Cherry juice could help you sleep 84 minutes longer, study says

If tea or other sleep tonics haven’t worked for you, consider adding this sugary drink to your bedtime ritual. We’re serious - science says that cherry juice could help tack 84 extra minutes of slumber to your night. That’s 84 minutes you’re not tossing and turning, and 84 minutes of REM your body desperately needs.

A study published in the American Journal of Therapeutics found that the juice contains certain compounds that inhibit the brain from sabotaging its sleep cycle with certain chemicals. The compounds can stop the release of these chemicals at the source, helping people to sleep longer and better throughout the night.

Participants were split into two groups. One group drank the juice and the other drank a placebo solution. After two weeks, they swapped. Both groups experienced way better nights of sleep drinking the cherry juice than the alternate drink. When drinking cherry juice, participants increased their sleep by an average of 84 minutes.

In a world where scientists are warning that our lack of sleep is killing us, this new discovery is a big deal. The more sleep we can get, the better.

Cherry juice has many other helpful qualities to it, as well. For instance, it’s rich with antioxidants such as procyanidins and anthocyanins - both of which are linked to reduced inflammation and lowered risk of cancer. Sleep helps prevent cancer, too. So it’s a win-win. Cherry juice is, without a doubt, an anti-inflammatory elixir you should be drinking right now.