Benefits of Drinking Milk at Night: I Had Milk Every Night for 30 Days and Witnessed These 4 Benefits, Including Weight Loss! (2024)

I HAD MILK AT NIGHT FOR 30 DAYS AND GOT THESE 3 BENEFITS, INCLUDING MORE CALORIE BURN: I was never a milk person until I entered college and I had to live alone. If I go back to my school days, I still remember how my mother struggled to make me drink that one glass of milk early in the morning before I went to school. I made excuses like, "I feel nauseous", "It smells bad" and sometimes, I even used to flush all the milk while my mother’s sight was not at me.

That milk will make me taller was something I was always told as a kid. But now, being an adult, I know milk doesn’t exactly make you taller but surely, provides you with some essential nutrients that a kid needs during his growing years. But that again doesn’t mean that we as adults do not need milk. Milk has some important nutrients like calcium, potassium, phosphorous, iodine, Vitamin B2 and B12.

So, as I was telling, not did I only dislike milk but I actually hated it till my teen years. Later, when I started living outside for my studies and job, milk became my staple food. Yes, the irony happened. Being easily available and not requiring any kind of cooking, milk was an easy drink which made me feel full and not guilty about not having food. When I could not cook, I would have a glass of milk as it made me so full that I had no hunger pangs until next few hours.

Slowly, I developed the taste for milk and started having it twice a day, at morning and at night. But having milk at night was something I could not skip. Even if I was too full with my dinner, I took a small cup of milk.

My love-hate relationship with milk actually began to take a slight U-turn at this point of time. I have long struggled with poor and scattered sleep-- a problem which has only intensified during these current testing times. When I started drinking a cup of warm milk every night before hitting the sheets, I slowly realised I am falling asleep quickly when compared to before. I first brushed it off as a coincidence but when I woke with a restful night's sleep for 7 consecutive days, I decided to dig in.

Upon research, I realised that milk contains tryptophan and melatonin, compounds known to make you fall asleep and promote a good night's sleep. For the unversed, melatonin is also known as the sleep hormone which helps in regulating your body's circadian rhythm and help you sleep better. Secondly, tryptophan is an amino acid which plays an important role in the production of serotonin, which also helps in more restful sleep. While milk does contain several compounds which help in promoting a goodnight sleep, I also believe that the psychological impact of having a soothing bedtime ritual like drinking milk helped me improve my sleep cycle gradually.

It was not only because I liked it but also the benefits that I realised I got after having warm milk at night. The most important benefit was better digestion. Though I never had the problem of constipation but my schedule was a little haywire. By having warm milk every night before my sleep, the first thing in the morning I did was rushing to the loo. A clean system is one important aspect for a happy and healthy day ahead.

The second noticeable change was better sleep. I had a very disrupted sleep where I used to get up three to four times during the night for no reason. Milk contains tryptophan which is an amino acid that helps us sleep better. Tryptophan converts into serotonin, the hormone that gives you pleasure. Serotonin also increases the amount of melatonin in your body and melatonin is the hormone responsible for good sleep. Oh yes, I have read.

And now comes the last but not the least benefit, milk helped me lose weight. Wait! What? I know that is what your reaction must be right now. But believe me that actually happened. Milk is basically high in protein. Protein and fibre are the two most important nutrients that our body requires when we are on a weight loss plan. Milk also helps to keep your sugar levels in control which means you won’t feel tired or hungry for next few hours after you have it.

The better sleep that drinking milk gives you makes you burn more calories. We burn calories while we sleep and a better sleep means more calorie burn. A cup of milk reduced my appetite and stopped me bingeing even if I was awake late at night. Also, I would skip my second serving in dinner so that I had space for milk. But one should keep in mind to have only pure milk if one wants to lose weight. Do not add sugar, chocolate powder or any flavours to it. Following this practice made me lose 1.5 kilos in a month. I feel that’s a lot and such a motivation if you are losing it without doing anything but just having a glass of warm milk before you sleep.

Shreya Khurana