Last updated: October 2026
Does lettuce water, or lettuce tea, help you sleep? Not on current evidence. No study has tested the drink itself in people. The TikTok claim rests on mice given concentrated lettuce extracts alongside a sedative, plus one 2025 trial of extract capsules. A warm, caffeine-free mug is harmless for most adults, and the ritual may help you wind down.
We checked every study behind the trend (evidence checked October 2026), plus a simple recipe if you want to try it.
What is lettuce water (lettuce tea)?
Lettuce water, also called lettuce tea, is lettuce leaves steeped in hot water and sipped before bed. It went viral on TikTok, usually made with romaine. Many people add a peppermint tea bag, because on its own it tastes like warm salad.
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View productHow to make lettuce tea for sleep
Lettuce tea recipe (one mug, about 10 minutes)
- 3 or 4 large romaine (cos) leaves
- About 250ml just-boiled water
- Optional: a peppermint tea bag or a slice of lemon
- Wash the leaves well under running water, then tear them up.
- Put them in a mug and pour over just-boiled water. For “boiled lettuce water”, simmer them in a small pan for 5 minutes instead.
- Leave to steep for 5 to 10 minutes, then strain out the leaves.
- Add peppermint or lemon if you like, and drink it fresh, 30 to 60 minutes before bed.
Expect a mild, grassy taste and no caffeine: a pleasant warm drink, not a sleep aid.
If you try it:
- Wash the leaves first. The Food Standards Agency advises washing fruit and vegetables, including salad leaves, and washing your hands before and after preparing food.
- Make it fresh and drink it straight away. Don’t keep a jug in the fridge.
- Never give it to babies. The NHS says herbal drinks are not recommended for babies.
Does lettuce water help you sleep? What the studies found
Lettuce contains bitter compounds called lactucin and lactucopicrin, and lab studies suggest they act on the brain’s GABA system. That’s the basis of the claim. But look at what was given, and to whom:
| Study | What they used | In whom | What it shows |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ghorbani and colleagues, 2013 | Lettuce extract made with water and alcohol, injected, then a pentobarbital (sedative) injection | Mice | The extract lengthened sedative-induced sleep. The water fraction on its own did not. |
| Kim and colleagues, 2017 (the study TikTok cites) | Concentrated 70% ethanol extracts of romaine leaves and seeds, 80 to 160mg per kg of body weight, then a pentobarbital injection | Mice, 8 per group | The extracts lengthened sedative-induced sleep. It didn’t test lettuce on its own. |
| Kim and colleagues, 2019 | Green romaine extract | Rodents | Longer sleep in sedative and caffeine models |
| Ahn and colleagues, 2023 | Extract of Heukharang, a Korean lettuce bred to be higher in lactucin | Rodents | Longer sleep in sedative and caffeine models |
| Son and colleagues, 2025 | Capsules of Heukharang extract, 1,000mg a day for 4 weeks | 100 Korean adults with poor sleep, mostly women | Modest improvement versus placebo. One industry-funded trial of an extract, not lettuce water. |
| Yakoot and colleagues, 2011 | Lettuce seed oil capsules, 1,000mg, for 1 week | 60 adults with insomnia | Better questionnaire scores. Seeds, not leaves, and a small pilot. |
Most of the animal work gave lettuce extract alongside pentobarbital, a barbiturate sedative, so it shows the extract can boost a sedative, not that lettuce sedates on its own. The extracts were concentrated with alcohol, often from special varieties or seeds, at doses a few leaves in a mug can’t match. Nobody has tested lettuce water itself in people.
The best human evidence is the 2025 trial. Over 4 weeks, people taking Heukharang extract capsules slept about 35 minutes longer on wrist trackers than the placebo group (422 versus 387 minutes a night, adjusted averages). It was industry funded, used a special variety and tested capsules of extract, so it tells us nothing about a mug of lettuce water.
What happens if you boil lettuce and drink it?
You get boiled lettuce water: a pale, mild drink a little like the water left from cooking greens. The studies measured lettuce’s bitter compounds, lactucin and lactucopicrin, in their extracts, but we couldn’t find any study that measured how much of them ends up in a mug of boiled lettuce water.
