Are you someone who prefers a fancy sparkling glass of wine or a hot cup of your favorite drink to calm the muscles, unwind and let yourself dive into the world of dreams before you hit the bed?
Well, you wouldn’t go for the first one unless you want to be up tossing and turning all through the night.
Whenever I couldn’t sleep my mom would hand me a glass of warm milk. You ask why? Because milk helps to sleep!
The age-old traditions and nuskhas are what made us dig deeper into understanding which beverages are a big no-no before bed and which can make you sleep like a baby.
While researching further we found that:
Melatonin, also known as the “the hormone of darkness” released by the pineal gland at night, is associated with the sleep-wake cycle. In day beings, animals and humans, it helps promote sleep while in night owls it promotes energy that keeps them active.
With this, you can understand that our biological clock and melatonin are co-related and responsible for each other. Makes sense, right?
Your choice of drinks/beverages can affect your sleep pattern. Let’s look at some healthy options that you can indulge yourself with for optimal sleep.
Chamomile Tea
A tea infused with chamomile flowers along with a little honey taken an hour before bed is an age-old method to a good night’s sleep. Also known as the “sleep tea”, it is traditionally used to treat insomnia, anxiety and other issues.
A study has shown that the flavonoids in this flowery tea help relax the nerves and muscles. This is one of the widely sought and clinically tested tea.
Benefits of Chamomile Tea:
- Improves Sleep Quality
- Promotes Digestive Health
- Protects against certain types of Cancer
- Helps Control Blood Sugar
- Improves Heart Health
Warm Milk
We all have been told since childhood to have a glass of warm milk with a dash of cinnamon or turmeric before we go to bed. Milk contains tryptophan, an amino acid, that produces hormones needed for a calm good night’s sleep.
Cinnamon helps reduce the levels of bad cholesterol while increasing the levels of HDL. And turmeric, as we all know, is anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant in nature which helps in improving sleep cycles as well as is amazing for the skin.
Tryptophan on consumption converts into melatonin that aids in a good night’s sleep.
Benefits of Warm Milk:
- Packed with Nutrients
- Good Source of Quality Protein
- Benefits Bone Health
- Prevents Weight Gain
- Is a Versatile Ingredient
Coconut Water
Are you surprised to see this in the list? Well, not right!
We all know that coconut water is used as an energy booster. It is also rich in ingredients like magnesium and potassium that help in relaxing the muscles while vitamin B helps reduce the stress levels.
Add this to your bedtime drinks list to boost your energy levels and get that glowing skin for pure coconut water has anti-ageing properties. Ain’t it amazing!!
Benefits of Coconut Water:
- Has antioxidant properties
- Helps prevent kidney stones
- Reduces Blood Pressure
- Heavenly source of hydration
- Supports heart health and benefits against diabetes
Peppermint Tea
A one of its kind herbal tea that helps naturally distress the body.
Whether you had a super hectic day at work, a stressful job interview or an exam coming ahead. Keep all your worries at bay and have a cup of this delicious herbal tea.
It has amazing properties that soothe your stomach, reduce nausea, relieve a tension headache, migraines and anxiety.
Benefits of Peppermint Tea:
- Helps ease bloating and indigestion
- Pure peppermint tea is caffeine-free
- Improves your sleep
- Relieves tension headaches and migraines
- Fights bacterial infections
Hot Chocolate
A traditional beverage that is rich, thick and creamier. A healthier option to cocoa, prepared by adding milk, hot chocolate mix and loads of love & happiness. As delicious as it sounds, it has also been found that it helps the stressed-out sleep better.
Tiggle’s cocoa is outsourced from a tiny village in Tamil Nadu. What’s best than having an unadulterated cup of hot chocolate.
Benefits of Hot Chocolate:
- Lowers risk of strokes and heart attacks
- Reduces cholesterol levels
- Helps in improving quality sleep
- Lowers blood sugar and blood pressure
- Reduces inflammation
Whatever your choice of beverage is, don’t forget to take these along for a good night’s sleep.
Wondering what are these? It’s simple, these are nothing but a touch of love, a dash of silliness and lots of positive thoughts.
Sip one of these and keep all your worries, tensions and anxieties at bay!!
Which is your favourite bed-time beverage? Let me know in the comments.
