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There’s no shortage of sleep aids out there, but if you’re in a pinch, hot lettuce water might do the trick—if you can get it down.
Of course, this new hack comes courtesy of none other than TikTok. Content creator, @shapla_11, posted a video explaining that she’d heard lettuce water could help you sleep, so she put it to the test.
First, she shoved some romaine lettuce into a mug, heated up some water in a kettle, then poured it over the vegetable. In her words, she didn’t want it to “taste like sh*t,” so she added a bag of peppermint tea to the mix.
Once steeped, she removed the tea bag and the lettuce and took a sip. According to her, the drink “tastes like nothing,” which is better than tasting like hot lettuce.
A few hours later, she reported that she was drowsy. In a second check-in, she’s full-on sleepy and saying the hack works.
@shapla_11 if you can’t sleep, try this #lettucewater #insomnia #lifehacks #fyp
♬ Monkeys Spinning Monkeys – Kevin MacLeod
Clearly, there’s no harm in drinking lettuce water, unless, of course, you have some sort of lettuce allergy. It’s not some weird pill or herb that might give you adverse side effects. But why put yourself through chugging hot lettuce tea if this hack is actually a farce?
Well, because it might actually work, according to science.
Stephanie Nelson, a registered dietician and nutrition expert at myfitnesspal, told Better Homes & Gardens that lettuce contains a compound called lactucin. In one study, lactucin was examined as a potential sedative for rats, and it worked.
Now, this was just a single study, and much more research is still needed, but it appears there’s a good possibility this hack might prove to be scientifically true.
So, yeah, lettuce water might be the new melatonin, or, at least, a viable substitute if you’re out.
Whether it’s just the effect of drinking something warm is yet to be seen, but if you love trying out TikTok hacks, this is likely a safe bet. If it doesn’t work for you, though, there are tons of other tips you can try to get better sleep.
[Via Better Homes & Gardens]
