If I was to ask you the question, “do you sleep well?” how would you answer? According to research carried out by Anxiety UK, 62.7% of those surveyed said they had experienced poor levels of sleep during the last year and 44% felt that the main reason was because of worries about covid. There’s no question that the past 18 months have played havoc with our mental health and this has had a detrimental effect on our sleep.
I am fortunately blessed with the ability to fall asleep within mere minutes. Over the years I have mastered a technique where I put the duvet over my ear and this small motion signals to my brain and body that it’s time to switch off, relax and enter the land of nod. For me good sleep is all about introducing certain rituals like this. But I know that it’s not always as easy as this. Some people struggle immensely with being able to wind down and switch their brains off enough to sleep. And when that is the case, I think it’s important to try and address the situation and look for products that could potentially help someone get a good night’s sleep.
WellBeSleep Products
The Swedish based company, WellBeMed, have recently launched a range of new products aimed at people who struggle with sleep.
WellBeMed’s managing Director, Victoria Lagnevik, explains:
“We wanted to create healthy, well documented products that can help against lifestyle-related health problems. Both WellBeSleep® products were developed with the aim of becoming a recurring part of people’s evening bedtime routines. And using one of nature’s own resources, lemon balm, we were able to create delicious products that help people wind down before bedtime.”
OK, so what are these products then?
Well, the WellBeSleep Shots and Bars are a selection of three different flavoured drink shots and a dark chocolate oat bar. All of which contain lemon balm as a fundamental part of their ingredients list, to promote calm and relaxation, with the idea being that this encourages better sleep. Lemon balm has long been used in traditional medicine to help with stress, anxiety, digestion and insomnia. This powerful herb is part of the mint family and was first used by Carmelite nuns in the 14th century, who combined it with water and alcohol to produce Carmelite water, something they believed was an elixir for long life.
I’m going to be looking at the products in a bit more detail in a mo, but basically the idea behind them is that they are meant to act I guess in much the same way as say a glass of warm milk before bed would. The added bonus is that they contain some special ingredients to help conjure up those sleepy vibes even more so.
The big question is, can products such as these genuinely impact the quality of our sleep?
WellBeSleep Shots
Before I even talk to you about the taste of the WellBeSleep Shots I want to bring up liquid volume. You see, the midnight wee is a thing. And in most cases it is something we can, to a degree, control. Drink a large glass of warm milk, herbal tea, or hot chocolate before bed and you know you’re getting up a couple of times in the night, right? A 60ml shot though… well, that’s enough to work its magic and hydrate you until morning, but not so much that you’ll be traipsing back and forth to the loo all night. I like this a lot; it shows it’s been thought about and I appreciate a well thought out product. So yeah, it’s already in my good books.
There are currently 3 different flavoured shots:
Apple, Beetroot & Ginger – The pink one. Strong, sweet, and zingy. I love the subtle ginger taste. Made from organic apple juice, organic beetroot juice, organic ginger juice, lemon balm extract, and hops extract.
Apple, Turmeric & Elderflower – The orange one. This one smells the most lemon balmy and not gonna lie, going by the strong smell I didn’t think I’d like it. But it’s got a lovely smooth, sweet taste that I love and actually this is my fave of the three. Slightly earthy due to the turmeric, but balanced out with the sweetness of the apple and elderflower. Made from organic apple juice, organic turmeric juice, organic elderflower extract, lemon balm extract, and hops extract.
Apple & Blueberry – The purple one. Sweet and yet also a bit sour and acidic, which surprised me. My least favourite of the flavours, again a surprise, but not unpleasant. Made from organic apple juice, organic blueberry juice, lemon balm extract, and hops extract.
You should aim to drink your shot about 30 mins before going to bed for maximum effect or you could keep one on your bedside table should you wake in the night and struggling to get back to sleep.
The WellBeSleep Shots are available to buy from Ocado priced £1.99 each and are all organic, contain no added sugar, and are suitable for vegans.
WellBeSleep Chocolate Bar
Chocolate before bed, oh go on then, if you insist! At the risk of sounding like an M&S advert, this isn’t just any chocolate… this is a WellBeSleep lemon balm and hops infused chocolate bar and do you know what, I don’t 100% know the science and I don’t 100% know if it works, but man alive it is a tasty little number, so I am 100% up for giving it a go.
The bar is covered in dark chocolate, and the texture is kind of a bit nougaty, which I absolutely love. Chewy, not super sweet, oaty, and filling but not in a bloat inducing way, which is another factor you have to consider prior to bedtime. You don’t want your innards gurgling away when you’re trying to get to sleep.
I don’t know about you lot, but I always get a bit peckish in the evenings, and I often crave something sweet. This bar has just enough sweetness in it to satisfy that craving, but without inducing a sugar rush – something you deffo don’t want at that time of day.
WellBeSleep bars are also available from Ocado and are priced at either £1.99 per bar or £13.99 for a pack of 7 bars, which gives you a very small saving.
As I said, I don’t particularly have sleep problems, although I have noticed that as I venture further into the perimenopause stage of my life, the quality of my sleep (night sweats, over active brain, stiff limbs etc.) does change significantly around the time of my period. So, I’m keen to introduce some other sleep rituals and have some sleep aid tools up my sleeve, before it begins to get out of hand and becomes a habit.
So, what do I really think of these?
Well listen, we’re all different right, and what may work for one person won’t necessarily work for another. But if you are someone who struggles with sleep, I can’t see any harm in giving products such as these a go. Because what if they work for you. Imagine, if having a shot or a bar of chocolate (or both if you’re feeling especially frivolous) before bed was enough to give you a good night’s sleep. It’s deffo worth a shot, right?
*products gifted for review
