A study published in the Journal of Medicinal Food found that night milk–milk taken from cows in the evening–contains properties that may make it good for treating insomnia and anxiety.
Researchers at the Uimyung Research Institute for Neuroscience at Sahmyook University in Seoul, South Korea, discovered that mice fed “night milk” performed poorly in a variety of physical tests versus control groups given water or injected with the anti-anxiety drug diazepam. This suggests the milk-fed mice were sleepier.
Following the tasks, the mice administered night milk fell asleep faster and stayed asleep longer, an effect similar to that caused by diazepam. Importantly, electroencephalograms found that the milk didn’t affect brain wave activity, while diazepam did.
Milk taken from cows at night has higher amounts of tryptophan and melatonin than other milk, researchers reported. Tryptophan is an amino acid often used to treat insomnia and anxiety. Melatonin helps to regulate sleep/wake cycles.
