Sleepy Milk Recipe (To Help You Fall and Stay Asleep) (2024)

Sleepy Milk Recipe (To Help You Fall and Stay Asleep) (1)

Have you laid in bed hoping to fall asleep, but sleep seems the furthermost thing from your mind? Often attributed to adrenal fatigue, nighttime restlessness is a serious problem that even I struggled with. The answer? This Sleepy Milk Recipe.

Passed down to me by an Ayurvedic practitioner and then altered to avoid casein, this milk put me to sleep many a night. It’s wonderful when the nights are colder and winding down seems to a challenge.

I have recommended it to clients in the past who have also found that sleep came much easier to them.

Since Golden Milk has become such a hit, I figured that now was the time to share a simple recipe like this that could dramatically improve your sleep.

Sleepy Milk Recipe (To Help You Fall and Stay Asleep)

Sleepy Milk Recipe (To Help You Fall and Stay Asleep) (2)As a kid, I remember my mom warming up milk before bedtime. She swore that it helped her wind down and get some sleep.

Though milk and I aren’t friends due to a food sensitivity, Sleepy Milk Recipe was a game-changer for me. At night, I’d toss and turn. My brain couldn’t shut off.

In yoga, we call that “monkey mind” and boy is it annoying (and stressful!).

Unfortunately, it is a very common symptom of adrenal fatigue that can go hand in hand if thyroid issues are present.

To help my own “monkey mind”, Sleepy Milk became my drink of choice. It is easy to make from very simple ingredients.

The ghee increases the fat content to help your system go to sleep since most dairy-free milks don’t contain fat. If you can drink milk, you could leave out the ghee if you don’t want it.

To be fair and give credit where credit is due, the recipe came from Maria Garrewho I worked with for a period of time to take a different approach to digestive health. Many of her tips were very helpful and have stayed with me over the years.

Spices and Gluten

Sleepy Milk Recipe (To Help You Fall and Stay Asleep) (3)It seems to come as a shock to many in that gluten can be found in spices.

Typically it’s a matter of contamination, though there are a few spices that do contain wheat such as the Indian spice called Hing(also known as Asafoetida).

That said, it’s imperative that all of your spices come from companies that are actively checking for gluten contamination. There are several that test their spices to obtain the certified gluten freelabel such as Spicely Organics.

Other notable companies like Frontier do not do any such testing as far as I’m aware. The last time I spoke with the company regarding gluten in their spices, the representative told me they did not test because there is gluten in other products.

That’s why it’s unwise to assume that spices are gluten free because they should naturally be gluten free. That’s not how cross-contamination works so wheat won’t show up on the label.

If you want to read more about cross contamination and why you can’t seek out gluten on the label, read more here.

This section is not meant to be a detailed guide, but more as a heads up so that you are more careful when buying spices in the future.

Sleepy Milk Recipe Substitutions


You can essentially use any vegan dairy-free milk you want. However, I would not recommend using the high-fat coconut milk found in cans.

I have never made this substituting the ghee. You could certainly try, but I make no guarantees about the taste or consistency. I use ghee because I do not tolerate butter well.

Ghee is clarified butter wherein the protein and sugar solids are removed leaving only the fat.

However, if you react strongly to casein, it is best that you buy cultured ghee to ensure that 100% of the casein is removed. After speaking with several ghee companies recently, it seems that non-cultured ghee can still contain very small amounts of casein. So you can make the decision of what’s best for you to purchase based on your level of sensitivity.

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Sleepy Milk Recipe (To Help You Fall and Stay Asleep) (4)

Sleepy Milk Recipe (To Help You Fall and Stay Asleep)

Sleepy Milk Recipe (To Help You Fall and Stay Asleep)

Servings Prep Time Cook Time
1 5minutes 5minutes
Servings Prep Time
1 5minutes
Cook Time
5minutes

Ingredients

Servings:

Units:

Ingredients

Servings:

Units:

Instructions

  1. Pick out the mug you'll use. Measure out the amount of dairy-free milk you'd like to drink (usually around 1 cup).
  2. In a small pan over low heat, add your ghee. Then add the spices directly to the ghee. Use a spoon to move the spices around until fragrant (which happens in about 15 seconds or so).
  3. Pour in the dairy-free milk of choice from your mug.
  4. Allow the milk to heat up so that it will be hot enough to drink (but obviously don't let it burn). This should only take 2-3 minutes.
  5. Pour the mixture back into your mug. Add your honey, and enjoy!

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Sleepy Milk Recipe (To Help You Fall and Stay Asleep) (2024)

FAQs

What can I mix with milk to help me sleep? ›

Milk, turmeric, and ginger each contain compounds that may improve sleep quality through a few different mechanisms. Golden milk is a calming drink that combines all three.

What ingredient in milk makes you sleepy? ›

Milk's sleep-enhancing properties are commonly ascribed to tryptophan, but scientists have also discovered a mixture of milk peptides, called casein tryptic hydrolysate (CTH), that relieves stress and enhances sleep.

Does milk help you stay asleep? ›

Dairy products are notably rich in tryptophan, a key compound needed for serotonin and melatonin production, which in turn are instrumental for facilitating our bodies' ability to fall asleep and stay asleep.

How can I fall asleep fast with milk? ›

Drinking a glass of warm milk before bed is a common practice used to promote relaxation and support quality sleep. Some studies indicate that milk may have sleep-promoting qualities for certain people, but more research is needed to understand exactly how milk may affect individual sleep cycles.

What happens if we drink turmeric milk every night? ›

Is turmeric milk helpful for sleep improvement? Turmeric milk is believed to have calming properties, primarily due to its potential to reduce inflammation and soothe the nervous system. Many people find that drinking warm turmeric milk before bedtime can promote relaxation and improve sleep quality.

What is a milk like sedative? ›

Fact: Warm milk has the potential to be soothing and relaxing but it lacks the sedative substances that drugs contain, which are responsible for inducing sleep. Rather having a direct sedative effect, it may indirectly impact the psychological and sensory experience.

Does warm milk and honey make you sleep? ›

In fact, a study including 68 people who were hospitalized for heart disease found that drinking a mixture of milk and honey twice daily for 3 days improved overall sleep quality ( 1 ). Plus, several studies have noted that both milk and honey could enhance sleep when used individually.

Why do warm milk and honey make you sleepy? ›

The science behind the magic

Milk contains tryptophan, an amino acid that increases the production of serotonin – a neurotransmitter that induces calmness. Honey, on the other hand, helps regulate blood sugar levels during sleep and provides our liver with a steady supply of liver glycogen, ensuring a restful night.

How to fall asleep fast? ›

Some of these might include:
  1. reading a book before bed.
  2. not eating lots of carbs 4 hours before bed.
  3. avoiding caffeine at least 6 hours before bed.
  4. journaling at night.
  5. trying yoga, meditating, or the 4-7-8 breathing method.
  6. using essential oils.
Aug 10, 2023

Is there melatonin in milk? ›

Milk contains melatonin in low concentrations at 0.004–0.056 ng/ml (Milagres et al. 2014; Valtonen et al. 2005) which may not be sufficient to promote relaxation and sleep quality; therefore, improvement or supplementation from other sources is needed.

Does warm milk and honey help you sleep? ›

May improve sleep quality

Plus, several studies have noted that both milk and honey could enhance sleep when used individually.

Does a warm glass of milk help sleep? ›

Milk contains a variety of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, that may promote sleep in different ways. Moreover, if partaking in a warm glass of milk is soothing to you for personal reasons, that can help set the stage for a successful night's sleep, experts told Live Science.

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