Broadcaster praises almonds as 'natural sleep aid' after a week of uninterrupted sleep

Broadcaster Baek Ji-yeon has drawn attention after praising almonds as a "natural sleep aid," saying she slept through the night without waking for an entire week after eating them before bed. She acknowledged eating only a tiny amount but said she was satisfied because almonds posed no harm to her health.

Baek said Monday on her YouTube channel that "50 percent of middle-aged women suffer from insomnia — it's every other household," and added, "The natural sleep aid I've discovered is almonds."

She said she normally eats dinner around 5 to 6 p.m. and goes to sleep without eating anything afterward. She added that she places great importance on quality sleep but had been puzzling over why she kept waking in the early hours of the morning.

"When I was using a blood glucose monitor in the past, I occasionally noticed my levels dropping into the hypoglycemic range while I slept," she said. "Apparently, when hypoglycemia hits during sleep, the body declares an SOS emergency and switches into survival mode."

She then explained, "When hormones like epinephrine or cortisol surge, they can have an arousing effect — you don't wake up wondering what time it is, you just snap awake. Symptoms like heart palpitations can also appear."

She went on to say, "Doesn't that sound familiar? Those are exactly the symptoms of menopause. Whether it's caused by a drop in the female hormone estrogen or by a sudden bout of hypoglycemia triggering that arousal effect, I can't say for certain."

Citing a research finding, Baek said, "There was a study showing that the group who ate almonds slept better. The polysomnography results didn't show a statistically significant difference, but when people were simply asked whether they slept well, they said they did — by a wide margin."

"I ate six to eight almonds and went to sleep, and I didn't wake up once that night," she said. "I slept soundly for seven straight nights."

However, she noted, "Walnuts contain the most melatonin among nuts. To get the 0.3 milligrams of melatonin we need for sleep, you'd have to eat 240,000 almonds — yet what put me to sleep was just six almonds, an incredibly tiny amount."

Baek added, "I've decided to just believe in it. Almonds don't harm your body — they're a healthy nut. Eating too many might have side effects, but if this can change my sleep and my mood, I'm more than satisfied, and it puts my mind at ease."

Meanwhile, almonds are widely regarded as beneficial not only for weight management, anti-aging and skin health, but also for preventing a range of diseases. Research has found them effective in reducing the risk of conditions linked to major organs — including diabetes, arteriosclerosis, high blood pressure, heart disease and brain disorders — as well as in supporting heart health and weight control.