Sip, Unwind, Sleep | Your New Favourite Evening Wind-Down

If you struggle to sleep, you’re not alone.  1 in 3 of us  in the UK have trouble nodding off at night, no matter how hard we try to get the perfect work-life balance. If you are really struggling with sleep over an extended period of time, it’s always best to reach out to a professional. These tips are designed to support a healthy sleeping pattern and are absolutely not a fix-all for ongoing sleep issues - as much as we wish that we could give you that! 

There’s plenty of advice out there on how you can set yourself up for a dreamy night’s sleep. From choosing oh-so soft  bedding  made from a breathable material to dimming the lighting and cooling your bedroom, and how  putting your house to bed  will make you feel ready to nod off.. 

What you eat and drink as dusk draws in can impact your sleep quality. So, we’re diving into the details of the drinks that could support sleep to help you get some beautiful shut-eye.

If there’s one drink that’s established itself as a go-to for winding down on an evening, it’s a cup of tea. Not your morning mug of English Breakfast, but herbal and fruit teas, such as lemon balm, chamomile tea, or lavender tea. These hot drinks can give feelings of  calm , the perfect antidote for a busy day.

Contrary to the name, most fruit and herbal teas aren’t made from the tea plant. Instead, they’re a mixture of flowers, botanicals, roots, seeds, and, you guessed it, fruits and herbs. If you welcome in the evening with a mug of these soothing flavours, the herbs can try their best to work their magic on neurotransmitters in your brain to support the lowering of stress and anxiety, hopefully easing you into a peaceful mindset that’ll make nodding off that little bit easier. 

Most herbal and fruit teas are naturally caffeine-free, so you needn’t worry about feeling over-stimulated after a cup. However, it’s probably best to check the label on your chosen herbal tea, just to be sure.

Fruit and herbal teas are our favourite tipples before we close our  blackout curtains  and get comfy under  organic cotton  sheets. There are so many flavours, but current favourites include:

• Chamomile tea

• Lemon balm tea

• Lavender tea

• Peppermint tea

• Passionflower tea

Can you drink coffee before bed? If you opt for a mug of decaffeinated coffee, then it is less likely to disrupt your sleep. For coffee enthusiasts, decaf is an ideal compromise. It treats you to that lovely taste, without the stimulants. 

Where tea (and increasingly, decaf coffee) are firm favourites for nighttime routines, there’s a host of alternative homemade drinks proving popular for helping you get some shut-eye.

Though an alcoholic drink can make you feel sleepy, alcohol itself disrupts the sleep cycle. You may fall asleep quicker, but you’ll likely end up having a night of broken sleep or low quality sleep, which will leave you feeling sluggish the next morning. 

So if you’d still like a sip of something cool and refreshing but don’t fancy compromising your sleep, then we might just have the perfect solution: the Sleepy Girl Mocktail.

Made famous by Gracie Norton, a  TikTok  creator, the Sleepy Girl Mocktail is a simple drink many people globally are claiming to have helped improve their sleep.. It combines tart cherry juice with magnesium powder and soda or sparkling water, and is served over ice. So, why does it seem to work?

The Science behind the Sleepy Girl Mocktail  

Cherry juice is a natural source of one of the hormones that helps  regulate sleep : melatonin. Your body releases this hormone in response to darkness, so you feel more ready for sleep. The more melatonin-rich foods and drinks you consume, the more chance you have to add to your body’s natural supply.

Magnesium is a firm favourite in nighttime rituals as it helps regulate the neurotransmitters involved in relaxation and can  raise GABA levels  (a neurotransmitter that induces calmness), aiding sleep. 

How to Make the Sleepy Girl Mocktail 

1. Fill a glass with ice.

2. Pour in half a glass of pure tart cherry juice.

3. Mix in a tablespoon of high quality magnesium powder.

4. Top with sparkling or soda water (and why not try a flavoured mixer, like lemon soda, too? Just nothing that will spike your blood sugar too much).

Mixing the cherry juice and magnesium powder with soda or sparkling water gives the feeling of a bubbly treat, which you can keep cool by serving over ice. It’s perfect for unwinding on a summer’s evening, but you could also try serving at room temperature during the  winter months  for a soothing nightcap.

Another tried and tested drink that can help sleep is the rather humble cow’s milk. Whether it’s a simple glass of cold milk or a mug of warm milk, it’s thought that the tryptophan (an amino acid) inside milk plays a key role in improving sleep. In fact, a single glass of high-fat milk contains  80%  of the reference daily intake of tryptophan. The amino acid is involved in producing melatonin, the same hormone found in cherry juice (and the Sleepy Girl Mocktail). 

Tryptophan plays a part in serotonin production, which is a neurotransmitter responsible for things that can affect sleep quality, like mood and memory. Interestingly, only around  10%  of serotonin is produced in your brain, with the remaining 90% found in the cells which line your gastrointestinal tract. Serotonin is released into your blood, where it circulates around the body, then is absorbed by platelets. Eating foods and drinking fluids which are rich in tryptophan can promote serotonin production, and in turn, can impact the quality of your shut-eye.

Other Sources of Tryptophan 

If you’re dairy intolerant, dairy-free, don’t like the taste of milk, or simply want to enrich your diet with more tryptophan-rich foods, try recipes that incorporate:

• Poultry (such as chicken or turkey)

• Seafood (like fish and crab)

• Seeds (like sunflower or pumpkin)

• Nuts (such as walnuts and cashews)

• Tofu

• Soy beans

Are Milk Alternatives Good for Sleep?

Many milk alternatives, like the popular almond milk, can be sources of tryptophan. Almond milk is a double-whammy as it contains magnesium too, so the plant-based drink may support relaxation  and your natural sleep cycle. Try warming a cup of almond milk and drinking an hour or so before you close your eyes, this should be soothing - not to mention delicious.

All’s left to do now is to pull your  pyjamas  on, get comfy with a hot or cold drink, and unwind. For an extra cosy bedtime, check out our advice on  how to make the most comfortable bed  and  choosing your perfect nightwear .