Others Tested
These were effective, but not as consistently so as the above picks. I’d still encourage others to try since bodies react differently to the active ingredients in these over-the-counter sleep aids.
Photograph: Molly Higgins
AGZ Nightly Sleep Support for $99: I tested AGZ’s chocolate and mint flavors, which come with a frother, and you can blend the powder with water or milk, either warm or cold (although I think it tastes the best with milk, like a frothy hot cocoa). The drink doesn’t taste overly sweet and has a nice, rich chocolate taste. The mix is melatonin-free, instead with adaptogens, herbs, and minerals, including magnesium, vitamin B6, L-theanine, ashwagandha, and calming herbs. Because of the magnesium and L-theanine, my body felt more calm before bed throughout testing, but it didn’t consistently push me over to full-on sleepiness.
Photograph: Molly Higgins
Rebalance Dream Sleep Mints (Melatonin-Free; 31-Pack) for $46: These melatonin-free mints are designed to slowly dissolve, with natural sleep-inducing ingredients like L-theanine, L-tryptophan, GABA, and slow-release Reishi mushroom. You can take up to three lozenges every night, and it took me three to feel any sort of calming effects. I like the idea of a slow-melting mint alternative, but I’m currently testing the version with melatonin to see how it stacks up against the melatonin-free version.
Natrol Melatonin Gummies for $9: These have 10 milligrams of melatonin, which is about triple the recommended dosage, and they don’t have any of the other sleep-boosting ingredients found often in other sleep gummies. The strawberry flavor has sort of a grainy mouthfeel. But, they are cheap and worked effectively within half an hour.
Kona Sea Salt Deep Ocean Magnesium Water Drops for $12: Kona’s line of sleep and relaxation products use ocean magnesium from Hawaii to support improved sleep and muscle relaxation. I tried a whole host of Kona Sea Salt’s Hawaiian water products, including Calm Mineral Spa Bath ($8) and Deep Ocean Magnesium Mist ($18), but I found the drops to be most effective, although I still regularly spray the magnesium mist before bed. You just need to use one drop per one ounce of drinking water, and it supposedly quickly absorbs into the body, with a host of supposed benefits like regulating the sleep-wake cycle and promoting deeper sleep without a hangover. It doesn’t really taste like anything except slightly salty, but it didn’t deliver solid, consistent sleepy results like other picks above.
Photograph: Molly Higgins
Osea Vagus Nerve Pillow Mist for $20: This spray aims to create a calming atmosphere to help regulate and prepare the mind and body before bed. The longest cranial nerve in the body, the vagus nerve activates the body’s relaxation response to help regulate stress. Each spray of this mist releases a soothing essential oil blend of juniper berry, lavender, lemon tea tree, chamomile, and Moroccan rosemary to help relax the mind and body. The smell is almost hard to describe—it’s light, with slight herbal and citrus notes that made me want to douse all of my pillows and bed linens. It may have been a placebo effect, but this triggered something in me that made me feel like I was in a spa, and I always felt noticeably more relaxed, cozier, and ready for bed.
Not Recommended
Photograph: Molly Higgins
Earthing Pillow Cover for $130: This grounding pillowcase is supposed to serve as a sort of conduit for Earth’s natural electrons, which are supposed to lead to more restful sleep. According to Earthing’s website, this electron grounding is supposed to “rejuvenate, reduce inflammation,” and help you “reconnect with the earth.” In actuality, it’s a synthetic, plasticky faux-leather pillow cover infused with carbon pigment, which needs to be plugged in while you sleep. There is a strong safety warning, and it even comes with an outlet safety test to ensure it doesn’t cause an electrical fire while you sleep. So, that’s reassuring. I found the faux leather material to be way too hot, sticky, and uncomfortable, and I woke up feeling very much Not Grounded.
Photograph: Molly Higgins
ImmunizeLabs DeepSleep Formula for $129: These capsules use a blend of valerian root, GABA, L-theanine, melatonin, magnesium, glycine, and other ingredients like amino acids and herbs to promote faster sleep onset, reduce racing thoughts, relax the nervous system, and support a healthy REM cycle. You’ll need to take three capsules about 30 minutes before bed. These worked very well; I felt sleepy and slept deeply throughout testing. The pills are gigantic, however, and you’ll need to take them one at a time (and I could feel them in my esophagus). But more than anything, I can’t recommend them, because they don’t give the consumer any detailed information about the actual serving size of the ingredients. It just lists a “proprietary multi-pathway blend” but doesn’t detail the number of ingredients listed. It feels a bit unsafe to not be fully sure of the amounts of what I’m ingesting. Plus, the price point is flat-out egregious.
