Cherry Almond Smoothie – Natural Sleeping Potion

Amy Goodrich

11 years ago

A while ago I shared one of my green smoothie recipe on Facebook and Google+. Through a comment of one of my friends, Hung from Sydney, it came to my attention that having cherries 1 hour before bedtime makes you fall asleep much faster and promotes a better night’s rest.

Being an excellent sleeper myself, I always just have to go to bed. And after less than 5 minutes, I’m asleep. I never experienced this benefit myself. But I had a nice little chat with that guy and he tried my smoothie out and gave me some great feedback.

He already used cherries to improve his sleep. But according to his finding, the spinach helped him not to wake up in the middle of the night.

So, the curious person I’m, I did some research to see if I actually discovered an all-natural sleeping potion that could help you to fall asleep faster and add some hours to your sleeping time.

ALSO READ: How To Sleep Better, 9 Amazing Tips To Fall Asleep Faster

A Closer Look At The Ingredients

Cherries: help you to fall asleep faster. In fact, researchers found that especially tart cherries boost melatonin levels to help people with insomnia to sleep better.

Almond milk: evidently, almonds are an excellent source of magnesium, which promotes sleep and muscle relaxation. On top of that, almonds supply proteins that keep your blood sugar levels stable while you are sleeping.

Spinach: Along with spinach, the other leafy greens like kale and collards boost calcium levels. Studies suggest that calcium deficiencies may have an effect on how fast you fall asleep.

Bananas: Another great source of magnesium and potassium which helps to relax overstressed muscles. The bananas are also a good source of vitamin B6, which is needed to make melatonin, a sleep-inducing hormone.

Cinnamon: the scent of cinnamon is known to relax and decrease frustration. Although there is no scientific evidence that cinnamon provides a better sleep, it’s a yummy addition and its scent may help you to wind down after a stressful day.

Raw Cacao Powder: even though this delicious addition was in my original smoothie recipe if you suffer from sleeping issues you shouldn’t add cacao as it has a mild stimulating effect. Not as much as coffee, but still. You could try and add a bit less and see if it works and gradually add more.

Cherry-Almond Smoothie

Ingredients (serves 2)

2 cups spinach
2 cups almond milk, unsweetened
1 tsp cinnamon (or vanilla extract)
2 cups pitted fresh cherries
2 small bananas
3 tbsp cacao powder

Directions

Blend the spinach and almond milk until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend again. If you own a high-speed blender, you can throw in all the ingredients at once.

Enjoy!

Nighty night 😉

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