What you drink before you go to bed can make or break your sleep hygiene. Fortunately for you, many liquids won’t prevent you from falling asleep.
Do you remember your childhood memories in which your mom brought you a warm glass of milk? Well, she knew what she was doing, but milk isn’t the only good option since there is a range of other delicious beverages, which can help you fall asleep if you are struggling to find peace at night.
If you don’t know what they are, you’ve come to the right place. In today’s article, we will talk about the 10 Best Drinks Before Bed, how they can help you, and what you should avoid.
What are some of the best drinks to drink before bed?
Everyone has a favourite drink, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it will prevent us from waking up at night. The good news is, that there are plenty of options to consider. Next, we will talk about the ten best beverages you can consume before bed and explain why they will help you fall asleep.
1. Warm Milk
People have used this age-old remedy to help them sleep for decades, and they still consider it a popular choice today. As a true classic in the bedtime drinks genre, a glass of warm milk is hands down the most popular option.
This drink doesn’t only work because it’s warm. Milk is actually packed with ingredients that make us sleepy such as tryptophan. The amino acid has been proven to improve sleep. Therefore warm milk works like magic. But if you want actual proof, take a look at what The Journal of Medicinal Food has to say.
2. Hot Cocoa
Next on our list is hot cocoa, which you shouldn’t confuse with sugar-heavy hot chocolate. Cocoa is one of the products used to make chocolate. However, if you can avoid the sugar, you should, even if your drink is not as creamy or sweet as your typical hot chocolate.
Therefore your ideal option will be cocoa in powder form, which you can add to hot water. By picking this version, you ensure that your body consumes less fats and sugar and your chances of better sleep are higher.
Psychology Today has an article about “Cocoa helps reduce stress and improve sleep-related cardiovascular biomarkers” that you can check for more information.
3. Lavender Tea
Lavender is a product that has calming and relaxing properties in general. We can say that many consider it a godsend when we talk about stress and sleep challenges. Known for its sleep-inducing characteristics, lavender is an excellent natural remedy for treating insomnia and improving your sleep.
Usually, it is used as an essential oil, but its status as a drink is just as beneficial. You don’t have to stop at lavender tea. Add some sprigs of fresh lavender to your glass of milk and go into a blissful night’s sleep.
4. Decaffeinated Green Tea
Green tea has quickly become a favorite in the modern world because of its ability to promote weight loss. However, that’s not the only reason why green is so popular. If you remove the caffeine boost from green tea, it can be used as an excellent sleep-inducing product.
Green tea contains the amino acid known as theanine that has been proven to help reduce stress. Use the caffeinated versions for the morning and take the decaffeinated options at night to help you sleep. The theanine in the tea will lower your stress-related hormones and neuron excitement in your brain. That way, your brain will be able to relax and rest!
5. Chamomile Tea
Chamomile is considered to be one of the best things you can drink before bed. The reason for that is it contains a therapeutic antioxidant called Apigenin, widely known for reducing anxiety and initiating sleep.
There aren’t many studies on its effects, but the ones that have been completed show real promising results, especially in the chamomile’s tranquillizing and sleep-inducing properties. For more information, take a look at a study called: “Chamomile: A herbal medicine of the past with bright future.”
6. Valerian Tea
Valerian root is a natural product used for centuries as a sedative in the medical world. We can safely say it’s a great remedy for stress due to its calming and stress-reducing characteristics.
Nowadays, valerian herbs are frequently used to help treat sleep disorders and people who might have insomnia. Typically, you will find it in a combination of lemon balm, hops, and other herbs, known to cause drowsiness. However, there is a downside to this magical remedy, and it’s the fact that it can become quite addictive.
If you want to learn more about the enhancing effect of Valerian, this Oxford study is something you may find very useful.
7. Pure Coconut Water
This is the drink that can come as a surprise to many. The reason is that it’s often advertised as an energy-boosting beverage. However, real coconut water is brimming with ingredients that can help you sleep better and not the opposite.
Some of those ingredients are magnesium and potassium, which are known for helping to relax your muscles. It’s also full of vitamin B that’s known for reducing stress levels.
8. Cherry juice
We already mentioned theanine, but cherry juice contains the amino acid with sleep-inducing properties just like green tea.
Fruit and herbal teas have been used for centuries. They go all the way back to the ancient Greeks. If you want to get creative, grab some cherry juice, and mix it with milk to create your own concoction of delicious bedtime drink!
9. Banana Smoothies
Another fruit-based option is banana smoothies since they can be a fantastic sleep-assisting alternative that promotes healthy sleep patterns.
We recommend blending a banana with some butter (almond or coconut) and milk to create the ideal and most delicious smoothie before bedtime. The ingredients mentioned above contain plenty of magnesium and potassium, which is an excellent muscle relaxer.
This tasty drink will help you fight off midnight cravings and let your body relax so that you can fall into a whimsical dream!
10. Tart Cherry Juice
Lastly, we found a small study in the Journal of Medicinal Food that talks about “The effects of a tart cherry juice beverage on the sleep of older adults with insomnia.”
What this study shows is that if you consume about 500gr of tart cherry juice during the day, you could significantly decrease insomnia. Cherries are a fruit full of melatonin, arguably known as the best antioxidant to regulate sleep cycles.
What to avoid when choosing drinks that help us sleep
We talked about the best options you can drink to fall asleep easier. However, we can’t ignore the big no no’s as well.
When you’re drinking a beverage at night, you have to consider every ingredient. If you want to ensure yourself or your loved ones a blissful sleep, you can’t ignore your drinks contains. For example, if you drink a cup of coffee later in the afternoon or at night, you might be in trouble. Coffee contains antioxidants that aren’t recommended for sleep!
Of course, you can’t avoid everything, but here are the four most important groups you need to stay away from at night:
- Sugar
- Caffeine
- Alcohol
- Niacin
Final Words
After long research, many reviews, and studies, we created a list of the ten best drinks before bed that we can find. We hope that we could at least get you one step closer to having a good night’s sleep. However, please keep in mind that we are non-professionals in the medical field, and these are only our recommendations.
The drinks listed above are not guaranteed to help you fall asleep in seconds, but they do possess the needed qualities which can help you improve your sleep routine. They can be even more benefical if you combine them with other sleeping advice.
If any questions were left unanswered regarding the subject, we would love to hear them in the comments below.