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Some drinks may help people fall asleep. Herbal teas, some kinds of milk and cherry juice may all help people fall asleep more easily.
In this article, we discuss 10 drinks and beverages to help people sleep.
People drink chamomile tea to treat insomnia because of its calming effects.
Researchers believe that its effect on sleep comes from its
A few people may experience allergic reactions to chamomile. Nevertheless, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) placed chamomile in the generally recognized as safe list.
Valerian is an herb that people can find in health food stores. Sleep aids and sedatives may contain valerian. People can purchase them over the counter (OTC) in tablet form or as a tea.
Researchers have not confirmed whether valerian is effective and safe for treating insomnia, and
One
Other studies did not demonstrate clinically significant results. Researchers also did not study the effect of valerian tea in these studies.
Some people drink lemon balm tea to help them sleep. People can find lemon balm in natural food stores as a sleep aid. Like valerian, it may not be effective every time.
One
Still, more evidence is necessary to confirm that lemon balm tea helps people sleep.
Some people drink lavender tea because it is calming and soothing.
A
People report using passionflower tea to help them sleep, but research on this herbal tea is limited.
Researchers in Mexico designed a
Again, further investigations in humans are necessary to confirm the safety and efficacy of passionflower tea for improving sleep.
Researchers have tested magnolia bark tea on sleep in menopausal females. Magnolia bark extract contains substances that interact with the
In a randomized trial,
Drinking magnolia bark extract may be safe, but researchers need to continue studying its effect in larger and more diverse populations.
Although green tea has caffeine, some substances found in green tea may help people sleep because they act on the GABA system in the brain
To
The exact mechanism of how green tea affects sleep is still unclear.
It is important to choose decaffeinated green tea, as standard green tea has caffeine, which can inhibit sleep.
In an older
The study participants showed a reduction in the severity of insomnia when the researchers calculated the minutes awake after sleep onset.
Other parameters, such as sleep latency, total sleep time, and sleep efficiency, were unchanged when the researchers compared them with a placebo.
Another small
The researchers suggest that cherry juice increases the availability of tryptophan in the body, which leads to better sleep.
Cherries contain melatonin and other anti-inflammatory substances that may explain their effect on sleep.
Further research is necessary to confirm these findings.
Milk contains an amino acid called
Studies comparing the effect of drinking milk before bedtime to improve sleep are lacking.
Unless a person is lactose intolerant or has a milk allergy, they may wish to try drinking warm milk before bed.
Almond milk may also have a high content of tryptophan and melatonin. Also, almonds contain magnesium.
Some research
More investigations are necessary to confirm that the magnesium found in almonds can help people fall asleep.
Some drinks may help people sleep, but others can act as stimulants and keep people awake. These may include:
- coffee
- caffeinated teas (green tea, black tea)
- sugary drinks
Researchers have
Researchers are unsure whether a lack of sleep causes an increase in sugar consumption or whether eating more sugar causes poor sleep.
Urologists suggest that children avoid drinking fluids 1 or 2 hours before going to bed. Drinking right before bedtime may cause people to wake up in the middle of sleep to urinate.
People sometimes use drinks to help them fall asleep. Chamomile and valerian are popular teas that people drink before bed, but other substances may also help. These might include almond milk and cherry juice.
Although some drinks contain tryptophan or melatonin, which are known to improve sleep, researchers are unclear how other drinks help people fall asleep. Further evidence is necessary to confirm whether these drinks are effective and safe to improve sleep.
The products listed in this article are available in most grocery or health food stores and online: