I Tried the “Sleepy Dust” Method to Fix My Most Annoying Sleep Problem
I’ve always had an interesting relationship with sleep. My mom believes that because, as a toddler, I often spent late nights awake with her while she worked on getting her business off the ground, my internal clock adjusted to staying up until 3 a.m. and sleeping in until noon the next day.
Whether that’s the reason or not, now as an adult I have a difficult time falling asleep at a normal hour and staying asleep throughout the night, no matter how early I have to wake up the next day. I often find myself lying awake in bed for hours trying to fall back asleep or making a 3 a.m. snack after waking up in the middle of the night.
I’ve tried melatonin, herbal teas, and even an occasional Benadryl to knock me out; frustratingly, nothing has seemed to help long-term. So when I came across an article about a sleep elixir called “sleepy dust” that promises to help you fall right back to sleep if you wake up in the middle of the night, I was instantly intrigued.
So, what exactly is “sleepy dust”?
Sleepy dust is essentially a mixture of sugar and salt that some say can help you fall back asleep in the middle of the night, if you eat a small pinch of it. Since sleep maintenance, aka staying asleep once you fall asleep, is a problem for me, this sounded interesting (many sleep hacks are geared just toward the feat of initially falling asleep).
According to Jessica Meers, a psychologist who specializes in treating insomnia, cortisol, a hormone that plays an important role in your body’s natural sleep cycle, reaches its lowest point in the late afternoon or evening and begins to slowly rise during the night. It usually reaches its highest point in the morning, which supports your ability to wake up and get moving in the morning, Meers says.
However, increased cortisol levels, often caused by stress, can suppress sleep-facilitating melatonin hormone levels, ultimately throwing off your sleep-wake cycle and leading to issues like insomnia. Blood sugar levels can also fluctuate throughout the night, disrupting your sleep cycle.
So, when it comes to “sleepy dust,” Dr. Shelby Harris, director of sleep health at Sleepopolis, says the idea behind the mix of sugar and salt is that it stabilizes your blood sugar and hormones. And while this sounds intriguing, there’s not much solid science to back it up.
“Eating sugar at night could cause a temporary blood sugar spike, which isn’t ideal for everyone,” Harris says. “As for salt, it might have a mild effect on hydration or stress hormones like cortisol, but these impacts are likely minimal.”
This trick could theoretically work if you are in the midst of chronic stress, Meers says, but adds that the natural rhythm of cortisol and other biological processes are very complex. “Typically one-size-fits-all strategies like these don’t work because everyone’s body has different needs,” she explains.
I was still curious to see what all of the hype was about, so I decided to try it out myself.
After doing some internet sleuthing (and learning about a different Sleepy Dust elixir from Lush) it seemed like everyone had a different method for creating their own “sleepy dust” recipe, but the main idea was that it should include a form of sugar and salt.
Some recipes I saw recommended manuka honey instead of cane sugar, Himalayan salt or something called Sucanat, which is an unrefined sugar believed to contain more minerals and antioxidants than regular cane sugar. I opted for the simplest version, which is five tablespoons of cane sugar and two teaspoons of sea salt.
Does “sleepy dust” work?
After placing my sleepy dust in a small bowl on my nightstand, I tucked myself into bed and hoped for something I never thought I would: to wake up in the middle of my slumber so I could try out my little experiment. For the first two nights I actually slept pretty soundly, which was ironic since it had been weeks since I had a good, full night’s rest. But after three days of patiently waiting for some bad sleep, I was finally able to try my sleepy dust elixir.
I woke up in the middle of the night and quickly took a small pinch of the sugar and salt mixture, letting it dissolve on my tongue. The initial rush of sweetness and then salt was a bit of a shock to my palate, but once it dissolved the flavor subsided. I tossed and turned for maybe another 15 minutes and then slowly drifted back to sleep again, which was surprising since it usually takes me a good 45 minutes to an hour to fall back asleep once I’m awake.
However, I also made it a point not to check my phone when I woke up in the middle of the night so that I could truly let the elixir work its magic, which also might have helped me fall back asleep more quickly.
I did notice that when I woke up in the morning my mouth and teeth felt extra in need of some brushing. I think that’s why the next time I woke up in the middle of the night and took a pinch of my sleepy dust, I wasn’t able to fall back asleep as easily — all I could think about was whether or not I should get up to brush my teeth. I did eventually fall back asleep after about 30 minutes or so, but I wondered how long I could keep this up before getting a cavity.
There was one night when I woke up, had a pinch of the elixir and after 10 minutes got up to brush my teeth because my mind wouldn’t stop racing thinking about it. Maybe it was unnecessary, but I hate going to the dentist, so I’ll do anything to avoid it. Still, I was surprised that even after getting up to brush my teeth I was still able to fall back asleep relatively quickly.
I’m sure that refraining from looking at my phone and feeling a possible placebo effect could’ve come into play, but I felt like the sleepy dust truly did help me fall back asleep faster and more easily. Even though I felt a little uneasy about dissolving sugar and salt in my mouth in the middle of the night sans brushing, I found I spent less time tossing and turning and stressing about trying to fall back asleep.
Though my fear of dentists will likely stop me from incorporating sleepy dust into my bedtime routine on a regular basis — it’s meant for as-needed sleep maintenance rather than nightly use, anyway — it’s comforting to know there’s something out there that might help with those especially restless nights.
Further Reading
We Tested (and Rated!) All the Sofas at Ashley — Here Are the Best to Suit Your Style and Space
We Tested (and Rated!) All the Sofas at Pottery Barn — Here Are the Best for Every Type of Need
