The New York Rangers and Florida Gators use it as a sports drink. Now a juice developed in Geneva, Ontario County may help some insomniacs get some sleep.
The all-natural tart cherry juice called CherryPharm has been shown to improve aspects of sleep.
The juice company paid for a study done at the University of Rochester Medical Center's Sleep Lab. Fifteen elderly patients with insomnia saw a modest improvement in sleep when taking CherryPharm, compared to placebo.
Tart cherries, unlike sweet cherries, contain naturally occurring melatonin, which helps regulate sleep.
"It's a very small study. It got some encouraging results and we'd like to see where it goes from here,"
said Dr. Wilfred Pigeon, URMC Sleep and Neurophysiology Lab.
Tart cherries do grow in New York, but mostly in Michigan. CherryPharm got its start with help from the Food Experiment Station in Geneva.
