Updated June 2024

Has someone ever told you to drink lemon water before bed? While it may seem like an odd practice, drinking a glass of lemon water before you go to sleep provides you with many benefits. Lemons are naturally great for you, and your body needs water to survive. If you try this nighttime ritual, you’re sure to reap the healthy benefits.

Why Would You Drink Lemon Water Before Bed?

Sleep is essential for human life. What you do before bed sets the mood for how your night of sleep will go. You need adequate sleep to function well in your daily life, whether you’re highly active or lead a sedentary life. You should take your sleeping environment and habits seriously. Make sure to prepare your room for the best quality sleep when you can.

Why is sleep so important? Slumber allows your body to slow down enough to devote its resources to recovery, healing damaged tissues and fighting infection. Providing it with the tools it needs during this time can improve the quality of this therapeutic time, and the vitamin C in lemon water works as a powerful antioxidant to wick damaging free radicals out of your system. 

Additionally, lemons are great for the body. People use it in many treatments, such as for stopping acne or killing bacteria. Squeezing a fresh lemon into your water shouldn’t overpower the taste of the water, only add a hint of lemon. Most people find the citrusy taste of lemon water before bed refreshing, adding zest to an otherwise boring beverage. Adding a slice of fresh fruit and a sprg of mint can even make it feel like a healthy nightcap. 

The Benefits of Drinking Lemon Water Before Bed

Though drinking warm water may seem unusual to you at first, it’s a habit that you can quickly get used to once you put it into practice. Just remember that you don’t have to sip on it — you can drink it all at once if you’d prefer! Drink lemon water before bed to see which of the following beneficial changes you’ll reap.

1. The Dose of Vitamin C

The great thing about Vitamin C is that it can shorten the duration of colds and other illnesses. Vitamin C can support your immune system and keep you from catching and battling colds. It’s an all-natural substitute for taking a multivitamin or other supplement. You should have Vitamin C daily because it can’t be stored in your body for long, and absorbing it every night through a glass of lemon water is an excellent way to add the vitamin to your system.

2. Mood Improvement

When you’re properly hydrated, you may experience a boost in your mood. Since your body won’t be craving anything from the moment you wake up, you can jump right into your usual routine and feel more refreshed and ready for the day. If you need a boost in the morning, turn to lemon water at bedtime rather than coffee in the morning. See how the substitution works out for you.

3. Weight Loss

In addition to drinking your regular glasses of water throughout the day, lemon water just before bedtime can help you lose weight. Staying adequately hydrated throughout the day, whether exercising or not, is crucial. Drinking lemon water before bed can help you maintain your weight, which can help if your weight or hydration levels have been affected by the weather, fluid loss or something else.

4. Water Keeps You Hydrated Overnight

Hydration helps keep your skin healthy, among other benefits. Since nighttime is when your body repairs itself, it makes sense to drink water before bed. Without the proper hydration, you might experience fatigue or short-term memory loss, among other concerning conditions like kidney stones and gallstones. Thirst is one of the first signs of dehydration. Even before bed, you can prevent several debilitating symptoms by drinking water regularly. You can also encourage generous benefits, like how staying properly hydrated can lubricate your joints and potentially lead to less pain.

5. Reduced Illness Symptoms

Drinking water can speed up an illness. While water can’t ensure that you’ll avoid all diseases, it can keep you from feeling terrible for an even longer period. You lose fluids when you’re sick, so staying adequately hydrated can help you replenish what you’ve lost. Drinking water or clear broths can help immensely when you’re sick — so think of how much hot lemon water 

6. A Glowing Complexion

Free radicals can make you more susceptible to the bacteria that causes acne. However, the vitamin C you consume when drinking lemon water before bed may work as well internally as topical creams containing it do. 

Reducing red spots isn’t the only complexion-boosting benefit that drinking lemon water before bed may bring. Sufficient vitamin C intake boosts collagen production, a protein that forms skin’s structure, giving it strength and elasticity to fight signs of aging. 

7. Reduced Gastric Reflux Symptoms 

Gastric reflux occurs when fluids from your stomach flow back into your esophagus, causing what’s commonly known as heartburn. It can make sleep impossible, and it often strikes after you eat a heavy meal later in the evening, then lie down for bed. In a perfect world, everyone would have sufficient time between dinner and shuteye to digest, but such a utopia does not yet exist on earth. 

The research on using lemon water before bed to prevent gastric reflux produces mixed results, but many swear by the remedy. It may seem counterintuitive, as citrus fruit is acidic, boosting the amount you can eat. However, it may also shorten the duration that food remains in your stomach, moving it on to your intestines more quickly, decreasing gastric reflux symptoms. 

Does Lemon Water Before Bed Detox Your Body?

“Detox” is a bit of a misunderstood term. Your body undergoes detoxification all the time — it’s part of a continual process. However, your body’s natural defenses perform their jobs more efficiently when fueled with the right stuff — like the healthy hydration and antioxidants in each delicious glass of lemon water before bed. 

Squeeze a Lemon, Reap the Benefits

You can make and drink lemon water before bed so easily. All you need to do is squeeze a lemon and mix some of the juice with warm water. As a result, it can soothe your throat and improve your quality of life. You may find that you sleep better or have strengthened immunity against bacteria. Whatever the case, it’s worth trying — and potentially forming a new habit.