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Does Tart Cherry Juice Help You Sleep?
- Sleep Benefits: Tart cherry juice may improve sleep quality and duration because it contains tryptophan and melatonin, both of which support healthy sleep.
- How Much and When: You can drink up to 16 ounces of tart cherry juice an hour before bedtime or take 480 mg of extract daily, with or without bedtime timing.
- Considerations: Some people may experience stomach upset from the sugar sorbitol, and tart cherry juice can interact with medications like blood thinners, so consult your doctor first.
Cherries have a variety of health benefits. In particular, the juice of sour cherries, also known as tart cherry juice, can help fight inflammation, reduce muscle soreness, and boost your immune system. Research also suggests that tart cherry juice may help people sleep.
Learn more about how tart cherry juice can help improve sleep, how much you should drink if you want to try this natural sleep aid, and other health benefits of tart cherry juice.
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Why Tart Cherry Juice Helps You Sleep
One-third of Americans report not sleeping enough each night. Tart cherry juice may be able to help. While it’s not a natural cure for insomnia, studies suggest that tart cherry juice leads to better and longer sleep, likely because it contains tryptophan and melatonin.
- Melatonin is a sleep hormone secreted at certain times of day to help the body transition to sleep.
- Tryptophan is an essential amino acid that helps the body produce melatonin.
Every 100 grams of tart cherries contain about 9 milligrams of tryptophan . And there’s evidence to show that drinking tart cherry juice increases melatonin available in the body and promotes better sleep quality. Drinking a glass of tart cherry juice after a meal of sleep-supporting foods may provide added benefit.
How Much Tart Cherry Juice to Drink
If you’re considering tart cherry juice for sleep, it’s best to pick one without added sugar, so you don’t inadvertently add too much sugar to your diet. If the sour taste of the cherry juice doesn’t suit your preferences, you can also buy tart cherry extract as a supplement in pill form.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Office of Dietary Supplements reports there are no safety concerns associated with drinking up to 16 ounces of tart cherry juice or taking 480 milligrams of tart cherry extract capsules once per day for up to two weeks.In addition to tart cherry juice, you can also take melatonin as a pill, liquid, or gummy. Talk to your doctor before taking melatonin supplements for the first time.
When to Drink Tart Cherry Juice for Sleep
Drinking tart cherry juice at the same time each day can help you get into the habit of drinking it, which can increase your body’s melatonin production. You may want to consider adding tart cherry juice to your bedtime routine. Try drinking a glass about an hour before bed to prevent having to use the restroom during the night. Pairing tart cherry juice with your evening book or bath may help you wind down.
However, researchers found that tart cherry juice can help improve sleep no matter what time you drink it. So if you prefer a glass at breakfast or lunch, you can still expect the same benefits as you would if you drank it before bed.
Additional Benefits of Tart Cherry Juice
Drinking tart cherry juice may provide additional benefits beyond improved sleep, such as:
- Improved Muscle Recovery: The antioxidants present in tart cherry juice have been shown to reduce muscle damage in athletes . Additionally, consuming tart cherry juice or tart cherry capsules before exercise improves athletic performance and reduces muscle pain.
- Reduced Pain: Tart cherry juice may be able to reduce pain in instances other than athletic recovery, too. Studies of people with arthritis found that consuming tart cherry juice reduced arthritis-related pain and stiffness, as well as improved biological markers associated with arthritis.
- Improved Memory and Brain Health: The antioxidant properties of tart cherry juice might also help keep your brain healthy and protect against degeneration. One study found that older adults with dementia who drank about 6 ounces of tart cherry juice for 12 weeks showed improvement in short- and long-term memory .
Potential Risks, Side Effects, and Interactions
Stone fruits, including cherries, have a natural sugar called sorbitol. Most people tolerate sorbitol well, but it can cause stomach problems and diarrhea for people with an intolerance. If you have trouble eating other stone fruits, consult your physician before drinking tart cherry juice.
Tart cherry juice contains quercetin, which is a plant compound that occurs naturally in many highly pigmented fruits, including cherries. Researchers have found that quercetin can alter the effectiveness of certain medications, including certain blood thinners. If you’re on blood thinners and want to try drinking cherry juice, make sure to speak with your doctor.
How to Incorporate Tart Cherry Juice Into Your Sleep Routine
Maintaining a healthy sleep routine promotes a good night’s sleep. Following the same schedule every night can help your body downshift from the day and prepare for sleep.
Make sure to drink unsweetened 100% tart cherry juice rather than sweet cherry juice or a cherry juice cocktail blend, which have sugars that can affect absorption. If the taste prevents you from drinking tart cherry juice nightly, you can try consuming it in other ways.
- Dilute the tart cherry juice in water
- Make yourself a tart cherry juice bedtime mocktail
- Take tart cherry juice capsules
Putting the supplement on your nightstand or next to your couch can serve as a helpful reminder to take them. Or, you can set an alarm on your phone to remind yourself to take the supplement before bed.
Frequently Asked Questions
What’s the difference between tart cherry juice and sweet cherry juice for sleep?
Tart cherry juice has more naturally occurring melatonin than sweet cherry juice, so it’s a better choice for improving sleep. Sweet cherries are a healthy bedtime snack and they also have nutrition benefits and melatonin, just not as much melatonin as tart cherries. If you’re focusing on sleep, choose tart or Montmorency cherry juice instead of sweet cherry juice.
Is tart cherry juice safe for toddlers and children?
Research on tart cherry juice is so far limited to adults — there are no studies showing its effects on toddlers and children. Before giving kids tart cherry juice for sleep, try to help them set up a sleep routine they can follow every night and work on improving their sleep hygiene. Check with your pediatrician before giving your toddlers or children tart cherry juice and remember to start with small doses.
Is tart cherry juice safe to drink every night?
There haven’t been any studies showing the long-term effects of drinking cherry juice on a nightly basis, so experts don’t have any definitive advice on whether it’s safe to drink every night. Try tart cherry juice out for a week or two and see if it makes a difference in your sleep, and consult your doctor before introducing any sleep aid to your diet, including cherry juice.
Can I take melatonin and tart cherry juice together?
Tart cherry juice has significantly less melatonin than you’d find in a melatonin capsule, so taking them together shouldn’t put you at risk for melatonin overdose. The tart cherry juice extracted from 100 grams of cherries is 0.135 micrograms, while melatonin doses generally range from 1 to 5 grams. If you’re worried about introducing too much melatonin to your system by drinking tart cherry juice while taking melatonin, scale back your melatonin dosage.
Still have questions? Ask our community!
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Eric Suni has over a decade of experience as a science writer and was previously an information specialist for the National Cancer Institute.
Dr. David Rosen’s passion to help improve America’s sleep led him to launch renumasleep.com, a digital health platform focused on providing streamlined and accessible care for obstructive sleep apnea, in August 2022.
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