I think that people are looking for an answer to their difficulty sleeping problems and the cereal companies picked up on this and saw a chance for more sales and PROFITS. They probably do NOT believe that cereal will REALLY help. The question of WHY they are having sleep problems needs to be asked.
.........The Pandemic likely has a LOT to do with the problem - it was a NEW problem in both SCOPE and DIFFICULTY to solve. It opened and exacerbated social level, ethnic, regional, religious, and other WOUNDS in US society. It made many suspect that government did NOT "have their backs".
........Working from home and society-wide homeschooling disrupted the normal US paradigm causing internal family disruptions and conflicts - and undid the normal 5-day/ week schedule that people were used to and relied on for using their socializing skills. I believe that the number of marriages in the US has DROPPED and the number of single women and single mothers has increased.
.........On a very sad note, with more at-home, boring non-in-school finding of true friends and socializing, SUICIDES among 75% of teen girls and 25% of teen boys has unfortunately INCREASED. And the software of sites like Facebook that serve as a magnet to HOLD people on their sites has been a LARGE reason for these SUICIDES.
.......All told, the idea of evening cereal SOLVING the GIANT sociological problems associated with sleep difficulty is LUDICROUS !
........Also, no one has mentioned the additional problem that many MEN mostly have, which is that of waking up often from sleep to use the bathroom........I know I do.
..........That might take a separate thread to do justice to?

While this IS NOT quite true, you could almost MAKE the statement that the purpose of the US food industry is to DECREASE US longevity to control the population.

Waking up and smelling the roses can be a NICE invigorating experience.

That is why I only eat gallon tubs of chocolate ice cream every evening.
None of that sugary vanilla stuff for me! :icon_wink:

Good job. Could increase your lifespan.

There are ALWAYS exceptional people that live to 100 yet have a not-so-healthy diet. The question to be asked, IS, COULD those same people HAVE lived to 120 or even 140 years?

With the exception of CAULIFLOWER.

Yes, I sure understand, I too was just shocked. Never would have happened if I had not made the decision for Lent...but at the time I was ONLY thinking of the
"sacrifice" of dessert, of donuts with my coffee at the doughnut shop, of an ice cream cone listening to the music on the square. But the sugar (noted ADDED sugar !), in things like barbecue sauce ? in "healthy snack" yogurt" ? Anyway, as I commented, this has been more than a spiritual experience !

Yep ! Not sure, but look close, I've even found it packaged with a "sauce"... and the "sauce" has added sugar ! Think we've all been addicted to salt and sugar ! ?

Makes you wonder ! What is true is the "mixed messages"; constant bombardment of the horrifying increase in diabetes in all age groups, the development of more ways to treat, insulin pumps, etc. and at the same time the sugar and salt in everything continues to increase.... dichotomy in there somewhere ? People do love salt and sugar, so why would food companies, restaurants, fast food establishments, who are in business to make a profit, not continue to add more and more of what people love ?

Exactly, I found the same thing while on this "spiritual" journey for Lent ! Looked at dried fruit too, sure enough SUGAR galore and...not in the natural form like in fresh fruit. Another shocker was my preferred salad dressing, 14% of recommended guidelines for SUGAR ! Peanut butter, some brands have extreme amounts of both sugar and salt. Another interesting observation, the "healthy" choice brands of peanut butter and MANY other "healthy choice" products, have two, and some have three times, the SALT added ! The other thing I've really noticed (since I started paying attention !) if many products have changed the "per serving" listing. This was so subtle also. I was used to seeing "per Tablespoon" on things like ketchup, barbecue sauce, salad dressing, etc. Now, since I have been paying more attention, I noticed some brands have changed the designation to "per teaspoon" and the abbreviation for both, as we know, can be missed if you only give a slight glance... interesting anecdotal "research" I've been up to...LOL !

I am sure that the LARGE amount of sugar and salt in peanut butter is to "HOOK" children on their products. What I would wonder IS do countries like Australia, New Zealand, and maybe Denmark PROTECT their citizens and children from excess salt and sugar in processed foods? And if the US is the world leader in unhealthy processed package foods?

Well, today I was at neighborhood Walmart. As I walked down the cereal isle I saw the Walmart brand version of Cheerios. Looking at the ingredient's label I did not see sugar listed. I didn't buy it, but I'm considering it.

Yeah most cereal is actually horrible for you. Sugar, corn syrup, high fructose - all inflammation-inducing garbage.

Being the "third ingredient" doesn't necessarily mean Cheerios is high in sugar, it only has 2 grams per serving. To put that in perspective, you would have to eat 20 bowls to equal just one can of coke.