Sleeping troubles? A new cereal might be just what you need

You may want to add a fourth daily meal to enhance your nighttime routine.

Post, makers of Honey Bunches of Oats and Golden Crisp, created Sweet Dreams, a cereal said to help you fall asleep.

A late-night bowl of cereal could make breakfast the second most important meal of the day. The cereal brand is marketing Sweet Dreams as the first ready-to-eat cereal designed to help boost a good sleep routine.

Sweet Dreams comes in two flavors: Blueberry Midnight and Honey Moonglow. Both flavors boast sleep-inducing ingredients such as lavender and chamomile, as well as “selected vitamins and minerals to support natural melatonin production.”

“Sweet Dreams helps promote a healthy sleep routine with intentionally designed ingredients like whole grains, a nighttime herbal blend, and vitamins and minerals, including zinc, folic acid, and B vitamins to support the natural melatonin production,” Logan Sohn, senior brand manager of Post Consumer Brands, told Wellandgood.com.

However, it has long been believed that eating right before bed is bad for sleep and health. Researchers say that as a general rule, you shouldn’t eat less than three hours before you go to bed. According to the Washington Post, “Some studies have shown that eating late-night meals, including those with lots of added sugar, can actually make your sleep worse and increase your risk of obesity. Although some of the vitamins in Post’s New Cereals may influence your body’s melatonin levels, experts say it’s unclear if they will have more than a minor impact, especially when consumed. The evening.

Whether Sweet Dreams works or not, many people are willing to try just about anything if it gives them a good night’s sleep. Insomnia is the most common sleep disorder among Americans. Research published in the American Journal of Managed Care shows physician office diagnoses fell from 800,000 to 9.4 million cases between 1993 and 2015. More than half of American adults have trouble sleeping and 1 in 5 suffer from insomnia.

The creators of Sweet Dreams understand that people take their nighttime routine seriously in hopes of improving their sleep.

“More than ever, consumers are looking to embrace acts of self-care. We often see this come to life through a relaxing nighttime routine that forms the foundation for a good night’s sleep. This inspired us to create a product which not only satisfies that nighttime snack time, but is also part of a healthy sleep routine,” Sohn said.

According to Well+Good, Sweet Dreams contains the “big three” ingredients linked to improving sleep: “fiber (12% of your daily intake per cup), magnesium (with 8% of your DV per cup, thanks to ingredients promotes sleep like almonds), and melatonin (from vitamins that help promote its production, like zinc and B vitamins).

Sweet Dreams contains ingredients that improve sleep, but it also contains up to 13 grams of added sugar.

Neurologist and sleep physician Dr. Brandon R. Peters told LiveStrong, “Sugar can act as an inflammatory that disrupts sleep; it is best to avoid it as much as possible near bedtime. Typically, I’ve recommended someone not eat sugar for two to three hours before bedtime to allow for proper digestion.

Still, the cereal company’s promotion said Sweet Dreams is “designed to support a good sleep routine and a fresh start for the next day.”