One detail from the research matters here. When Ghorbani’s team split their lettuce extract into parts, the water fraction did not lengthen sleep in mice. Only a non-water (n-butanol) fraction did, and the authors thought the active compounds were most likely non-polar, the kind that don’t dissolve well in water. That suggests hot water may pull out little of whatever was active.
So does boiling lettuce help you sleep? Boiling rather than steeping makes no proven difference. Either way, drinking boiled lettuce water has not been shown to make people sleepy.
Boiled lettuce water side effects
- Night-time loo trips if you drink a big mug close to bed. Keep it small.
- Food safety. Salad leaves are usually eaten raw, so wash them well and make the drink fresh.
- Medicines. In the animal studies, lettuce extract strengthened the effect of a sedative. If you take sleeping tablets or other sedating medicines, ask your pharmacist before trying any herbal sleep remedy.
- Babies. Not suitable (see the FAQs).
Does lettuce make you sleepy?
There’s no evidence that eating lettuce makes you sleepy. The studies used concentrated extracts, mostly in mice, and nobody has tested whether eating lettuce makes people drowsy. So is lettuce good for sleep? As part of a balanced evening meal it’s a fine food, but it isn’t a sleep aid. For foods with more research behind them, see foods that help you sleep.
Lettuce juice for sleep: juicing raw leaves gives you a cold version of the same thing. There are no studies of lettuce juice and sleep, and the research used extracts made with alcohol, not juice or water.
Romaine vs iceberg: which lettuce is best for sleep?
TikTok videos mostly use romaine, and that is the lettuce the research points to. In the 2017 Korean study, romaine had more lactucin than the green and red leaf lettuces it was compared with: about 1,072µg per gram of extract in green romaine and 362µg in red romaine. Iceberg, the UK’s everyday lettuce, wasn’t part of any sleep study we found.
| Lettuce | In sleep studies? | What we know |
|---|---|---|
| Romaine (cos) | Yes, as extracts (2017, 2019) | Most lactucin of the salad lettuces tested; green romaine had about three times as much as red |
| Iceberg | No | No sleep data |
| Heukharang | Yes, as extracts (2023, 2025) | Korean variety bred to be higher in lactucin |
| Wild lettuce | Not in these studies | A different plant; see the safety note below |
Even romaine only showed effects as a concentrated extract. Whichever lettuce goes in your mug, there’s no evidence it helps you sleep.
Why lettuce water might feel like it helps
- A warm drink and a ritual. Making a mug and sitting down is a cue that the day is over, whatever is in the mug.
- Expectation. Watch someone yawn through a video and you expect to feel sleepy. Placebo effects are real.
- What it replaces. Swapping a late coffee or glass of wine for a caffeine-free drink can help on its own. See how long caffeine lasts.
- Hydration. It’s mostly water, though a big mug right before bed can mean a trip to the loo.
If you like the ritual, a herbal tea gives you the same wind-down with more flavour. See chamomile tea and the best tea for sleep.
Curious about CBD for your evening routine instead? Our guide to the best CBD oil for sleep in the UK explains how to choose an oil and what the research does and doesn’t show.
Wild lettuce and lactucarium: a safety note
Don’t confuse lettuce water with wild lettuce (Lactuca virosa), a different plant from the lettuce in your salad drawer. Its dried milky sap, lactucarium, is sold online as a “natural sedative”, sometimes as “lettuce opium”, and wild lettuce tea, tinctures and extracts are sold the same way. Wild lettuce tea is not the same as lettuce tea made from salad leaves.
Wild lettuce can be toxic: one hospital in Iran treated eight people poisoned after eating it, one needing 48 hours in intensive care. A US toxicology report found no sign of the opiate-like effects claimed online. We don’t recommend wild lettuce or lactucarium, and if you take medication, ask a pharmacist before trying any herbal sedative.
What has better evidence for sleep
The NHS advice for poor sleep is free and much less viral: go to bed only when you’re sleepy, get up at the same time every day, keep your bedroom dark and quiet, and put screens away before bed.
