Is It True That Drinking Brewed Lettuce Helps Overcome Insomnia?

Illustration of the benefits of lettuce overcoming insomnia (Unsplash/Petr Magera)

YOGYAKARTA – Some time ago, viral content on TikTok contained drinking lettuce that helps make you sleepy. An account by the name of @shapla_11 explains how to prepare a simple infusion of lettuce leaves in boiling water and then drink 'lettuce tea' to fall asleep.

How is it medically and scientifically studied how water lettuce works, has it been proven to help you fall asleep? According to a review reported by Sleepstation, Tuesday, April 26, lettuce contains compounds that have sedative and pain-relieving properties.

Lettuce is a vegetable that contains a lot of water, this is the most widely known by the public. This vegetable is also often considered a calorie control and contains a useful fluid called Lactuarium.

The liquid is secreted by some lettuce species. The texture is white like milk, generally located at the base of the stem. It is sometimes known as poppy lettuce for its soothing and pain-relieving properties. Lactuarium contains two chemical compounds, lactucopicrin and lactucin, which act as sedatives and pain relievers.

Illustration of the benefits of lettuce overcoming insomnia (Unsplash/Petr Magera)

Meanwhile, research needs to be done in order to find a valid hypothesis. The reason, new scientific research shows the benefits of lettuce to induce sleep in rodents.

According to historical records, lettuce itself is also recorded for its benefits when used in ancient civilizations. The Romans and Greeks ate lettuce to induce drowsiness. While the ancient Egyptians thought lettuce helped increase male virility in addition to helping sleep.

Roman writer and naturalist Pliny the Elder often referred to 'Lactuca' to refer to many plants, one of which was lettuce, which was believed to be a sleeping pill. There are also many records of ancient Roman medicine that include lettuce. In addition, poppies, and most types of summer plants. The Greek writer and botanist, Dioscorides, wrote an encyclopedia of herbal medicines used for more than 1,500 years. He noted that one of the benefits of lettuce apart from being related to sleep, namely improving stomach problems.

To date, only research has been conducted on rodents. This means that the conclusion that lettuce tea can help you fall asleep quickly has not been proven. Although there are no bad effects when drinking water lettuce, but you need to find the right way to deal with insomnia. One of them is by running a healthy lifestyle, exercising regularly, and doing meditation to be more calming.