Experiment guides → Supplements → Tart cherry juice
Does tart cherry juice help you sleep?
Quick answer: maybe, modestly, and the evidence is three very small trials. Tart (Montmorency) cherries contain melatonin and tryptophan, and in a crossover study of 20 adults a week of concentrate raised urinary melatonin and improved total sleep time and sleep efficiency by around 5–6%. A pilot in older adults with insomnia found small reductions in night-time waking; another, in eight people, reported longer measured sleep. The trials are tiny and mostly industry-connected, and the trial dose delivers roughly 50 g of sugar a day. It's a pleasant, low-risk two-week experiment — as long as you measure it rather than assume it.
"I will drink tart cherry juice morning and evening for 14 days."
What the research says
Melatonin up, sleep a little longer. Howatson and colleagues gave 20 healthy volunteers 30 mL of tart cherry concentrate twice a day for seven days in a placebo-controlled crossover. Urinary melatonin rose significantly, and actigraphy showed increases in time in bed, total sleep time and sleep efficiency — a 5–6% gain in efficiency, which is on the order of 20–30 minutes for a typical night (Howatson et al., 2012).
In older adults with insomnia: small, honest gains. Pigeon's pilot gave 15 older adults with chronic insomnia a tart cherry juice blend or placebo for two weeks each. Insomnia severity improved modestly, driven by less wake after sleep onset — and the authors explicitly noted the effect was smaller than that of hypnotics or behavioural treatment (Pigeon et al., 2010).
Eight people, polysomnography, longer sleep. Losso's pilot randomised eight adults over 50 with insomnia to 240 mL of tart cherry juice twice daily or placebo for two weeks. Measured sleep time increased substantially in the cherry arm, and the authors proposed a mechanism via reduced tryptophan breakdown. Eight people is a hypothesis, not a result — but a testable one (Losso et al., 2018).
What this evidence doesn't say
The three trials total 43 people. Two are pilots, one lasted a week, and cherry-industry funding is in the picture. Nothing here is a treatment for insomnia. And the sugar is real: two 240 mL servings of juice is roughly 50 g, which matters if you watch blood sugar or weight — a concentrate diluted to the trial dose delivers less.
Run it as an experiment
- Five baseline nights. Morning ratings: sleep quality, restedness, time-to-sleep. Note night wakings — that's the outcome the insomnia pilot found most responsive.
- Choose the trial dose and the trial timing. Either 30 mL of Montmorency concentrate in water twice a day, or 240 mL of juice twice a day. The trials used morning and evening (about an hour before bed). Check the label for added sugar — you want 100% tart cherry.
- Make the pact. "I will drink tart cherry juice morning and evening for 14 days." Don't add it to a routine that's also changing — new bedtime, new supplement, new exercise — or you won't know what did what.
- Check in each morning. The three ratings plus a note on wakings. If you use a wearable, sleep efficiency is the number to watch; it's what the crossover study moved.
- Compare, then decide whether it earns the sugar. A clear gain in restedness or fewer wakings is worth a retest after a week off. No change means you can drop a daily 50 g of sugar with a clear conscience.
What to expect
If it helps, the signal in the trials was a slightly longer, slightly less interrupted night — not a faster fall into sleep. Expect small numbers: 20–30 minutes of extra sleep would be a good outcome, and that's the sort of thing you only notice if you're keeping a morning log. Two weeks at the trial dose also means around 700 g of sugar in total, which is a fair thing to weigh against a modest sleep gain.
Who should skip this
If you have diabetes or manage blood sugar, the trial dose is a lot of sugar in the evening; talk to your doctor or use a low-sugar concentrate. Tart cherry has mild blood-thinning and anti-inflammatory properties; check with a pharmacist if you take anticoagulants. Not a treatment for diagnosed insomnia.
Frequently asked questions
How much tart cherry juice should you drink for sleep?
The trials used either 30 mL of concentrate twice a day or 240 mL of juice twice a day, for one to two weeks. More hasn't been tested, and doubles the sugar.
Does tart cherry juice have melatonin?
Yes, in small amounts, and the crossover study did find urinary melatonin rose on the concentrate. Whether the cherries' melatonin or their other compounds (anthocyanins, tryptophan) drive the sleep effect isn't settled — which doesn't matter for a self-test, only for the mechanism.
When should you drink tart cherry juice for sleep?
The trials split the dose: one serving in the morning, one in the evening about an hour before bed. Copy that for the test; the evening serving is the one most people care about, but the trials didn't test evening-only.
Related experiments
Sources
- Howatson G, Bell PG, Tallent J, Middleton B, McHugh MP, Ellis J. Effect of tart cherry juice (Prunus cerasus) on melatonin levels and enhanced sleep quality. Eur J Nutr. 2012;51(8):909–916. PubMed 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. J Med Food. 2010;13(3):579–583. PubMed 20438325
- Losso JN, Finley JW, Karki N, et al. Pilot study of the tart cherry juice for the treatment of insomnia and investigation of mechanisms. Am J Ther. 2018;25(2):e194–e201. PubMed 28901958
Track this experiment in N of 1
A few baseline nights, then the change — and your own mornings deliver the result. No streaks, no guilt. Your first experiment is free.
Downloadon the App StoreThis page is general information about published research, not medical advice. If you have a sleep disorder, are pregnant, or take medication, talk to your doctor before changing your routine.