As a sleep writer, I take wellness trends doing the rounds on social media with a pinch of salt. The latest to blow up my FYP on TikTok is the Chinese hot water trend, which, along with other positive health outcomes, promises to benefit sleep.
After giving it a go I found I was falling asleep faster than I had all winter. But how? When it comes to sleep, warmth helps anchor restless or excess energy, grounding the body," Jamie Bacharach, licensed acupuncturist and Chinese medicine practitioner, tells me.
Here, I'll take a closer look at what the Chinese hot water trend is and, along with insight from Bacharach, explore how it works to improve your sleep.
What is the Chinese hot water trend?
The Chinese hot water 'hack' is a lifestyle trend inspired by the traditional Chinese medicine concept called 'yang sheng'— which literally translates to "nourishing life."
"Yang Sheng is the practice of promoting vitality and longevity rather than waiting for a sickness to hit," explains Bacharach, who takes the best of both Western Medicinal Theory and Practical Chinese Medicine Techniques on her clients.
On a broad level, yang sheng focuses on wellness practices designed to banish cold and preserve internal warmth, which is a pillar of traditional Chinese medicine.
For example, drinking hot water as opposed to cold and enjoying hot meals like congee and soups. This, in turn, is said to improve digestion and promote better sleep quality.
"The yang sheng lifestyle optimizes the body's ability to transform food into energy, leading to better digestion and more bodily energy," says Bacharach. "When it comes to sleep, warmth helps anchor restless or excess energy, grounding the body."
Does the Chinese hot water trend really help you fall asleep faster?
Our bodies are naturally wired to drop in core temperature closer to bed time — a process which aids the release of melatonin, a hormone that helps prepare us for sleep.
This is why experts recommend an optimal sleep temperature of between 65 to 70 F (18 to 21 °C). Sleeping in an environment outside this range can interfere with the body's natural thermoregulation process.
Drinking hot water generally works on the same principle. "The warmth widens blood vessels to release excess heat and naturally lower body temperature. In traditional Chinese medicine, we see this as relaxing the muscles, signalling the body to settle down," explains Bacharach.
While the practice yang sheng is rooted in traditions dating back thousands of years, we can't help but acknowledge that there isn't a wealth of scientific evidence to back it up.
According to sleep experts, drinking a warm beverage before bed may also be more about the behavioral and sensory factors of the act.
"If we do a similar activity every day before bed then that can start to build up an association between our pre-bed routine and the fact that sleep will come soon," Dr Lindsay Browning, a chartered psychologist and neuroscientist, told us in a previous conversation surrounding falling asleep fast.
"Although I don’t need it to sleep well, I love my bedtime tea," explains the UK -based sleep expert. "Whenever I go on holiday or go anywhere, I always make sure that I take my sleepy teabags with me so that I can have that same drink before bed."
What happened when I tried the Chinese hot water trend
Long before it started appearing everywhere on social media, I've been a longtime hot water advocate. This winter, however, this practice fell by the wayside. But when the Chinese hot water trend started doing the rounds, I decided to give it another go.
Since starting it again, I've come to depend a lot on hot drinks and meals in the evening, partly as a comfort and partly to battle the flu that has been doing the rounds (again).
Here how the Chinese hot water trend is benefitting my sleep:
1. It helps establish my nighttime routine
Having a hot bedtime drink is the first step of my nighttime routine. Thanks to the consistency, this has become an effective cue for my body to start unwinding at the end of a long day.
In addition to providing enough hydration, drinking hot water before bed has had a positive impact on relieving congestion (with studies supporting this theory), as well as soothing the occasional sore throat. This, in turn, helps my body relax and focus on getting the recommended hours of rest.
2. I fall asleep fast
Like a warm shower before bed, a warm drink increases your body temperature (vasodilation), only for it to then to drop naturally — which is a cue for your body that it's time for sleep.
This translates to shorter sleep latency (time taken to fall asleep). Grabbing a hot drink, therefore, is my low-effort hack to signal my body to focus on sleep.
In addition to a warm drink, I've also noticed that a hot easy-to-digest meal has a positive effect on my sleep.
"Warm foods support enzyme activity, gastric motility and vagal tone, reducing the “digestive load” on the system," says Dr John Tsagaris, a seasoned practitioner of traditional Chinese medicine who specializes in cosmetic acupuncture.
To aid easy digestion before bed, I also steer clear of the 5 eating habits, such as eating heavy meals directly before bed, which can cause sleep disruptions during the night.
3. It doubles up as a calming activity
A hot drink marks my intentional break from screens and any other overstimulating elements in the lead up to bedtime.
Instead of my phone, I pick up a physical magazine or book, or sit down to journal, which, according to research, is a proven method to battle nighttime anxiety and reduce stress levels.
Much like cleaning my teeth or pulling back the bed sheets, enjoying a warm drink before bed signals to my brain that sleep is imminent.
Final verdict: Is the Chinese hot water trend a fad?
At the end of the day, based both on my personal experience and comments from experts, this is one wellness trend which existed well before it earned a Tiktok label — and for all the right reasons.
While it's lacking in scientific studies, the theory is that drinking a warm beverage may trigger a relaxation response and potentially increase vasodilation, resulting in a decline in core temperature (a process which happens naturally before sleep.)
"A warm meal too tends to be easier on the digestive system in the sense that, generally, cooked foods are easier to break down than raw foods," says Kathleen Benson, registered dietician and nutritionist.
According to Benson, people also often report fewer cramps or less bloating and a more comfortable post-meal experience after warm meals, compared to cold foods.
However, can we say this is a fool-proof trick to fall asleep fast night after night? Probably not.
"We can see a connection, but it doesn't mean 100% or that if somebody were to have something colder that they would automatically have poor sleep that night," concludes Benson.
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