New research finds drinking tart cherry juice
twice a day can help you sleep nearly 90 more minutes a night.
Cherry juice is a natural source of the sleep-wake cycle hormone
melatonin and amino acid tryptophan. The ruby red pigments in tart
cherry juice, contain an enzyme that reduces inflammation and
decreases the breakdown of tryptophan.
Researchers from Louisiana State University had seven older adults
with insomnia drink eight ounces of Montmorency tart cherry juice
twice a day for two weeks, followed by two weeks of no juice, and
then two more weeks of drinking a placebo beverage. Compared to the
placebo, drinking the cherry juice resulted in an average of 84 more
minutes of sleep time each night.
Another thing you might try is kiwi. Eating two kiwi fruits an hour
before bed was shown to increase sleep time by 13% and decrease
mid-sleep waking periods by 29% after just four weeks. Zzzzzz