Tart Cherry Juice Can Help Raise Melatonin Levels in Children

  I stumbled across some information on how tart cherry juice can help raise melatonin levels in children. A person who pinned the article reported how it helped her children to sleep longer. Maybe this is the long lost answer to our family's insomnia!

   I use myself as a guinea pig for I appear to have, what is called, 'Primary Insomnia' which is a life-long insomnia that doesn't work with the usual protocol for insomnia. I have tried a number of different things to help with insomnia, as well as my son who also seems to have insomnia. I knew there could be problems when I brought him home from the hospital and he slept during the day, but somehow I could not get him to sleep during the night! Somehow, we worked together on this, and neither of us have figured out how to go to bed early and get a good night's sleep, although for me, things are going better lately.

   My son really likes the Neuro-Sleep drinks that help with sleeping. I like them too. They contain magnesium, which is helpful for a good night's sleep. You can get them at the grocery store for around $3 a bottle. Amazon has them slightly cheaper if you buy them in a 12 pack. You do have to check frequently though, for the price fluctuates almost daily.




   But back to the tart cherry juice. Amazon does carry this product as well, with many reviews. Tart cherry juice has a lot of benefits besides helping to raise melatonin levels in children. It is full of antioxidants as well. Here is amazon's description of one of the tart cherry juices that they carry: Tart Cherries have pleased the palates of food lovers for centuries. Now there are new reasons to love tart cherries. As a recent Newsweek article said "The day when doctors say - 'Take 10 cherries and call me in the morning' - may not be far off." According to ongoing research, tart cherries are a rich source of antioxidants that can help maintain heart health, joint health and blood circulation. The secret is in the pigments that give tart cherries their rich red / black hue. They belong to a class of natural dyes called anthocyanins. These compounds are being called "Mother Nature's all-natural chemotherapy agents." In addition to the antioxidants, tart cherries are rich in two important flavonoids - isoqueritrin and queritrin. According to leading researchers, queritrin is one of the most potent agents ever discovered. Consuming it in foods, such as tart cherries, is like unleashing inside your body an entire army of agents that are adept at neutralizing harmful oxidants in the body.

   So, if you want to take good care of your family, and you want each member to stay healthy, perhaps tart cherry juice is part of the answer. 



Here is the one recommended for children to use to help their melatonin levels to increase:




Magnesium is very helpful in allowing people to fall asleep. Whatever works, which could be different for each person, should be used, but should be as close to natural as possible.

One more suggestion about trying to get to sleep that has been helpful to us. If you have an I-Phone or I-Pad, you can download 'white noise' apps. They are very helpful in helping people to relax. Not only children do well with these kind of apps, but also adults sleep better.

  Here is a picture of a white sound machine sold on amazon.com:



And here is one made for babies:




  Of course, you could always play Christmas music in your baby's room. We didn't have noise machines available when my children were babies, so we improvised. I made up audio tapes of Christmas music and would play it in my daughter's room. She absolutely adores Christmas music to this day, some 34 years later!

  You could sing to your baby too! That didn't work as well for me as the Christmas music did though. But some people find that successful in getting their children to relax.

  On the phone app, there are a variety of sounds besides the white noise one. Actually, there is brown noise, pink noise, and other color noises as well. There is one that sounds like a dishwasher, and there are quite a few that sound like nature, such as waterfalls, rain, air blowing, and thunderstorms (not sure if kids would like thunderstorms though)! Kids might like the train one. The sound of it is just like being on a train.

  Don't forget to speak words of love to your child before you put him in the crib. There is much truth to the saying, 'The hand that rocks the cradle, rules the world'. How we underestimate the power of loving our children and speaking words of life to them! The world could be changed if we knew how to do this right.