptophan [5].
Drinking tart cherry juice is considered most effective when consumed in the evening hours before your bedtime, so it can have its effects on your body. You can also consume a glass of tart cherry juice every after a meal.
Valerian tea
With its long history of being health-beneficial, valerian tea is proven and tested to help you even with your sleeping problems. You can rely on valerian tea to give you a good night’s sleep since it is able to induce sleep and decrease stress.
Moreover, valerian tea helps treat several health issues that may affect your sleep quality, including nervousness, headaches and heart palpitations. In a study, it was found that a valerian root extract enhances sleep without the negative side effects of traditional sleeping aids. Valerian root is deemed effective as a sleep booster because it contains two naturally-occurring sedatives, which are called valepotriates and sesquiterpenes.
In another study, the researchers claimed that nearly 90 percent of people improved their sleep when they drank valerian tea before going to bed. Some studies also added that people could fall asleep faster when they drink valerian extract [6].
Valerian is basically an herb that you can find in many health food stores; even some sleep aids and sedatives have it as one of their main ingredients. You can generally buy valerian over the counter, whether in tablet form or in tea bags. However, the downside of this drink is that the valerian root can have an odour and earthy taste that some may find unpleasant. Hence, you can add a dash of honey or maple syrup to it to improve its taste.
Drinks to avoid before bedtime
While there are sleep-boosting drinks, it is also advisable to avoid the following drinks as they prevent you from falling asleep.
Coffee
Of course, we all know that coffee has caffeine that prevents us from sleeping. Hence, you must avoid drinking a cup of coffee a few hours before bedtime as it can generally delay your body clock and disrupt your sleeping patterns. A study suggests that you must not consume coffee six hours before bedtime as it lessens your sleep by one hour [7].
Energy drinks
Energy drinks are energy-boosting, and having them before bed is a big no-no. You may find yourself rolling in your bed from side to side, trying to catch sleep while in full energy mode. Like coffee, energy drinks are fueled by caffeine to make your body invigorated. In fact, energy drinks have two or three times more caffeine than coffee.
Alcohol
You may think that alcohol can actually make you sleep faster, but it does not give you a quality one. Sleeping while under the influence of alcohol can give you interrupted sleep and full strange dreams. You may also need to get up in the middle of the night to urinate, disrupting your sleep pattern. Moreover, it can also decrease your rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, as a higher level of REM sleep can be associated with depression.
Soda
Drinking soda is also a bad idea when you are trying to sleep because it is loaded with caffeine and many sugars, making you super active. It may affect your ability to fall asleep and disrupt your sleeping pattern when consumed before bedtime.
The bottom line
You can incorporate sleep-boosting drinks into your bedtime routine, most especially if you are struggling with sleep-related issues. Not only will they help you manage your sleeping pattern, but sleep-boosting drinks can also provide you with substantial health benefits. Getting enough sleep is the primary step to wellness, keeping you away from many fatal diseases related to sleep deprivation.
[1] https://intermountainhealthcare.org/blogs/topics/live-well/2016/08/10-drinks-to-help-you-sleep-at-night/
[2] https://www.teamiblends.com/blogs/lifestyle/benefits-of-drinking-tea-before-bed
[3] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2995283/
[4] https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320031#benefits-of-chamomile-tea
[5] https://www.sleepfoundation.org/nutrition/tart-cherry-juice
[6] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4394901/
[7] https://jcsm.aasm.org/doi/10.5664/jcsm.3170
