We’ve all had our fair share of restless nights where no matter what you do, you just can’t get any shut-eye. Well, we might be able to say goodbye to (most of) those tiresome nights by drinking this juice, according to a new study.
Apparently, cherry juice, particularly tart cherry juice, might be insomniacs’ new best friend. After conducting an experiment using a self-report questionnaire and a sleep study, the American Journal of Therapeutics reports that drinking cherry juice can increase sleep time and sleep efficiency. The experiment consisted of people 50 years old and up who were randomly sorted to receive either the cherry juice or a placebo two times a day for two weeks. Eight of the subjects who received the cherry juice and were also insomniacs ended up experiencing overall better sleep. In fact, they slept for 84 more minutes than usual and their sleep efficiency increased on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. These habits might be causing your insomnia.
According to another study, there are even more reasons to believe that tart cherry juice might be the answer to all of your sleeping dilemmas. “Tart Montmorency cherries have been reported to contain high levels of phytochemicals including melatonin, a molecule critical in regulating the sleep-wake cycle in humans,” the study reports. “These data suggest that consumption of a tart cherry juice concentrate provides an increase in exogenous melatonin that is beneficial in improving sleep duration and quality in healthy men and women and might be of benefit in managing disturbed sleep.”
