Hello! I'm Shelby, and like all of us, I just wanna get some damn sleep.
Whatever its origin story, this little nightcap has been blowing up in the last few weeks, a quick search shows countless people trying it, and each video has thousands if not millions of views. So I decided to try it and see if it could actually change my sleep (and, possibly, my life).
The main three ingredients in the drink are pure tart cherry juice, magnesium powder (optional), and some Olipop soda to top it off and add a little fizz. It turns out, there's actually some reasoning behind why this combo may lead to a better snooze. Tart cherry juice naturally contains tryptophan and melatonin, which can both contribute to sleep. Magnesium has also been found to help with sleep because it can assist with feelings of relaxation.
With all that in mind, I headed to the grocery store and bought the ingredients, which weren't too expensive minus the magnesium powder (which was, like, $23!!!). But, I'm sure I'll be able to use it for other things (maybe more Sleepy Girl Mocktails!).
Now, onto the tasting! About a half hour before bedtime, I added some ice to a wine glass so my drink would be nice and cold, and to help myself feel a little ~fancy~.
Next, I dropped in a teaspoon of magnesium powder. I decided to try one with a raspberry lemon flavor because I figured that might work well with the tart flavors of the cherry juice.
After that, I added about a cup of the tart cherry juice and mixed it with a spoon to try and dissolve the magnesium powder.
And finally, the piece de resistance: some Olipop soda on top! I opted for lemon-lime, but any flavor you like would probably work!
Here's what the final product looked like. We love a simple lil' drank!
And with that, I settled into my my couch to rewatch Vanderpump Rules for the 58th time, sip my mocktail, and hopefully prepare for the best sleep of my life.
On my first sip, I only had one word: delicious. I've always been a sour candy type of girl, so the lip-puckering tartness of the cherry juice was right up my alley! And I LOVED the added fizziness from the soda. It made it feel luxurious, even on a Tuesday night. The drink as a whole kinda tasted like cherry cola, actually.
The only problem was that I ended up making a much larger serving than I thought I would, so the carbonation made it a bit of a challenge to finish the whole drink. It's definitely something to sip slowly while you wind down.
Rest assured, I finished the whole thing. It got much sweeter the more I drank it, but it didn't get overly sweet, which I appreciated because I hate when that happens. And as I got down to the last 25% of the glass, I think I started to feel calmer??? Def could've just been placebo, but either way!
A few minutes after finishing my inaugural Sleepy Girl Mocktail, some sleepy feelings started to creep in, so I decided to get ready for bed. Here's me under the covers, just minutes before turning off the light.
I wish I could say that I fell asleep immediately, but I didn't. It was another 30 minutes before I finally drifted off, which could've been due to stress from other things in my life. Who knows! What I'll say is that when I was asleep, I had some SUPER vivid dreams, which I assumed meant I was deep in REM.
Alas, I did end up waking in the middle night, mostly because my cat wanted to play, but I was hoping the drink would knock me out hard enough to avoid that. I did manage to fall back asleep pretty quickly, though, and I had yet another weird dream up until my alarm went off at 6 a.m. (I'd scheduled an early pilates class).
Did I wake up feeling completely refreshed and ready to step on the reformer? No, but I never do for early workouts. HOWEVER, I did feel A LOT more well-rested than I usually do at 6 a.m., so I took that as a win and went to my class.
After I got back, I checked the sleep stats picked up by my Apple Watch, which said that I got a little over seven hours of sleep, and about an hour and a half of REM. According to Harvard University, the average amount of REM is about 20-25% of total sleep time for adults, so I was within the healthy range! How much of that can be attributed to the drink...I can't be sure, but I know the sleep I did get during the night was VERY deep. It felt significantly deeper than the sleep I'd gotten the night before, sans mocktail.
I don't think I'll be drinking the Sleepy Girl Mocktail every night, but it's a great option if you're looking to chill out and would like to do that with something that's alcohol-free but still has lots of flavor. I just wouldn't recommend drinking it early in the morning or midday unless you're trying to take a nap, because sleepiness may ensue.
