Skip to contentTagged “Supplements”
- MelatoninMelatonin is better at shifting your body clock than at knocking you out. For sleep onset it saves about 7 minutes on average. Low doses work; labels are often wrong.
- Evidence: Some
- Low effort
- Low cost
- Works: 1–3 days for timing shifts
- GlycineThree grams of glycine before bed improved how people felt about their sleep in a few tiny Japanese trials, most run by a glycine maker. Promising, but far from proven.
- Evidence: Weak
- Low effort
- Low cost
- Works: 1–3 nights in trials
- L-theanineL-theanine, an amino acid from tea, may slightly improve how well you feel you sleep. The effect is small, mostly self-reported, and many studies mixed it with other ingredients.
- Evidence: Weak
- Low effort
- Low cost
- Works: 2–8 weeks in trials
- MagnesiumMagnesium might shorten the time it takes older adults to fall asleep a little, but the trials are few, small and low quality. Stay at or under 350 mg a day from supplements.
- Evidence: Weak
- Low effort
- Low cost
- Works: 2–8 weeks in trials
- Tart cherryTart cherry juice added sleep time in a few tiny trials, but the evidence is weak, several trials were industry-funded, and the juice is high in sugar.
- Evidence: Weak
- Low effort
- Low cost
- Works: 1–2 weeks in trials