Getting a good night’s sleep is key to maintaining your wellbeing. Sleep makes up a third of every person’s life, but some 50 to 70 million people in the U.S. struggle with easily falling asleep. So when videos of people drinking lettuce water to supposedly help induce sleep started making their way around social media, it’s no surprise that many people jumped on the trend. But is lettuce water actually a good DIY sleep aid?
As it turns out, people have been using herbal teas to help fall asleep for centuries.
“Steeping wild grasses and leaves have been part of that nighttime tradition and using Lactuca sativa [lettuce], technically an herb, is a newer twist on that process,” says Christina Meyer-Jax, RDN, a health advisor for Lifesum.
Making Lettuce Water
In the lettucewater videos (with millions of views, and counting), all you have to do is grab some romaine lettuce leaves and cover them with boiling water. Let the leaves wilt for a few minutes, drink up, and (apparently) you should soon be feeling drowsy enough to fall asleep.
Before you drown your precious salad greens in water, though, check out what our experts have to say about the potential benefits of drinking lettuce water.
- Christina Meyer-Jax, RDN, is a health advisor at Lifesum, a nutrition app.
- Stephanie Nelson, RD, is the lead nutrition scientist at MyFitnessPal, a healthy habit tracker app.
BETTER HOMES and GARDENS
How Can Lettuce Water Help You Sleep?
“Lettuce has a compound in it called lactucin, which has several potential health benefits,” says Stephanie Nelson, RD, of MyFitnessPal. “One study looked at lactucin’s properties as a potential sedative in mice, leading to the belief that lactucin can help aid sleep.”
Nelson points out this has not been widely tested enough to definitely say that lettuce tea would help people sleep. Basically, the potential is there, but we don’t have enough research to know for sure that it works. Many times, foods that have a theoretical effect don’t have a real-life effect that holds up to the scientific method. We still don’t really know how much lactucin you can steep from lettuce or what the optimal dose of lactucin is for the drowsy results you want.
Can You Use Any Type of Lettuce?
Romaine lettuce is highest in lactucin, according to the study referred to above. If lactucin really is the compound that helps encourage sleep, then romaine lettuce would be the best choice.
“More research needs to be conducted on other forms of leafy greens, such as spinach and arugula, which have different plant properties,” Meyer-Jax says.
Should You Try Lettuce Water?
So should you start adding lettuce water to your nightly routine? That depends. “Lettuce tea certainly isn’t harmful, so you can safely try it and see if it works for you,” Nelson says.
If the thought of drinking hot lettuce tea doesn’t entice you, give decaf tea or plain old hot water a try.
“Both in research and anecdotal evidence, hot water is reported to aid in digestion, detoxification, improve relaxation and stress, and relieve congestion,” Meyer-Jax says. “Having hot water or non-caffeinated tea can also provide a grounding and calming nighttime routine that triggers the senses that it’s time for bed. Being properly hydrated is key to quality sleep.”
So maybe try lettuce water one night and some good, old-fashioned hot water before bed the next; take note of which helps you sleep better, and if you prefer one over the other, you have your answer.