Drinking cherry juice can help you sleep an extra 25 minutes a night, a new study has found.
Researchers from the School of Life Sciences at Northumbria University have found that Montmorency cherry juice significantly increases the levels of melatonin in the body, the hormone which regulates sleep.
In the study, led by Dr Glyn Howatson, 20 healthy volunteers drank a 30ml serving of either tart cherry juice or a placebo juice twice a day for seven days.
The results show cherry juice can be a natural aid to those who have difficulty sleeping because of insomnia, shift work or jet lag, said study leader Dr Glyn Howatson.
‘Although melatonin is available over the counter in other countries, it is not freely available in the UK. What makes these findings exciting is that the melatonin contained in tart cherry juice is sufficient to elicit a healthy sleep response,’ added co-author Dr Jason Ellis.
‘What’s more, these results provide us with more evidence surrounding the relationship between how we sleep and what we consume.’



