An interesting study has been published in the Journal of Medicinal Food, proving that a particular brand of ‘tart cherry juice’ can improve the sleep of older adults with insomnia.
Based on anecdotal evidence that this drink worked well as a sleep aid and was often used by professional athletes, the researchers studied the effects of the juice on over 65s suffering chronic insomnia.
“The findings from this preliminary study suggest that a [tart cherry juice] can modestly improve sleep in older adults with insomnia. [The juice] was associated with significant improvements on each of the sleep continuity variables.”
Overall, there is some statistical evidence of sleep improvement but no real clinical benefit was identified from the study:
“Further, the magnitude of the improvementsat the group mean level was such that participants continued to have a significant amount of sleep disturbance. In fact, using clinical benchmarks, the sample,as a whole, continued to evidence insomnia.”
Sleepio’s Professor Colin Espie commented that the study only focused on one particular brand of juice, so not all cherry juice would have the same result.
“It can’t hurt to give it a try but the effect on sleep problems will probably be minor for chronic insomnia sufferers,” he said.
“Now compare this with almost any fragment of Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and you would have all your cherries lined up in a row – jackpot!”
And a word of warning – if you drink too much of the juice, you’ll be up all night in the bathroom anyway!
Do you swear by any particular food or drink to get you to sleep at night? Share your tips with the Sleepio Community!
Source – “Effects of a Tart Cherry Juice Beverage on the Sleep of Older Adults with Insomnia: A Pilot Study”, Wilfred R. Pigeon,Michelle Carr, Colin Gorman, and Michael L. Perlis, Journal of Medicinal Food, 2010.
Posted in Interesting..., Science | Tagged: Insomnia Information, Science, Sleep News
