It’s still dry January, and if you’re running out of ideas for alcohol-free alternatives, TikTok has some … erm, curious offerings. Introducing the “sleepy girl mocktail”, a beverage enjoying viral fame. It may sound like an old-fashioned euphemism for a valium and a Diet Coke, but it is, in fact, a juice-based concoction that looks like red wine and is supposed to help you sleep better.
The recipe is simple: tart cherry juice, some fizz such as sparkling water and magnesium powder. It was popularised by the wellness influencer Gracie Norton, who last year hyped the drink as a cure for poor sleep brought about by her menstrual cycle. Since then, countless videos from fans have featured variations such as cranberry juice instead of cherry, lemonade instead of soda water, and – my favourite – just magnesium pills with cherry juice, in a kind of extreme deconstruction of the drink where the mixing happens in your bloodstream.
Does it actually work? The first thing to mention is that Norton is not a doctor or a dietitian. And while magnesium may help with premenstrual symptoms, that might not be the reason you’re sleeping badly in the first place. It’s always best to speak to your GP. To me, this feels like another example of the wellness influencers finding a new fad ingredient to project almost supernatural powers on to. But did they have to ruin the mocktail for me? In what way is this quasi-medicinal liquid a mocktail? Is Calpol a mocktail? Is it a mocktail just because you can drink it and it has no alcohol? Is water a mocktail?
Speaking of water, Reese Witherspoon’s dry January offering uses frozen water from the sky, AKA snow. Her “snow salt choccocinos” involve scooping some snow into a cup before adding cold brew coffee, salted caramel syrup and chocolate syrup. The recipe sparked widespread disgust as people pointed out snow may not be safe to consume, having been polluted by toxins in the air.
With recipes like these in circulation, this dry January, it might be healthier to just have a small glass of wine at dinner.
• Coco Khan is a freelance writer and co-host of the politics podcast Pod Save the UK
