Review: reBloom

Sometimes, I feel like that fan who follows his favorite star across the country but just can't seem to get introduced to that star. He knows everything there is to know about the star and can sometimes convince himself that they are good friends, but ultimately, reality wins out every time. My star? It's sleep.

I love the feeling of being well-rested. I love waking up after a good sleep and feeling like I can tackle the world. Or at least I think I do. It's hard to remember what that feels like anymore, since I so often don't get the sleep I need. It isn't because I can't fall asleep - most nights that isn't an issue at all. Instead, I generally wake up in the middle of the night and then I'm stuck. I just can't get back to sleep for hours on end. By the time I do, it's almost time for the alarm to wake me up, and I'm exhausted again.

I survive. It isn't ideal, but I don't want to turn to any sleep aids because I see all the warnings about them and feel like I should be able to just sleep. Besides, I like finding more natural solutions, whether it's cleaning supplies or what we eat or something to help me sleep. I already know to avoid caffeine after 9am (seriously - I'll be awake still at 3am if I don't), but I need to find something else.

I recently received two bottles of reBloom via Mamapedia to try a natural sleep aid that is designed to help people fall asleep faster and stay asleep so that they wake up feeling refreshed. It sounds like the perfect solution for me, as the ingredients are chamomile, valarian root extract, melatonin, and l-theanine - along with filtered water, malic acid, lavender extract, natural flavors, and salt. That's the kind of natural relief I could use.

I was excited to try it out, as I was in the midst of another cycle of wake up at 2am and stay up until 5:30 then wake up at 7 feeling as though I could use another five to six hours of sleep. Each bottle contains 2.5 ounces of reBloom that is one full dose or two half doses. The idea is to drink either a full or half dose 30-60 minutes before you want to be asleep, and let it take effect.

Because I was wary of waking up groggy, the first night, I took a half dose. It tasted similar to many herbal teas I've drunk - which makes sense given the ingredients. It wasn't unpleasant and had an herby aftertaste. That night, I didn't have any trouble falling asleep - but I generally don't have that issue. Unfortunately, I still did wake up around 2am although I was able to fall back asleep sooner than I normally do. The second night, I took the other half dose (having put the bottle in the fridge after I'd opened it, as directed) and again still woke up, but this time went back to sleep fairly quickly for me. The third night I took a full bottle, hoping to stay asleep the whole night and not worrying about grogginess since it was now a weekend and I didn't have to wrangle children out the door early in the morning. Again, I woke up in the middle of the night, but I was able to fall asleep within about fifteen minutes which is huge for me.

I was pleased that I never woke up feeling groggy like I'd taken sleep medicine. I do wish that I had been able to stay asleep all night using reBloom, but I have a feeling that I'm somewhat of an outlier given my consistent middle of the night waking and the length of time before I'm able to fall back asleep. I wish my samples for review had been more than two bottles, as I wonder if being less tired when I go to bed would have an impact on how well I sleep at night. I know with the wee ones, the more tired they are, the harder time they have sleeping through the night.

ReBloom would be a useful tool for those nights when you know you need to get a really good sleep and just want a little push, especially if you were traveling and wanted to get over jet lag. I was comfortable with the ingredients and happy to see more natural products out there.

You can order reBloom direct from the company. There are different packages available, but each bottle costs on average a little over $3. Using the link above, you can try reBloom simply by paying $4.95 shipping and handling for two bottles.

In the interest of full disclosure, I received two bottles of reBloom via Mamapedia for review purposes only. I was not compensated, and all opinions are my own.