- Basics: see sleep hygiene and our 60-minute bedtime routine.
- Can’t drop off? Try the techniques in how to fall asleep fast.
- Food and drink: see foods that help you sleep.
- Other bedtime drinks: see does Horlicks help you sleep? and our comparison of magnesium drinks in the UK.
iIf poor sleep is affecting your daily life, see your GP, who may offer cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) for insomnia.
For a warm evening drink, our Magnesium Glycinate Sleep Complex is a caffeine-free berry drink with magnesium bisglycinate and citrate, glycine, L-theanine and chamomile. Magnesium contributes to the normal functioning of the nervous system and to normal psychological function; read more in magnesium for sleep. Our Reishi Mushroom Adaptogenic Complex is a reishi hot chocolate made with cocoa, maca, cinnamon, coconut sugar and stevia. Cacao contains a little natural caffeine, so have it earlier in the evening.
The FSA’s 10mg a day figure for CBD is precautionary advice rather than a legal limit, set while longer-term safety research continues. At Evopure we think it is a very cautious figure, and many adults use more. If you go above it, increase slowly, and check with your GP or pharmacist first if you take any medication.
TikTok sleep trends compared
| Trend | What it is | Evidence | Our take |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lettuce water | Lettuce leaves steeped in hot water | None in people for the drink itself; animal studies used concentrated extracts with sedatives | Harmless ritual, don’t expect a sedative |
| Sleepy girl mocktail | Tart cherry juice, magnesium and sparkling water | A few small trials of tart cherry juice concentrate (one with 20 adults over 7 days), none of the mocktail | A pleasant wind-down drink; see tart cherry and sleep |
| Mouth taping | Tape over the lips at night | A 2025 review of 10 studies found little proven benefit and possible serious risk with sleep apnoea or a blocked nose | Skip unless a clinician advises it |
| Banana tea | Banana or banana peel boiled in water | No published sleep research | Eat the banana instead; see foods for sleep |
For more viral tips rated by evidence, see sleepmaxxing: which trends actually work and lavender for sleep.
Related guides
- For a TikTok sleep trend with more research behind it, see kiwi for sleep.
- The TikTok apple cider vinegar shot trend.
- We look at banana tea and banana peel tea in more detail in banana before bed: does it help you sleep?
Sources 13
- Kim HD et al. Sleep-inducing effect of lettuce (Lactuca sativa) varieties on pentobarbital-induced sleep. Food Sci Biotechnol, 2017.
- Ghorbani A et al. Potentiating effects of Lactuca sativa on pentobarbital-induced sleep. Iran J Pharm Res, 2013.
- Kim HW et al. Effectiveness of the sleep enhancement by green romaine lettuce (Lactuca sativa) in a rodent model. Biol Pharm Bull, 2019.
- Ahn Y et al. Heukharang lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) leaf extract displays sleep-promoting effects through GABA(A) receptor. J Ethnopharmacol, 2023.
- Son K et al. Sleep promoting effects of lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.) extracts in Korean adults with poor sleep quality: a randomized, double-blind placebo-controlled trial. Nutrients, 2025.
- Yakoot M et al. Pilot study of the efficacy and safety of lettuce seed oil in patients with sleep disorders. Int J Gen Med, 2011.
- Besharat S et al. Wild lettuce (Lactuca virosa) toxicity. BMJ Case Reports, 2009.
- Mullins ME, Horowitz BZ. The case of the salad shooters: intravenous injection of wild lettuce extract. Vet Hum Toxicol, 1998.
- Howatson G et al. Effect of tart cherry juice (Prunus cerasus) on melatonin levels and enhanced sleep quality. Eur J Nutr, 2012.
- Rhee J et al. Breaking social media fads and uncovering the safety and efficacy of mouth taping. PLoS One, 2025.
- NHS. Insomnia.
- NHS. Drinks and cups for babies and young children.
- Food Standards Agency. E. coli.
This guide is general information, not medical advice. Evopure makes the Magnesium Glycinate Sleep Complex and Reishi Mushroom Adaptogenic Complex.
