Tart Cherry Juice Puts Insomnia to Sleep

ROCHESTER, N.Y.Drinking a glass of unsweetened cherry juice at bedtime may help provide a natural way to curb insomnia, according to a new study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food that examined the effects of the melatonin-rich fruit and sleep deprivation.

Using a randomized, double-blind, crossover pilot study, researchers gave participants a tart cherry juice beverage and placebo for two weeks with an intervening 2-week washout period. Sleep continuity (sleep onset, wake after sleep onset, total sleep time and sleep efficiency) was assessed by 2-week mean values from daily sleep diaries and disease severity by the Insomnia Severity Index in a cohort of 15 older adults with chronic insomnia who were otherwise healthy.

The tart cherry juice beverage was associated with statistically significant pre- to post-treatment improvements on all sleep variables. When compared to placebo, the study beverage produced significant reductions in insomnia severity (minutes awake after sleep onset); no such improvements were observed for sleep latency, total sleep time or sleep efficiency compared to placebo.