Can Cherries Help You Sleep?

If I said to you “have some cherries before bed and it will help you sleep!” You would probably laugh at me and think I was joking. But I’m not – as strange as it sounds cherries can help you have a better night’s sleep.

The reason for this is that out of all known fruit, cherries have the highest recorded level of melatonin in them, and that’s what assists you in having better sleep.

What is melatonin?

Melatonin is the hormone that our bodies naturally produce to help us regulate our sleep. Our bodies produce the hormone in response to what our environmental conditions are. This is directly related to how light or dark our surroundings are. Our eyes are very light sensitive, and as such they relay messages to our brain about how dark or light it is, and our brain then produces the melatonin to coincide with our environmental conditions. So when it is bright and sunny our brain keeps us awake, and in contrast when it starts getting dark at night our brain releases melatonin to tell us it is time to go to bed.

So if you are feeling wide awake at night or just want a little natural help in getting some sleep then how about giving your body a boost of melatonin just before bed? The melatonin in cherries is naturally occurring and healthy for you, and as an added bonus tastes great and helps you sleep better.

Insomnia and sleep deprivation are a rapidly growing health problem and by using natural means to have a better night’s sleep your body will thank you. So for the best result try eating cherries just before bed and let yourself be soothed into having a great night’s sleep.