Dream Water: Do you need this souped-up water to sleep?

Bottles of Dream Water. It also comes in a 2.5-ounce shot for air travel and those that have to pee a lot in the middle of the night
Considering that almost 70 million Americans don’t sleep well—and that we’re addicted to coffee and energy drinks—we shouldn’t be surprised to see bottles of Dream Water in every Duane Reade.
The opposite of wire-you-up beverages, Dream Water wants to knock you out when the clock strikes bedtime and you’re still staring at the ceiling, going over today’s anxieties and tomorrow’s to-do list.
So what’s in this sleeping-pill-in-a-bottle? Three “naturally occurring chemicals” that can help bring about sleep (so it might be a step in the right direction if you’re using drugs like Ambien):
1. Melatonin, which the body produces to regulate your sleep cycle
2. 5-HTP (5-Hydroxytryptophan), the amino acid that’s released from warm milk and gives a metabolizing assist to L-tryptophan found in turkey
3. Gamma Amino Butyric Acid (GABA), which works like an anti-anxiety, muscle relaxer (Bonus facts: It’s used as an anticonvulsant in drug form, and as topical Botox in some anti-aging skin-care products.)
Still, you might be better off with a bedtime cup of herbal tea. Like a lot of health beverages out there, Dream Water’s ingredients might be found in nature or your body, but they don’t grow on trees (although 5 HTP can be plant-derived). And the drink also contains food dyes and sucralose, a sugar substitute.
What do you think? Does Dream Water sound better than your guided meditation CD or a totally depleting spin class? What are your tricks for getting more shut-eye? —Melisse Gelula
Dream Water sounds interesting, till you get to the food dyes and sucralose; that drops it off my list. I’m a big fan of Lotus Wei flower essences and their Quiet Mind formula. When we were in NYC recently, our hotel bellman had only been sleeping 1-2 hrs a night for years. We gave him Quiet Mind & Wei Relaxed chocolate with flower essences, and by the time we left, he was sleeping 7 hours/night! Really effective.
the one thing that ALWAYS puts me to sleep is watching television. within 5 mins, i pass out…shows you how truly stimulating it can be.
[...] us to sleep, thanks to added ingredients like melatonin and GABA. Oh, and sucralose and food dyes. (Well + Good NYC) Rot13.write("Lbh pna ernpu guvf cbfg'f nhgube, Puevfgvar Rtna, ba gjvggre be ivn r-znvy ng [...]
[...] us to sleep, thanks to added ingredients like melatonin and GABA. Oh, and sucralose and food dyes. (Well + Good NYC) Rot13.write("Lbh pna ernpu guvf cbfg'f nhgube, Puevfgvar Rtna, ba gjvggre be ivn r-znvy ng [...]