Other uses also include anxiety relief. Studies have shown that the ingredients in relaxation drinks can help promote alpha wave brainwave patterns, improving concentration. Depending on the formula, relaxation drinks can promote REM (rapid eye movement sleep) sleep. An occasional relaxation drink is probably fine for most healthy adults, but read the warnings on the labels and the maximum daily dose.
People taking supplements or medications should first ask their doctor about possible interactions. Then check our table for the size of the container, price, calories and sugar content per container, which vary widely. A new generation of wellness drinks claim to help you feel calmer and more relaxed, but some experts are sceptical about whether they can live up to the hype. Think of them as the opposite of energy drinks.
A new wave of relaxation drinks may ease stress and anxiety and even help you sleep, according to the companies that sell them. The drinks have not been tested in rigorous clinical trials, but at least some of their ingredients have been shown in studies to promote sleep or relieve anxiety. In this sense, the relaxation drinks are not so different from the energy drinks that inspired them. Unlike the other drinks on this list, Recess’ blend aims to provide energy, albeit in a relaxing way.
Interestingly, the CR experts found that most of the drinks tested did not contain significant amounts of these relaxation-promoting ingredients – in most cases, they were either below the amounts listed on the label or far below the amounts tested in reputable studies. Three drinks listed GABA, a chemical that may help regulate stress and anxiety, but even at the maximum recommended daily dose, two Dream Water 0-Calorie Sleep and Relaxation Shot and RelaxZen Night contained far lower amounts than the daily dose of GABA used in one published study. This is a fairly broad category that includes sports drinks, energy drinks and, of course, relaxation drinks. The stress Witte is talking about also affects sleep, which is why the category of relaxation drinks also includes drinks with melatonin.
A spokesperson for the US Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said that relaxation drinks “do not contribute to emergency room visits or that the visits are so infrequent that they cannot be counted. Relaxation drinks also appeal to me because I’m hyper and tense at the best of times, and these are not the best of times. Relaxation is not really about the ingredients in the drink, says Benjamin Witte, founder and CEO of Recess. Representatives from Recess, Moment and Kin Euphorics, three popular beverage brands that claim to contribute to relaxation, stressed that their drinks aim to induce a sense of calm, not necessarily treat anxiety disorders.
One would think that a relaxation drink would not contain much sugar, but some brands have more than 100 calories per serving – not to mention artificial colours and flavours.
