View original article at livekindly.co
Vegan beverage company, Som Sleep, which launched at the beginning of this year, is on a mission to help people get good quality sleep, every night.
Created by plant-based entrepreneur, John Shegerien, the Som Sleep beverages include natural ingredients such as magnesium, vitamin B6, l-theanine (naturally found in green tea), and GABA, and are designed to help you fall asleep thirty minutes after consumption.
Shegerien created the drinks after he, himself, suffered from sleep issues. The entrepreneur suffered “a microsleep event” whilst behind the wheel of a car – essentially, he passed out briefly from exhaustion. Shaken by the incident, Shegerien knew he had to do something to help himself and others suffering from a lack of sleep, so he decided to create Som. “For many years, [my wife and I] had talked about vegan food products, plant-based food products, and invested in some restaurants…we put our money where our mouth was,” the founder told Nil Zacharias on his podcast #EatForThePlanet. “But [Som] was really personal. This one was so personal…we just couldn’t resist this opportunity.”
With a team of eight and the backing and support of an advisory board of nutritionists, personal trainers, dieticians, physical therapists, and more, Som is helping to change the way people sleep, for the better. With one in three Americans suffering from sleep deprivation, the plant-based beverage is more than called for.
However, sleep can also be improved through diet. As Dr. Neal Barnard has noted in the past, following a plant-based diet is likely to help you nod off, more than an animal-based one. “Complex carbohydrates stimulate the release of serotonin – a neurotransmitter that calms your brain and helps you sleep,” he explained. “So building your dinner around starchy foods, like pasta, rice, and potatoes, will help you doze off and stay asleep through the night.” Shegerien agrees with Barnard, “food is the best medicine,” the CEO told Zacharias. “Eating plant-based is, science doesn’t lie and there’s no refuting it, it’s just the best way to eat.”
He also told the podcast host that he believes society as a whole is on the cusp of catching on to the plant-based way of life, and the benefits it brings. “So much of society is looking for healthy alternatives,” he said. “Even if they just start eating plant-based during the day as the first step in the right direction, and then plant-based during the week and then having fun on the weekends, and then eventually…embracing it, and going all in. That’s where I really see this revolution going, to an evolution.”