Tart Cherry & Almond Nightcap
Tart cherry, banana, and almond butter blended with warm-spiced kefir into a soft pink, lightly sweet drink for the hour before bed.
Why it works
Montmorency tart cherries contain melatonin at a level unusual for food, along with tryptophan and anthocyanins that appear to slow its breakdown. Small randomized trials of tart cherry juice have shown modest increases in total sleep time and sleep efficiency, on the order of twenty to thirty extra minutes, which is worth having and is not a sleeping pill. Banana and almond butter supply magnesium and a little carbohydrate, which helps tryptophan cross into the brain, and the fat and protein stop a late drink from becoming a blood sugar dip at two in the morning. Keep the portion modest: a large volume of anything close to bedtime tends to wake you for other reasons.
Tart cherry for sleep has several small randomized trials with consistent, modest effects. Study sizes are small and mostly short.
Ingredients
- 180 ml unsweetened tart cherry juice
- 120 ml plain kefir
- 1 small frozen banana (about 90 g)
- 1 tbsp (16 g) almond butter
- 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- Pinch of sea salt
Method
- Pour the liquid into the blender first, then add the soft ingredients, then anything frozen or hard on top. Blending in that order keeps the blades in liquid instead of spinning against a frozen block.
- Blend on low until it breaks up, then on high for 45 to 60 seconds, until no flecks remain and the texture is even.
- Taste and adjust: a splash more liquid if it is too thick to pour, a squeeze of citrus if it tastes flat, a few more ice cubes if you want it colder.
- Drink it soon after blending. The texture separates within about ten minutes, and the colour dulls as the cut surfaces oxidise.
