DirtyLemon Sleep Beverage Is Unique

We've all been there. You're laying in bed exhausted, but your mind can't seem to settle down and let you fall asleep. Well, what if you could just drink a bottle of water lull you off to sleep? Turns out, you might be able to do just that— Dirty Lemon Sleep Beverage is designed to help calm your mind down before bed. But does it actually work?

I will admit that before I tried out Dirty Lemon's Sleep Beverage, I was a skeptic. How could one little bottle of water change my entire night's sleep? Then I read the label. Sleep Beverage consists of purified water, lemon juice, rose water, and chamomile among a few other ingredients. Those are all essential oils that I use in my nighttime health and skincare routine already.

"We chose chamomile, passionflower and lemon balm because they are gentle and easy on the system but all have a proven history of efficacy for promoting calm, diminishing anxiety and helping induce lethargy," Co-Founder Sommer Carroll tells Bustle via email. (The "we" being herself and Co-Founder Zak Normandin.) "Magnesium... supports the regulation of the central nervous system, along with helping to support thousands of various enzymatic and cellular responses within the body."

Sounds pretty great, right? Well it certainly worked for me. Not only was I getting a better night's sleep, but I was actually feeling way more hydrated and refreshed in the morning. I was impressed with how well it worked considering the drink doesn't contain melatonin.

"We made the conscious decision not to include melatonin," Carroll tells Bustle. "We wanted the formula to promote overall health instead of offering a skewed nutritional profile to induce a single response, the effects of which with continuous use may yield more complicated side effects."

Basically, this drink gives you longterm health benefits — not just instant sleep results. It's not exactly a knock-you-on-your-butt miracle drink, but you really can't beat the health benefits. Actually, according to Dr. Laurie Brodsky, the beverage starts working before you even drink it. "The Bulgarian rose water plays to your highest senses and calms via aromatherapy. Even before you take your first sip, your brain gets stimulated with the beautiful scent, which sends calming messages throughout the system, along with a whole slew of antioxidant protection."

There is one downfall to the beverage though — the price. It costs $65 per case. That breaks down to a little over $10 a bottle. According to Normandin, the price is driven primarily by the quality of ingredients. You get what you pay for. Do I think it's worth that much? Maybe not, especially if you are able to incorporate some similar ingredients into your routine in another way (i.e. drinking chamomile tea before bed). But if you have the money, I would give it a try.

I also struggled a bit with the taste. While I tend to love flavors like chamomile, rose, and lemon, I will admit that I had a hard time getting the whole bottle down the first time I drank it, but the flavor did grow on my throughout the week.

The sleep drink isn't the only tonic that the brand has either. DirtyLemon has drinks designed specifically for energy, detox, and even hair and skin. I can't attest to the rest of them, but if they're as great as the Sleep Beverage, I'd check 'em out!