Canary Nighttime Nourisher (60-Pack) for $18: I hate to do this, because all of Canary’s products are so darn tasty, but I didn’t feel the effects of these sleep gummies. These vegan tart cherry gummies use natural ingredients like ashwagandha, chamomile, and lemon balm for a more natural foray into relaxation. Although they are super tasty (like every gummy supplement I’ve had from Canary), I didn’t feel any noticeable sleepy effects while taking these.
BodyHealth Sleep for $36: A serving size of three capsules are enhanced with “Perfect Amino” (BodyHealth gives no information about what it actually is), taurine, vitamin C, L-theanine, L-glycine, 5-HTP (I-5-hydroxytryptophan, which is often used for depression, with less evidence for helping insomnia); L-glutamine and GABA (amino acids), and 3 milligrams of melatonin. These horse pills were so hard for me to swallow, and gave me acid reflux symptoms every time I took them. They may have helped to increase sleepiness, but I was too focused on my heartburn to notice
What Else Can I Try Besides Sleep Aids?
Before just running to the store for a quick fix, Monica Baena, adult-gerontology nurse practitioner at the George Washington Center for Sleep Disorders, recommends establishing good sleep hygiene. This includes keeping a set sleep schedule, creating a bedtime routine, and avoiding screen time, alcohol, and bright lights before bed, as well as making sure you’re getting physical activity during the day and caring for any other health issues that may contribute to insomnia.
Part of the importance of creating a bedtime routine is making sure your bedroom is optimal for your personal sleeping preferences, whether that’s temperature or using a sleep mask or a sound machine—whatever is going to make your environment more conducive to a restful sleep.
What Are the Risks of Sleep Aids?
“There is a potential for both dependence and tolerance to sleep medication—these medications are intended to be for short-term use,” says Hannah Sagedy, physician assistant at the George Washington Center for Sleep Disorders. Though sleep aids can be helpful at times to initiate and maintain sleep, Sagedy outlines some of their more serious potential side effects, like grogginess and memory issues. They can even increase the risk for abnormal sleep behaviors like sleepwalking or sleep-eating.
As a general rule, people shouldn’t drive or operate machinery while on sleep aids or mix them with alcohol, and everyone—especially pregnant people or those with preexisting medical conditions—should consult their doctor before use. The FDA only endorses prescription medications for insomnia like Ambien, as well as over-the-counter medications, which often are just variations of the same two active ingredients: doxylamine and diphenhydramine. However, OTC meds are not regulated in the same way prescription drugs are. Some of the active ingredients, like doxylamine, have actually been shown to increase the risk of dementia.
What Are Some of the Common Ingredients in OTC Sleep Aids?
While these should be used in moderation, there are certain ingredients believed to help in promoting healthy sleep that appeared in most of the sleep aids on this list. Let’s do a crash course.
- Doxylamine, found in OTC medications like Unisom, is one of the most common medications used for insomnia and is also used for nausea during pregnancy and allergic rhinitis. It stays in your system longer than other sleep medications, so it’s more likely to cause that next morning “hangover” feeling of lingering drowsiness.
- Diphenhydramine, used in OTC medications like Benadryl and ZzzQuil, is also one of the most common OTC sleep medications and can be used for allergies too. Both diphenhydramine and doxylamine work similarly and have similar side effects.
- Melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone produced by the brain that helps regulate your internal clock. Increased levels of melatonin help signify it’s time for your body to sleep. Baena explains that “melatonin is a hormone released by the pineal gland in the brain. It is connected with the time of day and increases when it’s dark and decreases when it’s light. This helps with the timing of your circadian rhythms.” Sagedy warns that melatonin can give side effects such as drowsiness, dizziness, headache, and strange dreams. Melatonin has been proven to regulate the sleep-wake cycle, but since it’s considered a dietary supplement in the US, it’s regulated less strictly by the FDA than a prescription or over-the-counter drug. Melatonin is generally considered safe for pregnant people and children in low doses, but a doctor should be consulted before use.
- Other common ingredients include: vitamin B6, thought to aid in the production of melatonin; magnesium, which helps to regulate the nervous system and melatonin production; L-theanine, an amino acid that promotes relaxation; and GABA, an amino acid that helps calm the brain.
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