Tired of those long endless nights staring at the clock? Forget the warm milk and counting sheep. Instead, you may want to reach for a glass of fruit juice.
Studies show how a certain type of fruit can help you sleep. Dr. Wilfred Pigeon led a pilot study on its effects at the University of Rochester. His findings were published in the Journal of Medicinal Food.1
Dr. Pigeon and his team observed 15 adults with insomnia symptoms. Researchers gave the subjects either 8 ounces of the juice or a placebo drink. They received the drinks in the morning and evening for two weeks.
Drinking this juice improved all sleep variables. But what kind of juice did they give them?
Tart cherry juice.
They also found drinking this cherry juice helped subjects sleep through the night better. And insomnia wasn’t as severe.
Dr. Pigeon concluded that tart cherry juice proves to aid sleep. “Compared with melatonin, valerian root and other alternative or natural approaches it is as good or better,” he said.
That bears repeating…
The tart cherry juice works as well if not better than other natural alternatives like melatonin supplements. (Plus this is a way to produce the melatonin naturally within the body, rather than swallowing a pill or capsule.)
Researchers from the U.K. had similar findings.
In their study, published in the European Journal of Nutrition,2 researchers monitored 20 subjects who drank either tart cherry juice or a placebo twice a day for a week. Subjects wore a watch sensor to monitor sleep and wake patterns. Urine samples were also collected.
Once again…
Cherry juice helped people sleep. The cherry drinkers slept longer… by 25 minutes. They also napped less.
But what makes cherry juice work so well as a sleep aid?
The answer was found in the urine samples. While the subjects drank cherry juice, they had higher levels of melatonin.
Melatonin is a natural hormone made by the pineal gland in the brain. It is a key factor in the human sleep-wake cycle. When melatonin levels in the blood rise you begin to feel less alert. It makes you sleepy. When melatonin is low, you don’t sleep as well.
But as the studies show, drinking tart cherry juice increases circulation of melatonin naturally in the body. No pill needed.
“What makes these findings exciting is that the melatonin contained in tart cherry juice is sufficient to elicit a healthy sleep response,” said lead researcher Dr. Jason Ellis. “What’s more, these results provide us with more evidence surrounding the relationship between how we sleep and what we consume.”
According to the National Sleep Foundation insomnia is the most common sleep complaint among Americans.3 Millions of people suffer from symptoms of insomnia. They have difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, falling back to sleep and/or wake up too early. People who don’t get enough sleep are also more likely to suffer from chronic diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, depression and obesity.
Prescribed sleeping pills come with severe side effects. They can cause sleepwalking, hallucinations, violent outbursts, sleep-eating and worst of all, driving while asleep.
Tart cherries and cherry juice are a safe and natural approach to aiding sleep. You can easily add it to your diet.
What’s more, cherries are a powerhouse fruit loaded with nutrition and health benefits. Packed with antioxidants, cherries are a great source of vitamin C, potassium and fiber. Studies show they help lower cholesterol and blood sugar. And they can ease gout and arthritis pain.
But don’t forget to go organic. Regular cherries are loaded with pesticides.
Montmorency cherries are the most common type of tart cherries available. And a handful or a glass of tart cherry juice may just solve your sleep troubles.
[Editor’s Note: We’ve just discovered another simple trick for better sleep. In our search we also uncovered solutions to cope with stress and two important minerals that promote relaxation and calmness… Plus which common foods to avoid that may be elevating your stress hormones. You’ll also learn other easy ways to start feeling and looking your best right now.]References:
1http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20438325
2http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22038497
3http://www.sleepfoundation.org/article/sleep-topics/melatonin-and-sleep
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