Info for better sleep*

Start sleeping better tonight by giving a little extra thought to your food, drink, and supplement choices. Timing is important, too, because it’s not just what you eat and drink, but when you do it.

In a few short years, science has made enormous advances in sleep research. We now know that the range of benefits associated with natural sleep is so holistic, they impact every aspect of our health.

Your screen time habits might be disrupting your sleep. Civil team members had lots of questions about this topic, like, "Is it ever okay to binge on British Bakeoff before bed?" and "Do night modes on devices work?" So we set out to find some science-based answers.

Despite its powerful physiological effects, valerian is sold as a "natural dietary supplement," and regulated as a food, not as a drug. The National Institute of Health cautions that "long-term safety data is not available" for valerian, and there's evidence that valerian can be habit-forming.

Sex relieves stress by boosting oxytocin (the love hormone) and lowering cortisol (the stress hormone). Orgasms also release a hormone called prolactin, which makes you feel relaxed and sleepy.

The hormone melatonin is an important tool for physicians, and it's been proven effective for treating advanced sleep phase syndrome (ASPS), shift-work sleep disorder, and jetlag—all of which relate to the body's circadian rhythm.