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TOWARDS GOOD SLEEP: BEDTIME DRINKS

A hot bedtime drink can be soothing and comforting — but bear in mind that it will reach your bladder in the small hours. This might seem obvious, but I've come across more than one elderly person complaining of having to get up to go to the bathroom, without connecting it with their late-night cup of tea! As we get older our kidneys become more active during the night, so the amount an elderly person can comfortably drink before bed will be less than in his or her younger days. If your bladder is a problem, try having your bedtime drink no later than an hour before bedtime.

The tradition of having a hot milky drink at bedtime is probably based on the fact that milk contains both tryptophan and calcium, which is a muscle relaxant and soothing to the nervous system. A cup of hot milk accompanied by a couple of Dolomite tablets (containing calcium and magnesium) can help you get off to sleep, and helps some sufferers from restless legs.

Not all proprietary milky drinks are actually good for sleep; chocolate, for instance, has a high caffeine content. Best is plain hot milk, with maybe a teaspoon of honey, or a malted milk like Horlicks. A sprinkling of grated nutmeg on top is also sleep inducing. If your sleeplessness is related to indigestion, Slippery Elm makes a soothing drink.

Some people find milk hard to digest, and as it is a food in its own right dietary purists would not recommend it last thing at night. This also applies to late night snacks, of course. Some people recommend eating a snack of foods containing tryptophan last thing at night — a bowl of cereal, a banana, or a lettuce sandwich for instance. As discussed in the last chapter, this is the time when the body should be geared for sleep, not for digesting food — and food eaten last thing is more likely to end up as stored fat.

However, this is a choice you must make for yourself: if a late-night snack suits you and helps you sleep, that may be the most important factor while you recover your sleep pattern.

Some people find cider vinegar and honey helps them to sleep; the mixture contains a good supply of trace elements including calcium. Take a teaspoonful of each in a small cup of boiling water.

A very pleasant late-night drink is Norfolk Punch, a nonalcoholic blend of herbs and spices found in health food shops recommended as a relaxant. Some people find that it loses its efficacy if drunk every night; have it as a treat after a particularly fraught day.

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