Dr. Catherine Ulbricht, Founder of the Natural Standard Research Collaboration and Senior Attending Pharmacist at Massachusetts General Hospital was recently interviewed by NBC's TODAY Show on the increasing popularity of relaxation drinks.
According to the report by NBC's Miguel Almaguer, relaxation drinks have brought in over $32 million in sales. Common ingredients include melatonin, valerian root and L-theanine.
The use of valerian as a sedative and anti-anxiety treatment has been reported for more than 2,000 years, while melatonin has good supportive evidence for use as a sleep aid. Theanine has historically been used as a relaxing agent, and limited research suggests that it may have a slight relaxing effect. Additional research is needed in this area.
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