- Not being able to go to sleep early can be frustrating
- Sleeping late or less also leaves a very bad impact to our own body
- There are many supplements and remedies out there that can help with our sleeping pattern
- Three new home remedies to try if you’re desperate for a peaceful sleep tonight
Sleeping is all fun and game until you find yourself tossing and turning around all night long. It’s frustrating and it almost feels like a task if you always have to force yourself to sleep and get at least decent hours of sleep before the sun rises again. And before you know it, it’s 5 am in the morning and you’ve wasted four hours in bed with your eyes wide open.
Finally, when you only have 3-4 hours before you have to wake up again, your body decides to give in and allow you to sleep. But what’s the point? You’re only going to wake up angry, restless and you feel like everyone and everything is against you on that day.
We all have difficulty sleeping from time to time, but when it persists day after day, it can become a serious issue. Aside from making us exhausted and irritable, a lack of sleep can have major consequences for our health, increasing our risk of obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Hence I did a little bit of digging on the internet for some unique ways that could help you with your sleeping problem. However, do note that I’m no expert but I’m trying to help out my internet friends! It’s also because I struggle to get a decent sleep too. So, follow along as we reveal the three methods we’ve discovered.
1/ Boiled lettuce water
I see the judgemental look on your face! But let me explain.
If you’re on TikTok, this may not be a surprise for you because this was a trend made famous by a user named @shapla_11. In her short and quick video, she explained that drinking lettuce water makes you sleepy and as someone who doesn’t sleep much herself, she put that experiment to test. The steps are easy and all you need is lettuce and boiling water. Prepare your lettuce water the same way as preparing your tea.
The results? Surprisingly it worked and many others who have tried the method also said it worked for them too. Strange trick that has shocked many users who struggle to sleep at night but hey, whatever helps you go to bed early right?
But what do experts have to say about this trend? According to sleep expert Olivia Arezzolo, this hack was derived from a 2017 study published in the journal of Food Science and Biotechnology. The research showed that the high levels of lactucarium in the lettuce can make you feel relaxed and sleepy. Brilliant! But there’s a catch.
The research was conducted on mice so many experts see it as “low quality” data. Nevertheless, it’s still safe to drink as it’s natural. What are you waiting for? Go ahead and get some lettuce from your nearest grocery store.
2/ Banana tea
What can’t a banana do? Banana bread, banana cake, banana milk and now there’s banana tea too? Such a powerful fruit but how can bananas help with your sleeping habit? Well, here’s what I learnt.
Similar to our boiled lettuce water, banana tea is made by boiling a whole banana in hot water, then removing it and drinking only the residual liquid. Depending on your personal preferences, you can choose to boil with or without the peel. If you do decide to make it with the peel, it’s then commonly referred to as banana peel tea. Just a note though, many prefer to not include the peel as it increases the boiling time.
Anyway, once your banana tea is done, you can drink it right away or enhance the taste a little bit by adding a dash of cinnamon or honey. Et voilà! You’re ready for a good night’s sleep.
Here comes the nutritional side of banana tea and how it can aid with your sleeping schedule. Essentially, banana tea includes muscle relaxants such as tryptophan, serotonin, and dopamine, which aid in the treatment of sleep problems such as insomnia by promoting better sleep. Tryptophan, an amino acid, is responsible for the production of sleep-inducing chemicals such as serotonin and melatonin. These substances also soothe the mind and relieve stress and despair.
Way too technical but the idea is, it helps you sleep! And that’s all that matters right? Now there’s only one way to know if this is a useful tip or not. Go ahead and start brewing. Share with your friends if it works!
3/ Cold milk
If you’re a milk drinker, this is for you but if you’re like me, I guess we can settle for either lettuce or banana.
A glass of milk before bed is a practise passed down through generations to encourage relaxation, ease anxiety, and facilitate a more comfortable night’s sleep. Although the efficacy of this method has been questioned by many, some still think it works wonders!
It’s simply because milk also contains tryptophan and melatonin. The compounds that may help you fall asleep. These elements have proven to potentially promote better sleep and lessen symptoms of anxiety and depression that might arise before bedtime.
Nevertheless, as mentioned before, there isn’t a concrete study that can back this up yet. As such, a theory suggested that drinking warm milk may unconsciously remind you of having milk at bedtime when you were a child. These relaxing sensations may communicate to your brain that it is time to sleep, making it simpler to fall asleep quietly. If you ask me, that makes a lot of sense!
No more counting sheep!
Truth is, those who suffer from insomnia or poor sleeping habits will do anything to help them solve the issue. We’ve tried counting the sheep, we’ve tried taking melatonin gummies and even essential oils. These may work for some but some of us aren’t as lucky. We perhaps are in need of something stronger.
Therefore, we hope one of these new methods can help with putting you to sleep and finally get that 8 hours of rest your body is desperate for. If you have any other sleeping hacks that you swear by, share with us as we love sleeping tips that actually work.
