Montmorency Cherries for Insomnia

Sweet dreams

In 2008, researchers studying Montmorency cherries (tart cherries) and cherry juice discovered that cherries are naturally very high in melatonin, a hormone that helps people to sleep. Cherries are the first food to have been found to contain significant amounts of melatonin. Further studies showed that a handful of cherries – ten or twenty – are enough to stimulate a person to become sleepy.

Using Cherries to Prevent Insomnia

Method

• Eat 10-20 cherries right before bed; dried cherries are often easier to find than fresh
• Alternatively, drink a glass of cherry juice before bed.

Why It Works

Cherries are high in melatonin, a hormone that helps the human body to regulate sleep. Normally, melatonin levels in the body rise in response to darkness and drop in response to light. Scientists are still not entirely sure exactly how melatonin affects the brain, but they do know that an increase in melatonin correlates with a tendency to become sleepy.

Precautions

Cherries have no known side effects, even when people take concentrated cherry extracts.

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