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How Much Tart Cherry Juice Should I Drink?
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Increasing your intake of melatonin is likely to prompt you to fall asleep quicker and experience better sleep quality. Tart cherries also contain melatonin, and there is evidence to show that drinking tart cherry juice increases melatonin available in the body. Drinking a glass of tart cherry juice after a meal of sleep-supporting foods may provide added benefit. Similarly, drinking tart cherry juice may be most effective for sleep when it is consumed in the evening. In sleep research of tryptophan supplements, experts have people take tryptophan before bed. Each day, people require about 250 to 425 milligrams of tryptophan. Tryptophan helps the body produce melatonin, therefore it is essential to a good night’s sleep.Įvery 100 grams of tart cherries contain about 9 milligrams of tryptophan. Melatonin is a sleep hormone secreted at certain times of day to help the body transition to sleep.
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Tart cherry juice’s positive effect on sleep is likely due to tryptophan and melatonin. Studies suggest that consuming tart cherry juice leads to better and longer sleep. One-third of Americans report not sleeping enough each night. Learn more about how tart cherry juice improves sleep, how much you should consume if you want to try this natural health aid, and other health benefits of tart cherry juice. Research suggests tart cherry juice may also help people sleep. The juice of sour cherries, also known as tart cherry juice, can help fight inflammation, reduce muscle soreness, and boost your immune system. (6) The high concentration of vitamin C and anthocyanins-an antioxidant-rich flavonoid-in cherries may also help reduce oxidative stress present in patients with sleep disorders.Cherries, particularly sour or Montmorency cherries, have been demonstrated to provide a variety of health benefits. (4-5) It has also been studied in reference to joint pain and flexibility-specifically for those with osteoarthritis-but results weren’t definitive, as improvements were seen halfway through the study but not at the end. Studies examining the impact of tart cherry juice as well as Montmorency tart cherry juice supplementation on exercise-induced inflammation, and muscle soreness found that it reduced inflammatory markers and increased the antioxidant capacity for both cyclists and marathon runners. Serotonin is also the building block for melatonin, the key hormone that regulates sleep. Tryptophan is an amino acid that plays an important role in the production of serotonin, the “happy hormone” that helps stabilize our mood. Provides a natural source of tryptophan (2-3) Concluding that tart cherry may lead to improved sleep duration and quality. There were also corresponding increases in total time spent in bed, time spent asleep, and sleep efficiency. Results showed that total melatonin content was significantly elevated in the melatonin group but not for the placebo group. (1) In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study, volunteers consumed either a placebo or tart cherry juice concentrate for 7 days.
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Tart cherries (and their juice) have been studied in both young and older adults as natural sleep remedies shown to increase exogenous melatonin levels.
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