Insomnia, new milk is the cure

Main Category: Sleep / Sleep Disorders / Insomnia
Article Date: 18 Feb 2004 - 0:00 PDT

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A specially formulated carton of milk could soon be the insomniac's dream.

According to the makers of 'Night Time Milk', this product will induce sleep in those who drink it. It costs twice as much as ordinary milk.

The makers of this milk say their cows produce extra levels of melatonin, a natural sleep hormone, in their milk. The very young cows are milked at 5am in the field. At this time, and with this type of cow, melatonin is at its highest level.

Melatonin is also known as our 'body clock' hormone. It is a natural occurring hormone in animals and humans and is released by the brain at night. It reduces our body temperature and lowers levels of serotonin. This causes people to feel sleepy.

It all started at the Cricketer Farm, Bridgwater, Somerset, UK. This week, a major UK supermarket chain, Sainsbury's, is launching Night Time Milk nationwide.

Sainbury's Marketing Manager, Mike Hind said 'A similar product is being sold in Finland and, with so many people suffering from sleep problems in this country, there would be a market for it here. We have already had people telling us that it has improved their sleep patterns within a couple of weeks.'

Scientists found that the levels of melatonin were highest in young cows at dawn.

The farm has two herds. The milk is specially packaged to preserve the milk.

If you have one glass of this milk before bed time, you will sleep like a baby and fall asleep rapidly. They also say it is not dangerous to have during the day because melatonin levels in humans are very low during the day anyway.

In the UK 12 million sleeping prescriptions are given out each year. About two-thirds of the population say they have sleeping problems.