My Austrian mum was big on rituals when we were kids. It began at dawn, when into the room she’d march bellowing “ aufstehen ”, which quite literally means “stand up” and is absolutely the most rousing wake-up call you could ever receive. To this day anyone who so much as murmurs the word aufstehen in my vicinity instantly makes me think of icy cold mornings and leaping from my bed before thrusting my shivering limbs into my uniform with as much speed as I could muster.
Next up in my mum’s daily schedule: cleaning time. This is not to be confused with a little hoover or speedy wipe of kitchen counters; for Austrians, cleaning is more than a means to an end but a hallowed ritual, something to beat your neighbours at, and techniques are reverentially passed down through the generations.
Once the kids were presentable and the house was clean, the day’s activities could begin in earnest, before routine once more clamped its iron jaw down around the evening hours: dinner, homework, exercise, perhaps some TV, an Austrian hot chocolate drink called Benco, and bed.
That Benco nudged between TV and bed was the absolute best bit of the evening, a warm chocolatey milky drink that told me the day’s toils were over, that bed and a book awaited me, that I would have hours of lying down before aufstehen once more brutally curtailed the joys of being in bed.
While you might want to park the rest of my mum’s rituals at the door, apparently having a drink right before bed is key to a good night’s sleep : “it gives you the best chance to sleep through the night, optimising your overall health and mood for the next day,” Jo Woodhurst, Head of Nutrition at Ancient + Brave tells me. The idea is that the mind and body loves signals to switch off, so it turns out those rituals mum loved actually are quite handy.
And, no, a nightcap of the alcohol variety won’t do the job — as Clinical Nutritionist Dr Stephanie Moore once told me, you may think that drinks sends you into deep sleep, but actually the body is so busy dealing with the alcohol that it does none of the rest of the jobs it’s meant to do, so said drink is much more harmful than good and the sleep you think you’re getting is akin to being being knocked out rather than restorative.
Instead, get your hands on one of the below nighttime drinks and elixirs, which are designed to supercharge your sleep while having ancillary benefits: anything from better digestion to clearer skin to adrenal support. Some rely on trusty magnesium, others on anything from passion flowers to choline, which will soothe anxiety and aid memory among other things.
Think of them as your final port of call before bed, sort of like a supercharged cup of herbal tea — though, like a cup of tea, drink it too close to bedtime and you run the risk of a full bladder just as you’re drifting off. I like to drink them around an hour before bed for that very reason — but you do you.
Here are the ones I’ve guzzled and found helpful.
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Healthy Metal Magnesium Glycinate
Kat Pither, founder of Yogi Bare, decided to co-found this brand when she was struggling with sleep and realised that magnesium was essential to help improve sleep biomarkers — but that the body couldn’t produce its own and most diets were deficient.
While magnesium is heroic when it comes to falling and staying asleep, it’s worth mentioning that its contribution to a healthily functioning body spans much further than this, and include regulating the nervous system, reducing stress, supporting heart health and maintaining strong bone health.
The bioavailable magnesium powder once mixed with water is zingy, think a cold glass of water with a punchy squeeze of lemon in it.
Buy now £49.00, Healthy Metal
Cosmoss Dusk Tea
Kate Moss called on homeopath Victoria Young to help create this tea containing chamomile flower and hops cone to encourage you to fall into a deep slumber while your digestion is soothed thanks to cinnamon and fennel fruits. Moss adds that she’s especially keen on the addition of lavender flower and Passiflora which she says jointly “relieve anxiety and tension... this is my perfect way to wind down.” If it’s good enough for Kate...
P.s. don’t be alarmed by the deep blue hue of this one: according to Young, it’s intentional, the dusky blue “reminding us of the twilight as the day fades.”
Buy now £20.00, Liberty London
WelleCo The Evening Elixir
This chocolate powder by Elle Macpherson’s well-respected brand is the closest thing to my beloved Benco — but much healthier thanks to the additions of, wait for it: magnesium citrate, cacoa, acerola cherry, MCT, chamomile, lemon balm, pomegranate, shiitake mushrooms, and passionflower. The net result: better sleep, yes, but a host of other benefits over time from more glowing skin to a more resilient nervous system.
Buy now £35.00, WelleCo
Ancient + Brave True Nightcap
This clever drink doesn’t only contain magnesium to send you to sleep, but also zinc, which has myriad benefits including boosting your brain, metabolic, and immune health; and choline, which is nutrient that helps circadian rhythm function — that system within us that governs when are awake and asleep, and by extension when we’re sleepy and when we’re bursting with energy.
The lemon and ginger combination is a particular favourite of mine, and I gravitate towards this when I feel a little ragged at the edges and need a bit of an overall boost.
Buy now £19.20, Ancient + Brave
Artah Sleep Tonic
The nifty thing about this one is that you can just pop a few drops in whatever you’re drinking before bed which is very helpful if you’re someone who’s in a hurry or aren’t especially given to sleep rituals and can’t see yourself sitting and sipping a tea.
In the mix: valerian, passiflora, and californian poppy. A potent mix, let me tell you; every time I add mine to water I drift off quickly, usually falling asleep on my book.
Buy now £34.00, Artah
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