Can Lettuce Water Actually Aid in Sleeping?
If you have ever suffered from spells of insomnia, you are well aware that there are very few things that are more frustrating than being unable to go to sleep. People will do just about everything in an effort to get a few of solid hours of sleep, including taking melatonin or Benadryl, taking prescription medicines, wearing earplugs, using white noise generators, or sleeping under a weighted blanket. But what if falling asleep was as easy as steeping a few iceberg lettuce leaves in hot water? It seems that this is the case, according to several users of TikTok.
The good news is that you may consume as much lettuce water as you want, whenever you want, all day, every day. Have at it! The bad news is that the excitement is probably not justified in the vast majority of cases.
Although the consumption of lettuce leaf tea has been suggested as a possible remedy for sleeplessness, there is insufficient evidence to support this claim. The origin of this particular health trend is unknown, as is the case with the vast majority of health trends that are spread via social media. However, several types of wild lettuce have a milky material known as lactucarium, which has sedative properties and may be found in these plants.
Conventional lettuces, such as iceberg or romaine, do not contain extremely high quantities of lactucarium. However, lactucarium has been used in traditional cures in Europe for generations, and 19th-century physicians often utilized it as a component in sedative medications (although generally mixed with other ingredients like opium, known to knock you right out).
Several of the movies on TikTok make reference to research that was conducted in 2017 on the effects of the sedative pentobarbital combined with extracts of lettuce leaf and lettuce seed on rats. According to the findings of the research, the mice that were given pentobarbital that had been blended with an extract of green romaine lettuce fell asleep more quickly and remained asleep for up to 20 minutes longer than mice who had been given pentobarbital alone.
Even if there are a few more studies that look at the impact of lettuce seed extract on people and other animals, the reality remains that pouring hot water over many lettuce leaves is not likely to generate a tea that is potent enough to transport you to dreamland. But in all honesty, giving it a go won’t harm, so why not?
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