Key Takeaways
- Melatonin is an important hormone that regulates the body's internal clock.
- Foods like tart cherries, grapes, mushrooms, and pistachios are rich in melatonin, but the levels are usually lower than what's in melatonin supplements.
- There's not enough research to show how much the body can absorb or convert melatonin from food sources.
Melatonin is a hormone that your brain naturally produces to help you fall asleep more easily, and a lot of Americans are taking melatonin supplements as a sleep aid.1
These supplements are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, and their dosages can vary drastically.2
Can you get melatonin from your diet instead of relying on supplements?
Tart cherry juice, for example, is a key ingredient in the viral “Sleepy Girl Mocktail." Tart cherries have a relatively high melatonin concentration compared to other fruits, according to a 2017 review published in the journal Nutrients.3
However, studies on cherries and sleep have produced mixed results.45
Melatonin-containing foods might help you sleep better in certain situations, but the food sources have much lower amounts of melatonin than supplements, according to John Saito, MD, a sleep medicine expert and pulmonologist at the Children's Hospital of Orange County in California.
The 2017 review said foods such as grapes, mushrooms, pistachios, and rice also contain high levels of melatonin.3
Melatonin will not directly or quickly slow down your brain activity and put you to sleep. What it does is signal to the circadian clock in your brain to prepare for sleep, and therefore, the process is a slow progression to sleepiness.
— JOHN SAITO, MD
But food processing might reduce the amount of melatonin. "Goji berries may have melatonin, but desiccated and preserved goji berries may not,” Saito told Verywell in an email.
While melatonin levels can vary in food sources, there are additional nutritional benefits when you consume whole foods.
Melatonin-rich food sources also contain vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that provide benefits for overall health, according to Sue-Ellen Anderson-Haynes, MS, RDN, LDN, a registered dietitian based in Boston.
"When we consume melatonin-rich foods like pistachios, the vitamin B6 found in pistachios works to turn tryptophan into melatonin," Anderson-Haynes told Verywell in an email.
Tryptophan is an essential amino acid found in cheese, fish, sunflower seeds, and turkey and it can be used to make melatonin.6
"In order for this to happen, certain vitamins like B3, B2, B6, and iron must be adequate in the food and in the body to get the melatonin needed," Anderson-Haynes said.
There's not enough research to say how much you need to eat to "achieve therapeutic melatonin blood levels," according to Saito. However, the melatonin level in food sources is usually much lower than what's in synthesized supplements.
Should You Use Melatonin for Sleep Regularly?
It's also a misconception that melatonin acts like a sedative, Saito said, so don't expect melatonin supplements or food sources to knock you out.
"It will not directly or quickly slow down your brain activity and put you to sleep. What melatonin does is signal to the circadian clock in your brain to prepare for sleep, and therefore, the process is a slow progression to sleepiness," Saito said.
The CDC recommends creating good sleep hygiene habits for better rest, which include exercising during the day, setting a consistent sleep-wake schedule, and avoiding big meals, alcohol, and caffeine too close to bedtime.7
"In general, common sense remedies such as reducing bright light exposure prior to sleep and sleeping in a quiet, cool, dark, comfortable environment goes a long way toward a natural synchronized restorative sleep," Saito said.
Sources:
- National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. Melatonin: what you need to know.
- U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Facts about dietary supplements.
- Meng X, Li Y, Li S, et al. Dietary sources and bioactivities of melatonin. Nutrients. 2017;9(4):367. doi:10.3390/nu9040367
- Losso JN, Finley JW, Karki N, et al. Pilot study of the tart cherry juice for the treatment of insomnia and investigation of mechanisms. American Journal of Therapeutics. 2018;25(2):e194-e201. doi:10.1097/MJT.0000000000000584
- Hillman AR, Trickett O, Brodsky C, Chrismas B. Montmorency tart cherry supplementation does not impact sleep, body composition, cellular health, or blood pressure in healthy adults. Nutr Health. 2022. doi: 10.1177/02601060221111230
- National Library of Medicine: MedlinePlus. Tryptophan.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tips for better sleep.
Important Notice: This article was originally published at www.verywellhealth.com by Stephanie Brown where all credits are due. Fact checked by Sarah Scott
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