Cherry juice the key to sweet dreams
Those who suffer from insomnia or a broken sleep pattern will be relieved to learn that drinking cherry juice can improve both the quality and duration of sleep.Researchers from the School of Life Sciences at Northumbria University have found that consuming Montmorency cherry juice boosts production of melatonin, the hormone which controls our sleep.
Published this week in the online edition of the European Journal of Nutrition, the team’s findings conclude that the juice improves sleep efficiency and may even help tackle the effects of jetlag.
The study saw 20 healthy subjects drink a 30ml serving of either tart cherry juice or a placebo juice twice a day for a week with those consuming the juice displaying melatonin levels that were 15-16 per cent higher than the control.
Participants also wore a device to monitor sleep and kept a diary of their sleep patterns to record the duration and quality of sleep. The results from both showed volunteers spent longer in bed and registered a better quality of sleep.
Lead researcher Dr Glyn Howatson, said: "These results show that tart cherry juice can be used to facilitate sleep in healthy adults and, excitingly, has the potential to be applied as a natural intervention, not only to athletes, but to other populations with insomnia and general disturbed sleep from shift work or jet lag."
