For many years, I have had a very difficult time sleeping! 10 years ago I was prescribed sleeping medicine to help me sleep. Little did I know back then how terrible these were for you and how hard it is to get off of medicine for sleeping. As I made my journey to a healthier lifestyle, I knew it was time to get off of this medicine. With the help of Chris Dillon of Nu-Health Strategies, I have been able to do just that!
Today I am going to share a recipe that Chris Dillon created for me that helps me sleep naturally. I have a glass of this drink every night and it really helps me relax and get sleepy and more importantly, it helps me stay asleep! Here are the ingredients; Bedtime tea, unrefined sea salt, natural sugar (raw honey, sucanat etc…), gelatin and fat.
There are several elements to this drink and Chris explains why it is necessary to include each ingredient in this recipe.
Salt: Salt brings down adrenalin and other stress hormones. The reason why people have trouble falling asleep or wake up in the middle of the night is due to stress hormones being elevated. Salt downregulates their actions.
Sugar: Honey or sugar is a disaccharide (glucose and fructose). Fructose inhibits glucose from blood sugar to spike. Glucose by itself will cause blood sugar handling issues. This is why honey, sugar, and fruit will not spike blood sugar. When you sleep, you are fasting and you need reserved glycogen stored in your liver to help maintain balanced blood sugar levels while you sleep. When our blood sugar drops, it raises our stress hormones and causes us to wake up. Having a sugar reserve helps prevent this from happening along with the salt to control adrenaline rising.
Gelatin: Gelatin is a protein that is high in proline and glycine which helps counteract tryptophan and cysteine’s stressful effects on the brain. Glycine is recognized as an “inhibitory” neurotransmitter and promotes natural sleep. Tryptophan is the precursor to serotonin, which causes inflammation.
Fat: Fats like heavy cream, milk, cheese and so forth help balance the ratios of proteins and carbs in the tea. The fats help keep blood sugar balanced.
I should also note that “bedtime tea” does state to consult your healthcare provider prior to use if you are pregnant or nursing, taking any medication or if you have a medical condition. You can also choose a green tea, red tea, white tea etc…just make sure that there is no caffeine in the tea and that the tea is a right fit for you.
You can play around with this recipe to see which amounts suit you, but it is very important to have all of these elements to create a restful night’s sleep. Give it a try and let me know how your night’s sleep was!
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My Bedtime Drink That Guarantees A Restful Night’s Sleep!
Prep Time: 2 minutes- Cook Time: 5 minutes
- Total Time: 7 minutes
Yield: 1 serving 1x
Category: drink
Method: stovetop
Cuisine: american
Print Recipe
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Learn how to make a bedtime drink that creates a restful nights sleep!
Ingredients
- 1 teabag of bedtime tea
- 16 oz of filtered water
- 1/4–1/2 tsp unrefined sea salt
- 1/4–1/2 tsp natural sugar (sucanat, raw honey, etc..)
- 1 tbsp gelatin from a grass fed source
- 2–3 tsp half and half, heavy cream, raw milk
Instructions
- Heat water in a kettle.
- Add all ingredients to your cup except your cream and tea bag.
- Pour hot water into your cup and stir.
- Add cream and tea bag and let steep for 5 minutes.
- Remove tea bag and drink.
About Chris Dillon
Chris Dillon is a Chek Practitioner, Holistic Nutrition & Lifestyle Coach, Metabolic Typing Advisor and a Massage Therapist. Chris has helped thousands of people to understand health and nutrition better. He is very passionate about educating people about health. I have learned a ton from Chris!
Don’t have all the ingredients? No problem! Click on the links below to see where you can purchase them.
I find that using this “formula” with The Tao of Tea’s 100% Organic Chamomile & Lavender tea works great for me.
Is this your first time trying it Jan, or have you been drinking this for some time now?
For a long while…
What an interesting post! I often drink herb teas with honey before bedtime, but this drink sounds even better.
@The21stCenturyHousewife This has been working so much better for me than just regular herbal teas. The Yogi Bedtime Tea has so many natural herbs in it that “regular” bedtime teas don’t.
If you can do do dairy, can you do coconut oil?
If you can not have dairy, can you substitute with coconut oil?
@nicoleplihal I would not use coconut oil or coconut milk. Coconut speeds up your metabolism and can keep you awake. You could make some fresh almond milk (store bought is so bad for you) or choose another fat all together.
@hallecottis @nicoleplihal I can not do almonds either? what fat do you suggest? thank you!
@nicoleplihal so you can’t do cheese either then right? Is grass fed butter out of the question too? What do you usually have for fat?
@hallecottis yes I have hashimotos, a type of hypothroidsim. I do not eat gluten, dairy or almonds. I do coconut oil or animal fat. Hashimotos messes with your sleep and adrenals are usually related so I am always looking for something to help me sleep.
thank you
warmly
Nicole
Do you know how the salt would affect someone with high blood pressure?
Halle, is it possible to use the agar powder? I have run out of the gelatin and can get the bulk agar less expensively. Another outstanding side effect of this is that my fingernails have grown longer and stronger than they have in years? Will the agar help continue to help my nails? It does help me sleep better.
My question is for Chris. If I make a milkshake like he does should I use whole milk and then not add the half and half?
The question about the Agar was never answered. I too would like to know if it can be substituted?
@Dford702 I would venture to say that Agar wouldn’t be the best choice for this tea. Agar powder is low in protein and great lakes gelatin is a great source of protein (6 grams per serving), making this drink a well balanced bedtime drink (carbs/fats & protein).
How about a brown rice protein powder instead?
Was it just me, or was this the most horrible tasting thing I’ve ever tried?
@kthack I didn’t like it much either. You know what I started doing and it works great for me? I took the 1/4tsp of salt and dissolved it in a small amount of water, and just downed it one gulp to get it over with. Then I drank the tea as prescribed (minus the salt). It’s enjoyable without the salt in it. But I still get the much needed salt. Perfect. 🙂