I have a habit… I like to have a warm drink before bed. After a busy day, drinking a warm cup of tea helps me to unwind and settle into the evening. But, not all drinks are created equal. Let me discuss what are good/bad drinks before bedtime.
From warm milk to chamomile tea to a plethora of wellness drinks, there’s no shortage of beverages available that claim drinking them can help you sleep. But which ones might actually serve your slumber?
Here’s a caveat- depending on your age and if you take certain medications, drinking too much before you go to bed can be disruptive as the need to urinate will wake you up. So, maybe you may want to stop drinking a few hrs before you go to bed.
Here are a few of the drinks that definitely are not good for your slumber:
Alcohol- don’t shoot the messenger! It may make you drowsy, but a cocktail doesn’t necessarily make for good sleep. Alcohol can absolutely disrupt sleep patterns, especially the important brain waves we have when we sleep. It makes it more difficult to fall into a deep sleep. Did you know that it takes about one hour and a little bit over to metabolize one drink. So giving yourself the extra time, plus the time to drink additional water to flush it out of your system, can be helpful for a better nights rest.
Coffee and Tea and Soda- No surprise that the caffeine in coffee and black and green tea are diuretics which promote getting up to pee and the sugar in the soda will keep you up counting sheep.
Here are some drinks that are questionable as there isn’t much evidence that they will help you to slumber:
Warm milk- I would always make it for my kids when they had difficulty falling asleep. It may have worked because it was a comfort food or because the tryptophan in it or other proteins that helped them to fall asleep. But, truth be told, there was no scientific evidence that it improved sleep.
Drinks with Magnesium- drinks like “Calm” or enhanced water products like “driftwell” haven’t been tested for safety and there isn’t enough data. You’re better eating foods with magnesium like leafy dark greens, nuts and seeds and yogurt and milk to name a few.
Drinks with CBD-whether CBD beverages can do you any favors is not yet known. And there could be a variation as to how one reacts from it. So, just be cautious.
The best drinks:
Water- hands down the purest. Plain water is the healthiest, best beverage you can drink any time of day — it has zero calories and prevents dehydration, a condition that can cause foggy thinking, make you moody, and increase risk of constipation and kidney stones.
Chamomile tea- chamomile to be soothing and slumber-inducing.
Tart Cherry juice- tart cherries are rich in melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone that we naturally create. It may be better to eat the fruit as the naturally occurring sugar in the juice may lead you to getting up to urinate more during the night. But, the benefits of this fruit should not be missed. Stop by your local health food store to look for this juice and make sure it is without added sugar.
We all know how important a good night’s rest is. And remember, it isn’t always about what you eat and drink that lead to either a good night’s sleep- there are many emotional and environmental factors that influence your zzz’s. For more information and help feel free to contact me at rachel@livehealthynyc.com