Is lettuce decoction really the secret to sleep?

The decoction with lettuce leaves, combined with a sachet of mint tea, is the latest trend dedicated to well-being that comes from Tiktok. L’hashtag #lettucewater has over 31 million views. The creators post videos on the soporific effect of this lettuce-based drink in boiling water which, however, has no scientific basis and arouses skepticism (it is not the first time that trends not to be copied have come from TikTok, but this fortunately has no side effects , apart from the slightly bitter taste).

There are no scientific studies to prove the relaxing effectiveness of lettuce, but it is true that this vegetable has been used in alternative medicine as a sedative and pain reliever for centuries. On the web, the powers of lettuce are enhanced by numerous articles. It appears that the relaxing active ingredient is there lattucina found in the leaves.

As reported by the New York TimesAccording to Dr. Michelle Drerup, this trend could have its roots in a Korean study from 2017 which, however, combined the lettuce decoction with a sedative. In short, a few boiled lettuce leaves in any case would not be enough to stimulate sleep.

The most likely thing, experts say, is that it is a placebo effect. “If you expect something to work, you probably feel more sleepy,” he told a Insider Marie-Pierre St-Onge, associate professor of nutritional medicine and director of the Sleep Excellence Center at Columbia University’s Irving Medical Center.

A meta-analysis of 13 studies published in 2018 found that people who suffered from insomnia and took a placebo thinking it was a drug had improved sleep quality compared to the group who took nothing.

When you are convinced of the effectiveness of a solution and stop trying to sleep, then you sleep, because there is nothing worse than getting anxious about not sleeping to continue staying awake.

DOES SPORT WORK BETTER THAN LETTUCE DECOCT?

And if training was the best weapon sleep friendly that we have available to sleep better? According to Dr Verena Senn, a neurobiologist and head of sleep research at Emma – The Sleep Company, there is a strong positive two-way relationship between sleep and exercise. Specifically, exercising regularly stimulates the body to secrete cortisol, the stress hormone, which activates the alert mechanism in the brain.

Depending on your personal training level, he recommends 30 minutes to over an hour of daily exercise, to be done at least 2-3 hours before bed, in order to have positive effects on sleep. First of all, an increase in the duration of sleep, but also in its deep phase, as well as better quality. Physical activity also helps those suffering from insomnia or sleep disorders, by acting on the reduction of the time of falling asleep and the total time of wakefulness. According to studies, those who performed resistance or aerobic circuits with moderate intensity recorded an increase in total sleep time and its quality and a significant reduction in pre-sleep anxiety.

Dr. Verena Senn explains that, while it is commonly believed that evening physical activity creates physiological arousal and hinders sleep due to increased heart rate, endorphin levels, and the circadian phase shift that controls the sleep cycle. wakefulness, it is equally important to know that sport at the end of the day can also have positive effects. In fact, during exercise the body temperature rises and then decreases shortly after, imitating the natural change that occurs before falling asleep. However, it is essential to take into account individual differences, everyone should identify personal preferences and observe the responses of their body. For example, for the “owl” chronotypes (those who take longer to wake up in the morning, but are active in the evening), the evening exercise leads to a shortening of the time to fall asleep, while for the early chronotypes (“larks”), sport at the end of the day it delays falling asleep.