Melatonin vs Tart Cherry for Sleep: Which Should You Take?

Melatonin and tart cherry are not the same thing in different packages. A melatonin supplement gives a measured dose of the hormone your body uses to signal night, while tart cherry is a fruit that contains a trace of natural melatonin alongside polyphenols. Choose melatonin when you want a clear timing signal at bedtime, and tart cherry when you want a food-based evening drink. Many people use both.

Key Takeaways

• Montmorency tart cherries contain about 13 nanograms of melatonin per gram of fruit (Burkhardt et al., 2001), a tiny amount next to a supplement serving measured in micrograms or milligrams.
• Melatonin supplements have the larger body of research: a meta-analysis of 19 trials with 1,683 people found about 7 minutes faster sleep onset and about 8 minutes more sleep (Ferracioli-Oda et al., 2013).
• Tart cherry sleep trials are small and short, used juice, and measured things like urinary melatonin, total sleep time and time awake at night.
• Researchers think tart cherry works through more than its melatonin, including a polyphenol called procyanidin B-2.
• They can be part of the same evening routine; check with your clinician first if you take prescription medicine.

Melatonin vs Tart Cherry: What Each One Is

Melatonin is a hormone your brain produces in response to darkness, and light at night can hold it back (NCCIH). As a supplement, it adds a measured amount of that same night-time signal. Our melatonin ingredient page covers how it works in the body.

Tart cherry is the sour cherry, Prunus cerasus, usually sold as juice, concentrate, powder or extract. It is studied for sleep for two reasons: the fruit contains natural melatonin, and it is rich in polyphenols. Montmorency is the variety used in most of the sleep research. For the full background on the fruit, see our guide to tart cherry for sleep.

Tart Cherry vs Melatonin Supplement at a Glance

	Measured melatonin	Tart cherry
What it is	The hormone itself, in a measured dose	A fruit with trace melatonin and polyphenols
Melatonin per serving	Stated on the label; ours is 200 mcg	About 13 ng per gram of Montmorency cherries
How much research	Many randomized trials, pooled in meta-analyses	A few small crossover trials of 8 to 20 people
What was measured	Time to fall asleep, total sleep, sleep quality, jet lag	Urinary melatonin, total sleep time, time awake at night
Form in sleep trials	Melatonin in a stated dose	Juice and juice concentrate
Timing	In the evening, before bed	Often twice a day, with one serving in the evening

How Much Melatonin Is in Tart Cherry vs a Supplement?

This is the biggest difference between the two. Researchers who measured melatonin in tart cherries found about 13.46 nanograms per gram in Montmorency cherries and 2.06 nanograms per gram in Balaton cherries (Burkhardt et al., 2001).

A nanogram is a thousandth of a microgram. One serving of our Melatonin Nasal Spray gives 200 mcg of melatonin, which is 200,000 nanograms. At the Montmorency level, you would need roughly 15 kilograms (about 33 pounds) of cherries to match the melatonin in that one serving. So tart cherry is not a natural stand-in for a measured melatonin dose, and measured melatonin is not a concentrated cherry. They are different tools.

That trace melatonin is also why an honest tart cherry label says no added melatonin rather than melatonin-free. Tart cherry is one of several foods with melatonin, all in small amounts.

What Each Was Studied For

Melatonin

A meta-analysis of 19 randomized, placebo-controlled trials with 1,683 people with sleep problems found melatonin shortened the time to fall asleep by about 7 minutes, added about 8 minutes of sleep and modestly improved sleep quality, and the effect did not fade with continued use (Ferracioli-Oda et al., 2013). Research also suggests melatonin may help with jet lag (NCCIH). In short, it is studied as a timing signal.

Tart cherry

The tart cherry trials are small crossover studies, where each person tried both the cherry drink and a placebo drink:

• 20 healthy adults, 7 days. Tart cherry juice concentrate raised total urinary melatonin and increased time in bed, total sleep time and sleep efficiency compared with placebo. The timing of the melatonin rhythm did not shift (Howatson et al., 2012).
• 15 older adults with long-term poor sleep, 2 weeks. Two 8 oz servings a day, one in the morning and one 1 to 2 hours before bed, reduced time awake after first falling asleep and improved a sleep severity score versus placebo. Time to fall asleep and total sleep time did not differ from placebo, and the authors called the effects modest (Pigeon et al., 2010).
• 8 adults over 50, 2 weeks. 240 mL of juice twice a day added 84 minutes of total sleep in a sleep lab recording. Sleep efficiency improved on one questionnaire, while four others showed no significant difference (Losso et al., 2018).

These are early studies, and they point to something interesting: tart cherry may support sleep through more than its own melatonin. In the 8-person trial, blood tests showed a lower kynurenine to tryptophan ratio, and in lab work the authors linked this to procyanidin B-2, a polyphenol in the juice (Losso et al., 2018). Tryptophan is the amino acid the body uses to make serotonin and melatonin. For the recovery side of tart cherry, see tart cherry juice benefits.

