I bought a sachet of Horlicks today for the first time 15 years, it tasted amazing but I couldn't believe the effects. I felt sleepy in seconds. It's instantly very relaxing as well.

I then started to googling and found out it is produced by GlaxoSmithKline, one of the biggest drug companies in the UK and in the World. I've never heard of a drug company pushing commercial drinks before but apparently the science is real, although somewhat unexplainable.

Anyone got any theories?

Could it be the malt? Some secret nutrient or natural chemical? A drink like this also aids serotonin levels which boosts mood and can be a relaxant as well.

I never knew magic until I found this. Truly fascinating.

Horlicks and Ovaltine make me sleepy straight away.

I don't know whether there's anything in them to cause sleepiness, I've just associated those drinks with bedtime and sleep from a young age.
If I have a Horlicks then my body seems to think "Oooh sleep time".

Luckily I've never had sleep problems - I sleep the moment my head hits the pillow, but on the very few occasions I've had trouble dropping off, a cup of Horlicks/Ovaltine will do the trick.

I love, love, love Horlicks but for me it has to be the old school Horlicks that is made with hot milk, rather than the instant stuff. I assumed it was a mixture of the malt and the milk that helps you sleep.

Love it! The original - but these days I have to go for the lighter option.

I know I'm showing my age of 56 - but does anyone remember the the 'Horlick's tablets' or 'sweets'? They used to sell short tube/packs of them in small local chemists? Don't know what the health benefits were or they were sweets or for bedtime? Lovely tho'.

In Turkey, they have 'Salep' their version I guess - it's great.

I was quite surprised by how much sugar there is in traditional milk-made Horlicks - 37.5g.

Isn't that about 8tsps of sugar?

According to This site there are 4g sugar in a teaspoon, so over 9 teaspoons, Welsh-lad

Hot milky drinks before bed always seem to give me a rather 'thick head' in the morning

I remember those. This was back in the day when there were independent chemists in every town. Now we have Lloyds and/or Boots even in small villages.