Why this strange lettuce trend is taking over TikTok
A strange trend is doing the rounds on TikTok and people are swearing this hack will help you fall asleep faster.
TikTok user @shapla_11 made a video earlier this week and it has over 6.5 million views already.
"Apparently drinking lettuce water makes you sleepy, so sis don't sleep, so I'm gonna try it out," she says in the TikTok video.
In the video she lets a lettuce leaf sit in a cup, she then pours boiling water on it and lets it sit, adding peppermint tea, to make sure it doesn't taste bad.
Shapla said peppermint doesn't make her sleepy, so adding it wouldn't change anything.
After 10 minutes she takes out the lettuce and takes a sip, saying the water doesn't taste like anything.
In an update she explains she feels "slightly drowsy", some time later she said she was "gone".
Shapla did not say how long it took her to fall asleep, so in a follow-up, she provided a bit more information.
She explained after drinking the lettuce water it took her 30 to 40 minutes to fall asleep and she left the lettuce in the cup for 12 to 15 minutes.
Woman offers further advice on viral TikTok hack
After reading the comments, Shapla also offered some more advice, so everyone can get the most out of the hack.
"I think it will be better to boil it in a saucepan, that way you get all the benefits," she said.
She also suggested using romaine lettuce or wild lettuce and skip the peppermint tea.
It turns out there is some science behind the viral trend.
"Lactuca sativa (lettuce), an annual herb which belongs to the Compositae family, is known for its medicinal value," a study from the US National Library of Medicine says.
"Traditionally, lettuce has been suggested to have a sedative-hypnotic property."
Since the video went viral, others on TikTok have also tried it and quite a few found it worked and many people appreciated the hack.
"I needed this like 36 years ago," someone said in the comments of Shapla's first video.
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