I Tried Drinking Dream Dust Before Going To Sleep & Here's What Happened

I like to think I’m a pretty fun 26-year-old, but even though I’m still young and like to have a good time, that good time needs to end no later than 10 p.m., because any later, and I’m that person dozing off in public. Throw all the shade you want, and keep the grandma jokes coming; I love my sleep, and because I value my beauty rest, I like to experiment with the latest trends rumored to enhance my snooze — which means I had to know, does dream dust work the way health and wellness gurus say it does? There was only one way to find out.

Call me old-fashioned, but if I’m home, I require a nightcap of some kind every single night around 9 p.m., like clockwork. This is the time I start winding down for the evening and begin to lull my body and mind to sleep so I can get in my six to eight hours (which I do, every night, because #structure). Normally I’ll opt for some kind of sleepy-time tea (Lipton and Bigelow have amazing blends) with a small dessert, but once I got my hands on a little bit of Dream Dust, I skipped tea leaves to give Moon Juice’s adaptogenic powder a try.

Usually, when I go to bed for the night, I sleep generally well, at least in the sense that I typically wake up feeling well-rested. As far as my dreams go, I either don't remember them at all, or when I can recall them, they're often these vivid, horrific scenes in which either I or someone very close to me gets hurt.

Since I had such a positive experience with Moon Juice’s Brain Dust for an afternoon pick-me-up, I had really high hopes for Dream Dust. I imagined the best night’s sleep I’d ever have, fantastical dreams painted with psychedelic colors, and only happy endings. Did it work? Well, before I tell you, let's talk about what Dream Dust actually is.

Dream Dust is a powder supplement made with adaptogenic herbs to promote better sleep quality.

Dream Dust, $38, Amazon

If you’re unfamiliar with adaptogens, allow me to educate you on these trendy powders. The first I’d ever heard of the stuff was when my favorite Insta-bloggers — like Jeanette Ogden of Shut The Kale Up and Lee Tilghman of Lee From America — would add a dash of ashwagandha into their morning cups of matcha or smoothies. I’d never heard of the funky sounding word so, being the internet detective that I am, I did my research and found that ashwagandha, according to the Chopra Center, is actually one, among many, of the most popular Ayurvedic herbs used to treat stress holistically.

Now, look, if there’s anything you can take away from this article about me personally, it’s that I believe food and natural ingredients from the earth are often the best form of medicine for our bodies, both physically, and mentally. The idea of calming my anxiety and enhancing different areas of my life — such as my sleep quality — with natural supplements, rather than prescription meds, is always enticing to me.

Still though, as someone who struggles with a digestive disorder, I will rarely go into an experiment blindly when it comes to putting something into my body, no matter how intriguing it sounds. Dream Dust’s ingredients list is a combination of seven herbs and extracts — ashwagandha root being one of them. It also features jujube seed powder which, in addition to stimulating restful sleep, is known to cleanse the blood and boost overall immunity, chamomile flower to lower blood sugar levels and relax the body, and schizandra berry powder to improve the body’s natural resistance to stress. Polygala root extract is added to further calm the nervous system, as well as stevia to taste.

Honestly, the combination of powders isn't very tasty, but you can easily mask the bitterness in hot beverages or smoothies.

Dream Dust, $38, Amazon

Once upon a time, I tried Moon Dust on a whim, without knowing what exactly it was and how their products would affect me. This was probably the first and last time I did a blind taste test. I poured the full packet into a cup of black tea and, once cooled, took a giant sip.

I’ll be completely honest: It did not taste good. The bitterness was overwhelming, and I threw out the entire cup. Luckily, tea isn’t the only beverage Moon Juice advices their dusts be mixed into.

According to Dream Dust’s product description, it can be added to warm milk, moon milk, and herbal teas. I decided to live a little dangerously and add it to some homemade hot chocolate made with unsweetened almond milk, cacao powder, and the slightest drizzle of maple syrup (sorry not sorry, but your girl’s got a sweet tooth, OK?).

Adding Dream Dust to my hot chocolate tasted fine and all, but I was pretty underwhelmed by the effects of the stuff.

Dream Dust, $38, Amazon

It wasn’t exactly love at first sip, but I wasn’t loathing it either. The mug smelled like hot cocoa, tasted like hot cocoa (a little too rich for my liking; next time, I’d use only one spoonful of cacao instead of two), but I expected more from my self-made sleep potion.

I can’t say that after I finished sipping through an episode of Hawaii Five-O that I felt particularly drowsy, but I did feel a bit of a heightened sense of calm. This was around 10 p.m. on a Thursday night, and I moseyed on into bed around 11 p.m. that evening. I didn’t fall asleep right away, though. I actually ended up being awake past midnight. So, as far as making me sleepy, Dream Dust didn’t quite do it for me.

In terms of my actual dreams, that was a bit of a disappointment, too. I woke up in the morning on a clean slate; I could not remember a damn thing from the night before. I will say, though, I felt entirely well-rested. I popped up and out from underneath my covers bright and early, and even made my husband eggs and toast for breakfast at 7 a.m. on my day off.

It's unfortunate, but it seems as though my expectations for Dream Dust were maybe a little too high. However, because the supplement did calm me down before bed, I'd definitely give this product a second try to see if, maybe, it just wasn't a fit with hot cocoa. Next time around, I'd add it to moon milk (which made me pretty sleepy on its own) to see how that works out.

It's also worth noting that, even though I'm not super impressed by the results, that doesn't mean this adaptogenic dust won't work its magic on you. Every body is different, so if you're considering giving this stuff a try, do your research and experiment for yourself. Bottoms up, and (hopefully) sweet dreams!