Sleeping Disorders - Drinks before bed

Drinks that help sleep
What you drink in the hours before heading to bed and falling asleep can have a major bearing on the quality and quantity of rest that you will experience every night. If you are having trouble falling asleep and are unable to identify or haven't been diagnosed with a sleeping disorder pay careful attention to what you're consuming during the day.

Here are a few things to consider


Water is great for hydration but our bodies have another response to it – the bathroom. An excess of water before bed can cause you to get up during the night so limit what you drink in the hours before your bedtime. Warm water vcan be very soothing and is a good alternative to a cup of tea or coffee.


Warm milk is probably the most common recommendation for food before bed time. There is little evidence that it has a significant physiological effect, the amino acids and hormones present are miniscule but it may have a psychological benefit.

Drinking a warm glass of milk before bedtime is very comforting, and may take us back to relaxing safe themes of childhood and mothering. The routine can be helpful to prepare our bodies to ready for sleep


Herbal teas such as peppermint, jasmine, spearmint and lavender can help you relax before bedtime and may aid the sleep process. Chamomile tea is especially effective. It is a calmative and works as a mild sedative It can help with the anxiety of being unable to drift off to sleep.


Alcohol will help you fall asleep, in small doses it is a sedative. However it prevents the brain from entering the deeper stages of sleep and will result in a less restive night. One or two drinks will probably not have much effect but if you regularly drink more than this it may be a leading cause of your sleeping problems. Try a few days without a drink and see what happens, it might be the best change you can make to your life.

Any more than a few drinks and the sedative effect will reverse, it becomes a stimulant. This will lead to even more troubles with sleep


Coffee and tea contain caffeine, which is a stimulant. If you’re having problems with falling asleep avoid these caffeinated drinks, and chocolate and cocoa for up to 8 hours before bedtime. The stimulant will increase the activity in our nervous systems and make the process of drifting off increasingly difficult. If you drink a lot of coffee at the moment, cut down gradually to avoid the onset of withdrawal symptoms.