According to a new survey, more than two-thirds of people believe more education and public health initiatives from the government are needed to help promote good sleep health. Professor Jason Ellis of Northumbria University said: “Over the past few years there’s been a growing awareness of the impact sleep can have on our physical and mental wellbeing and not just for those with sleep problems.” Lisa Artis of the Sleep Council said: “We understand there’s complexity around sleep. You can’t just tell people to get eight hours of sleep a night. Some people would clearly love to but don’t know how to go about doing that or there may be external factors stopping them.” According to health experts a simple drink could help with those battling with insomnia and getting more shut eye.
Cherry juice could hold the cure to a good night’s sleep. Tart cherries, also known as sour, dwarf or Montmorency cherries, have become increasingly popular over the last couple of years.
Tart cherry juice is loaded with nutrients including fibre, protein, vitamin A, C, K, manganese, potassium, copper and calcium.
Tart cherry juice may be safe and effective way to treat insomnia and increase the amount of sleep you get each night.
That’s because tart cherries are naturally rich in melatonin, a hormone responsible for sleepiness.
Moreover, tart cherries contain a good amount of tryptophan and anthocyanins, two compounds that may help the body create melatonin and lengthen its effects.
Research shows that supplementing with tart cherry juice increases levels of melatonin and helps improve sleep quality and duration.In one study, participants suffering from insomnia drank either 480ml of tart cherry juice or the same amount of a place juice each day for two weeks.
The cherry juice increased sleep time by an average of 85 minutes.
In another study that involved 15 elderly adults with chronic insomnia, the study found that drinking cherry juice had a small beneficial effect on their sleep patters.
The study was carried out by researchers from several US institutions including the University of Rochester, Veterans Affairs Centre of Excellence and the University of Pennsylvania.
Professor Jason Ellis of Northumbria University said: “Over the past few years there’s been a growing awareness of the impact sleep can have on our physical and mental wellbeing and not just for those with sleep problems.”
