Last Updated on February 9, 2023
If you’re anything like me, you need about six hours of sleep every night to be able to function healthily. This can be challenging when your work schedule takes a toll on your personal life. Many people resort to drinking caffeine in the afternoon and wind up staying up late into the night even after their head hits the pillow. To counteract these effects, try consuming various drinks that promote sleepiness before bedtime.
You may just find that they make it easier for you to get a full night’s rest without sacrificing too much productivity during your daytime hours.
Top 10 Drinks That Make You Sleepy
Let’s go through some of my favorite sleepy-inducing beverages.
1: Tomato Juice
Tomato juice is a great source of the amino acid L-tryptophan, which promotes the production of melatonin in the body. Melatonin helps regulate sleep cycles and waking up. Having a high level of melatonin can make you feel drowsy so drinking tomato juice before bed is a good way to help yourself get to sleep faster. Also, the fat and acid in tomatoes are associated with feelings of arousal and, consequently, sleepiness.
Other benefits include its ability to reduce inflammation and boost heart health.
2: Watermelon Juice
Watermelon juice can also be a great way to get your body to relax and fall asleep. Watermelon juice is high in citrulline, an amino acid that helps muscles to relax, as well as arginine which also has relaxing properties.
It contains an abundance of vitamins A, C and E along with lycopene, which is a powerful antioxidant that protects the body against cancer cells.
3: Chamomile Tea
Chamomile tea is loaded with calcium and magnesium, which is needed to help your body relax after a long day’s work. Not only does chamomile tea promote general relaxation, it can also be used for sleeping troubles by alleviating insomnia symptoms like stress, anxiety, and muscle pain.
Chamomile tea is made from flowers that contain small amounts of the alkaloids apigenin, matigifolin, and luteolin. These compounds are thought to have sedative effects, which may be why chamomile root tea has been used for centuries in folk medicine for insomnia.
4: Mint Tea
Mint tea is not only good for your digestive health, but it can also help you fall asleep more quickly. The main ingredient contributing to the relaxation effects of mint tea is a compound called menthol.
Menthol is a naturally occurring chemical in the body that relaxes muscles and helps relieve pain, especially when consumed before bedtime.
There are many varieties of mint tea out there, but for this list I’m talking about regular peppermint tea with no other added ingredients. Peppermint is said to be very refreshing which means that sitting down to a cup after a long day will cause you to get drowsy very quickly. It’s also known to promote relaxation which will help when trying to sleep well at night.
5: Dandelion Juice
Dandelion tea has always been said to be a natural sleep aid. The tea itself is mainly known for its taste, but the fact that it is said to promote both relaxation and sleepiness adds an extra level of comfort when drinking it before bed.
Dandelion juice is made from the dandelion root and can be quite bitter to taste. Despite that, it’s actually quite effective at inducing drowsiness. Dandelion contains L-tryptophan and calcium, both of which have a calming effect. It’s also loaded with potassium and iron for maximum health benefits!
6: Chamomile Tea With Valerian Root Extracts
Valerian root tea blends well with chamomile tea, which can help you fall asleep fast. The combination is simple and easy to make at home and is cost-effective to boot!
Valerian root extracts have been used in many cultures for many years, and it’s said that the herb promotes restfulness when ingested due to its relaxing properties.
7: Milk
This one may seem a little surprising, but warm milk is actually said to help promote sleepiness. There are many benefits to drinking warm or hot milk before bed, and this is just one of them. Whole milk is recommended over skim because it has more nutrients in it.
It’s thought that drinking warm milk before sleeping can trigger the release of melatonin in the body which helps prepare you for slumber. The warm temperature also makes you feel even sleepier. Warm milk is loaded with calcium and protein, both of which boost bone health and promote a healthy balance of hormones.
8: Cherry Juice
Cherry juice is one of my personal favorites. It’s delicious, comes in many different flavors, and has a lot of great health benefits to boot!
The cherries that are used for inducing sleep are high in melatonin which makes it a great way to help get ready for bedtime. It also contains antioxidants which are linked to heart health, cancer prevention, and improved brain function.
9: Water With Nutmeg
I’ve mentioned nutmeg before in previous articles, but it deserves a place in this one, too! Nutmeg is a very old folk remedy for aiding one’s sleep at night. It has been used for hundreds of years and is said to induce sleepiness with its sweet and earthy flavor.
Of course, the health benefits of nutmeg don’t end there. It contains many vitamins and minerals such as calcium, magnesium, iron, potassium and phosphorus, which are important for our bodies.
10: Pomegranate Juice
Pomegranate juice tastes similar to cherry and raspberry fruit juices, but it has slightly less sweetness. The antioxidant that makes pomegranate juice so beneficial is called punicalagin which has been shown to reduce inflammation, lower blood pressure and improve sleep quality.
Additional Resources
As a light sleeper and borderline insomniac, instead of taking an interest in cars and gadgets like most of his friends, Ash is an avid sleep product researcher, reviewer, and writer with years of industry knowledge under his belt.