The drink may not be commonly found in stores, but it could be worth getting your hands on
A lack of sleep can impact your health(Image: Getty)
Many factors can cause poor sleep, and as we know, long-term sleep problems can harm your overall health. But an 85p drink could help you sleep at night.
According to BBC Food, melatonin is a natural hormone made in the brain’s pineal gland, which rises at night to make us sleepy and falls in the morning when it’s light. Because some foods contain this hormone, it could improve our sleep habits.
Glyn Howatson, a professor at Northumbria University, studied whether drinking tart cherry juice, rich in melatonin and other phytochemicals, could improve sleep quality. And at the time of writing, you can pick this drink up from £8.50 at Waitrose & Partners, which comes in at 85p per 100ml.
Which foods are high in melatonin?
Speaking about the study, the professor of human and applied physiology said: “Tart cherries do seem to work,” she says. “There is a small but relatively convincing body of knowledge to suggest it is helpful.
“We have also seen this applied in elite athletes preparing for long-haul travel, and an overwhelming majority of those athletes reported better sleep and management of jet lag, as a result of taking tart cherries.”
The study found that the concentration of cherry juice, which may not be as common as other fruit drinks, increases melatonin levels, can improve sleep length and quality in healthy men and women, and may help with sleep problems. However, Lambert notes it can be expensive and may contain a lot of sugar.
“In contrast,” she notes, “kiwi fruits – which are rich in both melatonin and serotonin, a neurotransmitter that plays a key role in regulating sleep – have shown stronger evidence of supporting sleep and have been found to positively impact sleep onset, duration and efficiency.”
Its conclusion reads: “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.”
This sentence is essentially saying that drinking tart cherry juice concentrate increases melatonin levels from an external source, aka from the juice, rather than your body producing it.
When is the best time to eat melatonin-rich foods?
BBC Good Food reports that registered dietitian, Rhiannon Lambert, registered nutritionist and author of The Science of Nutrition, said: “When melatonin is consumed, it binds to receptors in the brain, which regulates the circadian rhythm – our internal 24-hour clock. This process helps signal the body to initiate and improve sleep.”
It notes that a Chinese study found that melatonin improves sleep efficiency, and that eating melatonin-rich foods could assist sleep. In addition, research from several Russian universities found that eating more melatonin-rich foods daily can improve sleep quality and may reduce depression.
Lambert, the registered nutritionist and author, recommends taking melatonin one to two hours before bed, and suggests that eating raw foods may also help.
Howatson also explained that some fruits and vegetables that contain melatonin also have other helpful compounds like polyphenols and anthocyanins. These can help to reduce inflammation and protect the body, which may also support a healthy sleep cycle.
The expert urges people to try:
- a glass of tart cherry juice
- a boiled egg
- a handful of nuts (pistachios especially)
- a warm mug of milk
If you’re worried about your health or sleep, talk to your GP or a medical professional.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.dailyrecord.co.uk
