My boyfriend has a major problem with falling asleep. He’s tried sleep aids, Benadryl, a shot of Bacardi (haha!), and other supplements that just make him feel groggy in the morning. We’ve had better luck with melatonin, a natural human hormone that your body makes to regulate your sleep cycle. Your body makes more melatonin when you are in a darkened room – a signal to your brain that it’s time to go to sleep.
We were sent samples of Dream Water to test out, and the results were pretty great. Dream Water is a cruelty free, vegan sleep aid. Each 2.5 oz. shot (or 8 oz. drink) has zero calories and tastes great. Melatonin, GABA and 5HTP help you relax, quit worrying about bills and blog posts that you have to write (ahem), and fall asleep. Gregg and I both tried the shots and we felt relaxed, sleepy and were not groggy in the morning.
Dream Water comes in Lullaby Lemon, Snoozeberry and I Dream of Kiwi flavors. The shots are great for airplane travel – and the 2.5 oz. size is allowed in your carry-on. You can order a six-pack of the 2.5 oz. shots for $19.99 at drinkdreamwater.com, or you can buy them at GNC, Duane Reade, Wal-Mart, Walgreens, etc.
More info on the vegan ingredient sources from the makers of Dream Water:
- MELATONIN – Although melatonin is found in minute quantity in certain medicinal herbs, there is, to our knowledge, no industrial-scale commercial source of plant-derived melatonin (also called phytomelatonin). The “natural melatonin” of commerce is extracted from the pineal glands of animals. It is extremely expensive, has limited availability, is unsuitable for vegetarian applications, and presents some risk of contamination by animal viruses and prions. The preferred melatonin of commerce is synthesized from the chemicals 4-methoxyphenylhydrazine hydrochloride, acetic anhydride and 4-aminobutyraldehyde dimethylacetal. Unlike some chemicals, where the synthetic and natural forms can differ in chemical structure and biological utility, synthetic melatonin is identical to natural melatonin, which is why it is called “nature identical”. It is also known as “vegetarian melatonin”. This is the type of melatonin that Dream Water uses.
- GABA – Natural gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) is produced by a natural fermentation process in which Lactobacillus plantarum, a bacterium with a high activity of the enzyme glutamate decarboxylase, converts L-glutamic acid from a rice protein substrate into GABA.
- 5-HTP – Dream Water’s 5-Hydroxy-L-tryptophan (5-HTP) is prepared by extraction from the seeds of Griffoniasimplicifolia. It is chemically unaltered, and is therefore considered to be natural.
I fly twice a week for work, and change three time zones with each trip – the Atlanta airport started carrying this about two months ago, so I buy one after my flight in and before my flight out – helps me adjust better and have less jet lag then if I don't use it! I love them!
I just got a sample of this from drugstore.com, and as my blog name describes I am an insomniac! Glad to hear it worked well for you!
I bought one to compare it to another brand I tried and it didn't help but I have horrible insomnia. I'll give it another try though. Sometimes I need about a week in between things to have something work for me.
Sometimes I suffer from insomnia, maybe I will give this a shot.
Marcia – you might need heavier equipment – might I suggest time-released melatonin supplements – 6-10 mg?
GABA is an excellent compound and is paricularly potent when used with Vitamin B 9 (Folic Acid) .This combination has been shown to , over time ,aid more restfull sleep. Loving the idea of dream water .Good luck with it and you are now in my favourite bookmarks.
Louise St Clair
Paris France
I'm always traveling and hotels are the worst for my beauty sleep! I like my sleep remedy like I like my food, natural! I'm going to give this a try.
Great post! Melatonin is often thought of as a sleep hormone, but it’s also incredibly important for overall health. Melatonin deficiencies have been linked to increased obesity, diabetes, and cancer. Some studies show that supplementing with melatonin (as with dream water) can help reduce these risks. However, I’ve found that the best way to keep your melatonin production up is to simply switch to amber light in the evening. Staying away from bright blue light (that blocks melatonin) can keep your melatonin levels up without having to resort to supplements.