Why Drinking Bone Broth Before Bed Can Improve Your Sleep Quality

The Night Ritual You Didn't Know You Were Missing

Most people have a version of a bedtime routine. A book. A phone scroll they regret. Maybe a chamomile tea. But what if one of the most powerful things you could do for your sleep was already hiding in your kitchen — or in a small, convenient stick you could dissolve in hot water in under a minute?

Bone broth before bed is not a wellness trend. It's an ancient practice, rooted in something your grandmother probably knew instinctively: a warm, nourishing drink before sleep calms the body, settles the nervous system, and prepares you for rest.

But now, science is starting to explain exactly why it works — and the results are genuinely remarkable.

The Glycine Connection: Your Brain's Natural Sleep Switch

The most compelling reason to drink bone broth before bed comes down to a single amino acid: glycine.

Glycine is naturally abundant in bone broth — produced during the long, slow simmering of animal bones and connective tissue. And over the last decade, researchers have become increasingly interested in glycine's role in sleep regulation.

Here's what the science shows:

A landmark study published in Sleep and Biological Rhythms found that participants who took glycine before bed fell asleep significantly faster, experienced less daytime sleepiness the following day, and reported feeling more alert and clear-headed upon waking.

Another study published in Neuropsychopharmacology found that glycine lowers core body temperature — a critical trigger for the onset of deep sleep. When your core temperature drops, your brain receives the signal that it's time to transition into slow-wave sleep, the most restorative phase of the sleep cycle.

In other words, glycine doesn't just make you feel sleepy. It actively creates the physiological conditions your body needs to enter deep, quality sleep.

A single serving of bone broth — like one The Osso stick dissolved in hot water — provides a meaningful amount of naturally occurring glycine, without any synthetic supplementation.

Magnesium and Minerals: The Quiet Relaxants

Bone broth isn't just rich in glycine. The slow-cooking process also extracts a range of minerals from the bones themselves, including magnesium, calcium, and phosphorus.

Magnesium, in particular, plays a direct role in sleep quality. It activates the parasympathetic nervous system — the part of your nervous system responsible for rest and recovery — and regulates melatonin, the hormone that controls your sleep-wake cycle.

Low magnesium levels are consistently linked to insomnia, restless sleep, and difficulty falling asleep. While bone broth is not a magnesium supplement, it contributes to your daily mineral intake in a form that is naturally bioavailable and easy for the body to absorb.

Collagen and Gut Health: The Sleep-Gut Connection

There is a growing body of research linking gut health to sleep quality. The gut and the brain communicate constantly through what scientists call the gut-brain axis — and when your gut is inflamed or irritated, it can significantly disrupt your ability to sleep well.

The gelatin in bone broth acts as a soothing agent for the gut lining. It helps reduce intestinal permeability (sometimes called "leaky gut"), calms inflammation, and supports the healthy balance of gut bacteria — all of which have downstream effects on mood, stress levels, and sleep.

Furthermore, approximately 90% of your body's serotonin — the precursor to melatonin — is produced in the gut. A healthier gut means more efficient serotonin production, which means a more regulated sleep-wake cycle.

Drinking bone broth regularly, especially in the evening, is one of the gentlest and most natural ways to support gut health and, by extension, sleep quality.

The Ritual Effect: Why Warm Drinks Before Bed Work

Beyond the biochemistry, there is something to be said for the ritual itself.

Warm liquids before bed have been shown to have a mild sedative effect — partly through the physical warming of the body, partly through the psychological signal that it's time to wind down. Unlike caffeine-containing drinks, bone broth is completely caffeine-free and low in calories, making it an ideal evening beverage.

The act of preparing something warm and nourishing, sitting down with it away from screens, and drinking it slowly — this kind of intentional pause before sleep is itself a form of stress reduction. And reduced cortisol in the evening is one of the most direct pathways to better sleep.

The Osso bone broth sticks are particularly well-suited to an evening ritual: one stick dissolved in 200ml of hot water takes under a minute to prepare, and delivers a rich, warming drink with no added salt, no preservatives, and no compromise on taste.

How to Make Bone Broth Your Evening Ritual

The simplest version: Dissolve 1 The Osso bone broth stick in 200ml of hot (not boiling) water. Drink slowly, 30–60 minutes before bed.

Add-ins to enhance the sleep benefits

A pinch of turmeric — anti-inflammatory, supports gut health.

A slice of fresh ginger — warming, aids digestion.

A few drops of lemon juice — balances the richness, adds vitamin C.

A small pinch of sea salt — supports mineral balance.

What to avoid: don't add honey or anything sugary right before bed — blood sugar spikes in the evening can interfere with sleep onset.

The Bottom Line

Sleep is the foundation of everything — your energy, your mood, your metabolism, your immune system, your skin. And yet most of us treat it as an afterthought, rather than something worth actively investing in.

Bone broth before bed is not a magic solution. But it is a genuinely nourishing, science-backed habit that supports your body's natural ability to rest, recover, and restore itself overnight.

One warm cup. One minute to prepare. One small habit that might change how you wake up tomorrow.

Try it for two weeks and see how you feel.

“The Osso bone broth sticks are available for pre-order at the-osso.com. Shipped across Europe.”