How safe is the sleepy girl mocktail trend?

Recipes for the sleepy girl mocktail have gone viral with millions of people searching for them, but how safe is the trend? db finds out.

The drink, which was first posted on TikTok in March 2023 by wellness creator Gracie Norton, quickly gained 1.5 million views and have since inspired thousands of similar versions with the hashtag #sleepygirlmocktail amassing a further 4.2 million views.

Norton, who has said that she struggled with sleep, told Good Morning America in a recent interview: “I have been making mocktails for a few years due to the effects alcohol had on my hormones and have always loved winding down with a beverage before bed.”

The drink, which contains three ingredients – tart cherry juice, magnesium powder, and the prebiotic soda Olipop in lemon and lime flavour – has been ripe for speculation over how healthy the concoction is for people picking up on the trend.

Speaking about being an advocate of the Sleepy Girl Mocktail, TikTok user Taylor Olsen told GMA that she immediately jumped on the trend because “I love any easy health tip” and added that she has since made the drink many times.

Norton admitted that “seeing people recreate my recipes and incorporate my wellness practises has brought so much joy into my life” and that the uptick in the recipe becoming a trend “has turned into an entire community of women enjoying a plethora of my recipes”.

Looking into the validity, health perspective and safety of the trend, nutritionist Melissa Pfeister who admitted she had seen the TikTok trend and had initially thought the recipe would be a “crazy mix of vitamin-packed drinks” revealed that she was “shocked” but just to see that “it’s only tart cherry juice, magnesium powder and some prebiotic pop or sparkling water”.

Pfeister noted that the tart cherry juice craze was in actual fact a very good example of the benefits of a superfood in action.

Pfeister explained: “Cherries, whether sweet or tart, are loaded with vitamins and minerals as well as antioxidants. Tart cherries however contain natural high amounts of melatonin, the sleepy hormone that jumpstarts our body into feeling sleepy.”

Pfeister also pointed out that cherries also contain “an amino acid called tryptophan, which is used by our bodies to produce melatonin and serotonin” and added that “the other reason tart cherries are called a rockstar in regards to helping you sleep naturally [is due to the fact that] they are also packed with anti-inflammatory properties which lower our stress hormones, helping us to more fully relax”.

The sleepy girl mocktail recipe also uses magnesium powder as another main ingredient, which Pfeister explained can help to “promote not only physical relaxation but mental as well”.

But, she warned that drinkers need to “be careful to check which magnesium you are using [because] magnesium glycinate helps with relaxation whereas magnesium citrate can help you go to the bathroom. So not the one you need when trying to get a restful night of sleep”.

Lastly, Pfeister suggested that those taking up the trend on a regular basis might want to consider using an unsweetened juice without added sugars and to think about drinking the mocktail at around 30 minutes to an hour before planning on going to bed “since the ingredients need time to get you body relaxed for sleep”.

How to make the sleepy girl mocktail

1/2 cup pure tart cherry juice
1 tablespoon of magnesium powder
A splash of Olipop prebiotic soda