This drink is supposed to help you sleep—does it work?

While you may not believe everything you read (or watch) on the Internet, there is some scientific validity to the idea that tart cherry juice is good for sleep. For example, in a 2019 pilot study, researchers found that participants diagnosed with insomnia slept an average of 84 minutes longer when they drank tart cherry juice for two weeks1. True, the participants drank a glass more than once, and twice a day — in the morning when they woke up, and one to two hours before going to bed every night.
According to celebrity chef and longevity expert Serena Poon, CN, CHC, CHN (who was not involved in the study), tart cherry juice may appeal to those struggling to fall and sleep because it contains two natural hypnotics : melatonin and tryptophan.
“Melatonin is a hormone (usually induced by darkness) that is produced naturally in the body and regulates your circadian rhythm accordingly,” Poon tells mindbodygreen via email. And we all know tryptophan as the amino acid in turkey that supposedly helps us sleep after every Thanksgiving meal.