3 Recipes for Bedtime Drinks and Their Benefits

This article is written by Sarah Cummings at The Sleep Advisor   

Loaves and Dishes claims no background in health knowledge and recommends that you seek the advice of your physician before implementing any new health regimin.

Now, from Sarah...

We all know that eating breakfast is a great way to fuel you in preparation for the day ahead, but what about when it comes to falling asleep?

We’re all well aware that sleep is vital to health and well-being, but sometimes, actually achieving quality sleep on a regular basis can be challenging, especially in today’s hectic world.

Suffering a reduced amount of sleep is top of the list when it comes to proven reasons for making you endure feelings of irritation, grumpiness and a general lack of motivation. What’s more, if quality and quantity of sleep are lowered, digestion health, detoxification and weight maintenance can all incur undesired issues.

We want to help you avoid these sleep-related pitfalls by giving you three recipes for bedtime drinks that will help you enjoy plenty of time in dreamland and improve your overall health too! Here’s what to sip before bed to achieve this…

1. Golden Milk

Golden milk might sound like some weird fad that is just milk with tonnes of sugar added to it and some odd coloring, but it will, in fact, be a very good source for combating inflammation and digestive health issues for you.

The reason to sip on this recipe is that it will help to improve digestion function (and the absorption of essential nutrients that help support quality sleep, including calcium and magnesium too). Enjoying this warm, soothing drink as part of your bedtime routine is said to help you find slumber at a smoother rate.

The turmeric in this beverage contains curcumin, which boasts having anti-inflammatory properties. Due to chronic inflammation being a known sleep inhibitor, ingesting some welcome extra anti-inflammatory nutrients in before bed, and in your diet, on the whole, is a definite good idea.

Ingredients you will need:

To make golden milk, simply boil some non-dairy milk with some coconut oil, cinnamon, ground ginger, black pepper and of course, turmeric. Add ingredients to taste so that you can enjoy how it like it.

2. Valerian Tea

You may well have heard of valerian root; it’s renowned for an ingredient in herbal medicine to aid sleep, as well as to alleviate feelings of anxiety and stress.

You can get hold of valerian extract in a range of forms, from teas to tinctures and capsules. This little pink flower has had several studies conducted on it which put forward the notion that it packs its most potent sleep-related punch when sipped on for a minimum of 28 days, but there are also studies that offer evidence that it can be an instant sleep aid.

One of the best things about valerian is that it’s not too overpowering on the body, and is connected to very few side effects, while also giving off a welcome calming effect on your nervous system.

How to make your valerian tea:

You merely need is a single teaspoon of loose-leaf dried valerian root to be added to a mug of boiling water which is then drunk in the runup to your bedtime.

Once you’ve added the valerian and boiling water in the mug, allow it to steep for up to quarter of an hour for best results. You should note that valerian comes with a strong, bitter taste, so, kind of like a well-brewed green tea, so you might want to consider a touch of Manuka honey to sweeten things up a little.

3. Tart Cherry Juice

The reason that we’ve included tart cherry juice is because it is an abundant source of antioxidants including anthocyanin; this antioxidant is known to help avoid risks of cancer and cardiovascular disease. Additionally, it’s been sourced as an effective choice to alleviate insomnia.

The standout benefit to drinking tart cherry juice before bed is that it helps people who experience bouts of waking up in the night to stop this happening.

Research has highlighted the fact, that the cherries are bursting with high concentrations of melatonin; the ‘sleep-hormone’ that helps to regulate your sleep/wake cycle. The research study in question found the results on sleep improvement in healthy adults after they drank tart cherry juice concentrate for one week straight. It cited that not just sleep quality, but total sleep time were both heightened in comparison to the participants who were supplied with a placebo.

How to make your tart cherry juice drink:

the first two are certainly not tricky to make, but this one is the easiest! Simply pour the juice into a glass and enjoy the benefits. However, if you want to try something a little more detailed, why not give a tart cherry juice-based night-time smoothie a whirl?

All you have to do is add fill a blender with 20 pitted cherries, 2 teaspoon Manuka honey, and ¼ cup of water. Allow the contents to blend and then pour into a glass.