Mind-blowing lettuce hack to help you fall asleep in seconds
If you find yourself laying in bed at night unable to sleep, then you may want to pop the kettle on.
But rather than making a cuppa right before bed, try boiling lettuce in a mug, a hack people claim is putting them to sleep in seconds.
While it sounds absolutely insane, there is some truth to the mind-blowing hack, according to the experts, and it's a sure way to tackle insomnia.
TikTok user Shapla Hoque first made the claim in a clip she shared online, which has garnered over 4.8 million views.
In the clip, Ms Hoque boiled a kettle and poured the boiling water on some washed lettuce leaves which were shoved in a mug, before removing them as she sipped on the water.
Worried it would taste disgusting, she popped in a peppermint tea bag for taste, however this isn't a required step - you could try camomile instead which is known to induce sleep.
At first, the nightcap makes her "a bit drowsy" and then in what seems like no time at all, she's completely knocked out in her bed.
Desperate for a decent sleep, people took to the comments and revealed they would give it a go, with one admitting: “On my way to the shop to buy 30 lettuces.”
While someone else said, “My mum used to do this for me, boiled water and leave it in the pan for 5 min on a minimum heat, always worked a treat and it’s all natural.”
So how does it actually work? Studies from 2013 and 2017 say that lettuce, particularly romaine, contains a phytonutrient, called lactucarium, which is said to induce sleep and relieve pain.
According to LadBible, the 2017 report stated: “Lactuca sativa (lettuce), an annual herb which belongs to the Compositae family, is known for its medicinal value. Traditionally, lettuce has been suggested to have a sedative-hypnotic property.”
And concluded: “The results of this study show that lettuce, especially romaine lettuce, is an interesting and cheap source of sleep-potentiating material and antioxidant polyphenols.
“The seed and leaf extracts derived from romaine lettuce potentiates the pentobarbital-induced sleeping behaviour in mice.”