The Best and Worst Beverages to Drink Before Bedtime

From warm milk to chamomile tea to a plethora of wellness drinks, there’s no shortage of beverages available that claim drinking them can help you sleep. But which ones might actually serve your slumber? Here’s a list of the best and worst beverages for your sleep — and the ones the jury is still out on.

But it’s important to note that everyone should avoid drinking too much of any beverage just before going to bed (as the need to urinate will wake you up). And this caveat is especially significant if you’re older, have a sensitive bladder, or are on a medication that may increase urination (like SGLT2 inhibitors for diabetes), explains Alon Avidan, MD, MPH, professor of neurology and director of the Sleep Disorders Center at UCLA Health in Los Angeles.

For these individuals, he suggests stopping drinking any beverages (aside from a sip or two of water to quench thirst) three to four hours before bedtime. “It would be ideal to keep primary fluid intake to during the day and drink typical fluids during dinner,” he says.

If you need something to sip on before your slumber, here’s a list of the best beverages to choose from.

Water

Chamomile Tea

“It has a soothing, warming effect — just by knowing you’re taking something that’s more related to relaxation — that by itself can have a positive effect,” says Dr. Avidan. However, if you’re pregnant or nursing, check with your healthcare provider to ensure drinking this tea is safe for you.

Tart Cherry Juice

Dana Hunnes, PhD, a clinical inpatient dietitian at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and adjunct assistant professor at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, says tart cherry juice has sleep-inducing properties.

“Tart cherries are rich in melatonin, the sleep-inducing hormone that we naturally create,” explains Dr. Hunnes, who adds that people might consider eating the fruit rather than drinking the juice. “The naturally occurring sugar in the juice might make you have to urinate more — sugar often pulls additional water to dilute it in the body,” she explains.

Alternatively, there are some beverages that you may want to avoid before heading off to sleep. Here are which ones and why.

Alcohol

It may make you drowsy, but a cocktail doesn’t necessarily make for good sleep. “Alcohol can absolutely disrupt sleep patterns, especially the important brain waves we have when we sleep. It makes it more difficult to fall into a deep sleep,” says Hunnes.

She recommends stopping drinking alcohol of any kind four hours before bed and having no more than one drink per night for better quality sleep. “It takes one hour and 15 minutes to metabolize one drink, so giving yourself the extra time, plus the time to drink additional water to flush it out of your system, can be helpful,” she says.

Coffee

Black or Green Tea

Black and green teas both contain caffeine and are mild diuretics, so they don’t make the best bedtime beverages for the same reasons as coffee, says Avidan. “I would avoid them within four to six hours of bedtime, since even a little bit of caffeine has been shown to be detrimental to sleep patterns and potentially make falling asleep more difficult,” says Hunnes.

Soda

Proceed with caution when it comes to relying on these beverages for better sleep. The evidence to date isn’t there to back up that they can really boost your rest.

Magnesium-Infused Beverage Mixes

Hunnes says magnesium-infused drinks may help with sleep by helping to regulate melatonin (a hormone that helps induce sleep) and lower blood pressure. She mentions, however, the amount of magnesium in these drinks (like Calm) may not be sufficient to really make a difference. “You might be better off getting your magnesium from foods, but since there won’t be caffeine in Calm, there’s no reason to avoid it either,” she says.

Warm Milk

It’s an age-old recommendation, but the science behind this one is far from rock-solid. “It may work because the milk is a comfort food that helps some people fall asleep,” Hunnes says, but it’s because of the placebo effect. “It may also be the tryptophan in it or other proteins that help people fall asleep,” says Hunnes. There’s no good scientific evidence, however, to show it markedly improves sleep.

Avidan adds that warm milk should be approached with caution because it can cause gastric reflux in those with gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. “Drinking a glass of warm milk has always been thought of traditionally as calming, but it comes with a price in folks with reflux,” he adds.

CBD-Infused Drinks

Avidan says he would caution against trying CBD beverages for sleep because there’s variation in how people react to it. Also, there’s a lack of data to hint at whether it’s helping sleep or not and whether it comes with any other risks. “It’s hard to make a recommendation here because it’s not backed by data,” says Avidan.

Enhanced Water

There are several types of enhanced waters on the market right now. For instance, Pepsi’s Driftwell contains L-theanine and magnesium and claims it helps sleep. Avidan cautions that there’s no scientific evidence behind that claim.

The formula for the drink may be based on research that suggests different ingredients (like specific minerals and amino acids) are good for sleep. “But no one has really tested the safety of using this combination in a specific drink,” says Avidan, so we can’t say whether it actually works. “We don’t have the data.”

• If you’re thirsty before bed, your best beverage options are water, chamomile tea, and tart cherry juice.
• However, you should avoid drinks like alcohol, coffee, black or green tea, and soda because they can all disrupt sleep or keep you up at night for various reasons.
• Some drinks, such as enhanced water, CBD- or magnesium-infused beverages, and warm milk, claim they can support sleep, but experts suggest that data for these drinks remains limited.