Does a Warm Glass of Milk Before Bed Really Help Your Child to Sleep?

You’ve heard, no doubt, the old remedy of a cup of warm milk to help encourage little ones to fall to sleep faster. The remedy really does work for many kids and adults alike, even though it’s hard to determine exactly why it works. There’s been a lot of research done, but there’s no real explanation as to why warm milk may help induce sleep.

Some experts believe that warm milk has psychological effects. In other words, your children will go to bed and sleep after drinking the milk because you told them that it will help. There isn’t really any particular ingredient in milk that has been shown to help encourage sleep. Researchers have proven that milk doesn’t actually increase the amount of tryptophan circulating in your body or brain.

The warmth of the milk may be soothing and that may be all that is needed to encourage your little ones to go to sleep. The routine can also be soothing: children may equate sleep with a warm glass of milk. If warm milk is an effective promoter of sleep, does it really matter why it works?

There could actually be a real ingredient in milk that helps encourage sleep – but no researcher has found any component yet. There may be new research in the future that will find a biological reason why warm milk is effective, but regardless of the lack of evidence, it will continue to be a cure for many frustrated parents and children around the globe.