Timing: When to Take Each

• Melatonin: in the evening, at a steady time before bed, so the signal lines up with when you actually go to sleep. Our spray is used shortly before bed.
• Tart cherry juice: the trials split it into two servings, with one in the evening. Many people simply have a glass as part of a wind-down.
• A tart cherry sleep drink: our coming-soon Sleep Powder is planned for 30 to 60 minutes before bed.

Either way, timing works best alongside dim light in the last hour and a steady wake time. Our circadian rhythm guide explains why light matters, and our melatonin dosage guide covers how much people use.

Can You Take Tart Cherry and Melatonin Together?

Yes, many people do. Tart cherry is a food, and the melatonin it carries is tiny next to a supplement serving, so the cherry adds polyphenols and a pleasant evening ritual rather than a meaningful extra dose of melatonin. A simple approach is a tart cherry drink as part of your wind-down and a measured melatonin dose shortly before bed.

Short-term melatonin use appears safe for most people, and the side effects reported in short-term studies were mild, such as headache, dizziness, nausea and sleepiness (NCCIH). Talk with a clinician first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, and if you take prescription medicine, check with your clinician before adding a supplement. Tart cherry juice also brings natural fruit sugar, which is one reason some people prefer a powder.

The popular sleepy girl mocktail is built on tart cherry juice, if you want a recipe for the drink side of the routine.

Who Might Choose Which

• Your body clock runs late, you travel across time zones or your schedule shifts: melatonin, because timing is what it is studied for.
• You want a food-based evening drink and prefer no added melatonin: tart cherry. Our roundup of sleep supplements without melatonin covers other options.
• You want a clear signal and a calming ritual: both, with melatonin as the measured dose and tart cherry as the drink.

Benefits build with consistent nightly use: months 1 to 2 can bring early changes, and 3 months and beyond is where the full benefit builds.

Where Our Melatonin Nasal Spray and Sleep Powder Fit

Our Melatonin Nasal Spray gives 200 mcg of melatonin and 17 mg of L-theanine in every 2-spray serving, in alkaline water, made with third-party tested ingredients. Use it in the evening, shortly before bed. It is absorbed through the lining of the nose, so some of each dose skips digestion, and it gives a small, measured amount of melatonin without a pill to swallow.

If you would rather go the tart cherry route, our Melatonin-Free Sleep Powder is coming soon. It combines tart cherry with 3 g of glycine, 200 mg of magnesium from two gentle forms, myo-inositol and apigenin, mixed in water 30 to 60 minutes before bed, with no added melatonin, no 5-HTP and no added sugar or sweeteners. Join the waitlist on its page to hear when it is ready. The tart cherry trials above used juice, so they describe the fruit rather than our powder.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is tart cherry juice better than melatonin for sleep?

They do different jobs. Melatonin has far more research as a timing signal, while tart cherry juice has a few small trials that measured melatonin levels, total sleep time and time awake at night.

Tart cherry or melatonin: which should I take?

Choose melatonin if your sleep timing is off or you are dealing with jet lag. Choose tart cherry if you want a food-based evening drink with no added melatonin. Many people use both.

How much melatonin is in tart cherry juice?

Very little. Montmorency cherries contain about 13 nanograms of melatonin per gram of fruit, while one serving of our spray gives 200 micrograms, or 200,000 nanograms.

Is a tart cherry supplement the same as a melatonin supplement?

No. A tart cherry supplement gives the fruit and its polyphenols with a trace of natural melatonin. A melatonin supplement gives the hormone itself in a stated dose.

Can I take tart cherry juice and melatonin together?

Yes, many people do, with tart cherry as an evening drink and melatonin shortly before bed. Check with your clinician first if you take prescription medicine.

When should I drink tart cherry juice for sleep?

The trials used two servings a day, with one in the evening. Most people have it as part of their wind-down.

Does tart cherry work like melatonin?

Partly. One trial found it raised urinary melatonin, but researchers also point to its polyphenols, such as procyanidin B-2, which may affect how the body uses tryptophan.

Is tart cherry melatonin-free?

Not quite. Tart cherries naturally contain trace melatonin, so an accurate label on a tart cherry product says no added melatonin.

Sources

• Burkhardt S, Tan DX, Manchester LC, Hardeland R, Reiter RJ. Detection and quantification of the antioxidant melatonin in Montmorency and Balaton tart cherries (Prunus cerasus). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2001. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11600041/
• Ferracioli-Oda E, Qawasmi A, Bloch MH. Meta-analysis: melatonin for the treatment of primary sleep disorders. PLoS One, 2013. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23691095/
• Howatson G, et al. Effect of tart cherry juice (Prunus cerasus) on melatonin levels and enhanced sleep quality. European Journal of Nutrition, 2012. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22038497/
• Pigeon WR, Carr M, Gorman C, Perlis ML. Effects of a tart cherry juice beverage on the sleep of older adults with insomnia: a pilot study. Journal of Medicinal Food, 2010. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20438325/
• Losso JN, et al. Pilot study of the tart cherry juice for the treatment of insomnia and investigation of mechanisms. American Journal of Therapeutics, 2018. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28901958/
• National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Melatonin: What You Need To Know. https://www.nccih.nih.gov/health/melatonin-what-you-need-to-know

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This content is for education and is not medical advice. Our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Talk with a healthcare provider before starting a new supplement if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking medication.