Salva Mubarak Senior Features Writer

Listen up, folks! There’s a new wellness trend in town that claims to help get you a proper night’s sleep, something that has become a rarity in the age of countless bingeable shows and infinite scrolling on Instagram.

The wellness trend in question has people drinking lettuce water before bed in hopes of drifting off into peaceful slumber.

TikTok creator Shapla Horka can be credited for introducing the trend to the Internet. In a video that has now racked up millions of views, Horka boils lettuce in some water along with peppermint leaves. She claimed that this hack could help people sleep better and said she dozed off in 30-40 minutes after drinking the dubious concoction.

According to the supporters of the trend, a compound found in lettuce, known as lactucarium, is a natural sedative and can help regulate your sleeping pattern.

So does this work?

Benefits of Drinking Lettuce Water

While it’s true that lettuce contains lactucarium and that it can help in falling asleep, experts believe that the concentration of the compound in lettuce water is too low for it to have any effect on the human body. While a 2017 study did uncover a relationship between healthy sleeping patterns and lettuce consumption, the study was conducted on mice and not humans.

So unless you’re a mouse who has somehow gotten hold of a device that has let you access this article, lettuce water might not be for you. There is no science-backed evidence proving that drinking lettuce water for a good night’s sleep would work.

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However, there are many non-sleep-related benefits of lettuce water. It can help aid digestion and maintain good gut health. Lettuce can also be a great source of calcium and magnesium, which help bone health.

Lettuce water is not the only food item that went viral for its ability to induce the ZZZs. Earlier in October, it was claimed that eating pineapple before bed can help you fall asleep better. As it turns out, there are several factors, and even more lifestyle choices, that need to be considered when you’re trying to regulate your sleep pattern.

So while you can still continue to drink lettuce water, don’t expect it to magically help you sleep better!