Sometimes we have one rough night of sleep, and even worse, sometimes we go through a patch of little sleep for a few days – and we all know how mentally and physically draining that is.

It has been proven that women need more sleep than men and are more likely to to suffer from insomnia.

There are many tips and tricks around the Internet that promise you'll be asleep in ten minutes flat – but sometimes, the best remedies are the natural ones.

Tart cherries, for example, are one of the few foods that contain melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate sleep cycles.

"Montmorency cherries contain the highest level of naturally occurring melatonin of any fruit, more than six times the amount found in similar Balaton cherries," says Michael Breus, author of Good Night: The Sleep Doctors 4-week Program to Better Sleep.

"We're discovering that tart cherries help people fall and stay asleep, without the side effects or medication interaction caused by other super foods like grapefruit," Michael told Woman's Day.

Unfortunately, tart cherries aren't the sweetest in the world, so Michael has come up with a smoothie to make it tasty (and effective):

Ingredients:

• 60ml of tart cherry juice concentrate
• 1 banana
• 1 kiwi
• 1 cup coconut or almond milk
• 10 ice cubes

Method:

1. Place all ingredients in a blender and puree until smooth. Finito!

Simple, huh? Bananas and kiwis are also known to be beneficial for sleep, and nut milk will help with any intolerances. Happy sleeping!