The latest wellness trend that has been going around the video-sharing platform, TikTok promises to help people with sleeping problems. Instead of going to melatonin gummies that went viral not long ago, this time, Tik Tokers opt for the natural way. They are now sipping on lettuce water!
Lettuce water refers to the liquid leftovers after you soak your lettuce in hot water. It is basically just the same as making a warm cup of tea but instead of steeping a bag of tea, you dunk in leaves of lettuce inside your cup. Some of the people who hopped on this trend tend to put extra ingredients, for instance, peppermint or chamomile to help with the taste. After all, it is lettuce water.
@shapla_11if you can’t sleep, try this #lettucewater #insomnia #lifehacks #fyp
The question is, does it really help? Are there any scientific claims for this trend?
Even though trying out this trend is likely harmless, it may not be the solution for insomnia that you’ve been looking for.
There is not much study or findings that link better sleep in humans with lettuce water but there is indeed evidence that shows a positive effect in mice. A study published in Food Science and Biotechnology found that romaine lettuce contains antioxidants that protect from the stress caused by sleep disturbances and in fact, a source of sleep support.
In another study that was also conducted on rodents, it was claimed that romaine lettuce can help in improving the duration of sleep.
All in all, lettuce water is not proven to be beneficial in terms of sleeping issues for us humans but there is no harm in trying it.
Sources: Verywell Health, Tik Tok @shapla_11