TikTok’s lettuce water trend explained: Can it help you fall asleep easily?

TikTok has introduced various life hacks as trends over the years, some useful, and others misleading. Now, there’s a new trend that claims drinking lettuce water will help you sleep better – is it true?

An old trend on the video-sharing platform has resurfaced, and has people drinking lettuce water as a solution for insomnia. As per various videos, a glass of hot water with lettuce in it can help users fall asleep quickly.

Lettuce is more common simply eaten in a salad, but the vegetable has gained more prominence as people find other ways to use it. Many users on TikTok have shared the benefits of drinking lettuce-infused hot water to help with insomnia.

How to make the trending lettuce water

TikToker, Shapla Hoque/Hook, drew a lot of attention to the trend. In her TikTok, she is seen drinking the lettuce water and falling asleep on camera. The user wrote in her video, “Apparently drinking lettuce water makes you sleepy, so — sis don’t sleep, so I’m gonna try it out.”

She tore some lettuce leaves and put them in her cup and poured hot water over it. Shapla then added some mint tea for the taste and let it soak for 10 minutes.

The TikToker removed the lettuce leaves and drank the water. She updated her followers that she felt “slightly sleepy” after it.

Hoque continued, “Another update: lettuce has crack because your sis is gone.” She added yet another update the next morning that she fell asleep in 30 to 40 minutes.

Her TikTok gained over 7 million views and more than 1.5 million likes. Many other users on TikTok saw her video and started trying it themselves. They posted videos under the hashtag “#lettucewater”.

Does drinking lettuce water help with insomnia?

According to experts, the chances of drinking lettuce water helping with insomnia is around zero. An associate professor of nutritional medicine, Marie-Pierre St-Onge weighed in on the subject to Insider in 2021.

She explained that there is research that proves lettuce water will help with falling asleep. But according to non-human studies, lettuce has helped rats to sleep for longer.

Although it’s not proven to be effective for humans, it is for also not harmful to try. However, some scientists will warn you about the amount of water you use as more intake of water before sleeping will only wake you up sooner than necessary – if you need to relieve yourself.

Why do TikTokers insist on lettuce water?

According to experts, it is probably because of the “placebo effect”. Marie-Pierre says, “If you expect something to work, then you probably feel more sleepy.”

There is no harm in trying the trend but it is recommended to consume lettuce as part of your meals, but don’t expect it to be a sleeping miracle.

But, for better tasting TikTok food trends, you might want to try to TikTok Cinnamon Rolls or Feta Pasta recipes.