Ranked by evidence within the category
Sleep and relaxation supplements: what the evidence says
This category covers 42 supplements for sleep and relaxation, and none of them reaches a strong rating: 10 are moderate and 32 limited. The best-supported are melatonin, which helps you fall asleep faster and helps with jet lag, magnesium for people whose intake is low, and L-theanine for small reductions in acute stress. Most of the rest, including popular herbs such as valerian, passionflower, lemon balm and hops as well as glycine, GABA and multi-ingredient sleep blends, have only limited evidence.
Evidence last reviewed: September 2026
Moderate evidence (10)
The hormone that regulates the circadian rhythm.
A mineral involved in over 300 enzymatic reactions.
L-theanine produces small, genuine reductions in acute stress and anxiety and pairs well with caffeine for attention, but individual effects are modest and the sleep evidence is weaker than the marketing suggests.
Tryptophan above 1 g before bed measurably reduces time spent awake during the night, but its use for depression rests on old, poor-quality trials, and its safety history includes a fatal contamination outbreak.
Lactium is a tryptic hydrolysate of bovine alpha-s1 casein containing alpha-casozepine, a peptide that binds GABA-A benzodiazepine sites without benzodiazepine dependence.
A chewable delivery format for melatonin, whose modest effect on falling asleep is reasonably well documented.
A timed-release formulation designed to mimic the overnight melatonin curve rather than deliver one early spike.
An aromatic South American herb (Aloysia citrodora) rich in verbascoside.
Melatonin-based blends for crossing time zones.
Iron plus magnesium blends sold for leg jitters at night.
Limited evidence (32)
Glycine's sleep reputation comes from a small cluster of Japanese crossover studies with roughly a dozen participants each that have never been independently replicated at scale; the metabolic and glutathione research is early but genuinely interesting.
Oral GABA barely crosses the blood-brain barrier, and the human trials supporting it for stress and sleep are small, short and frequently funded by GABA manufacturers.
Small trials suggest lemon balm acutely increases self-rated calmness and may reduce anxiety and depression scores, but the pooled evidence rests on a few tiny, highly heterogeneous studies.
Valerian is the most-studied herbal sleep aid and still has not clearly beaten placebo on objective sleep measures.
Passiflora incarnata has a handful of small trials suggesting mild calming and modest subjective sleep benefit, but almost nothing at the scale or quality needed to call it effective.
Hops appears in nearly every herbal sleep formula, almost always alongside valerian, and the standalone human evidence is a couple of tiny pilot studies.
Apigenin became a bestselling sleep supplement on the strength of podcast attention and mouse studies — there is not a single randomised controlled trial of isolated apigenin for sleep in humans.
Wild lettuce ("lettuce opium") is marketed as a natural opioid alternative, which it is not — its lactones are sedative in mice at high doses and have no affinity for opioid receptors.
A Brazilian bark (Erythrina mulungu/verna) sold as a natural anxiolytic and sleep aid, but the only two human trials are in dental surgery patients and the larger, better-designed one found it no better than placebo.
A mild traditional sedative whose only decent human trial tested it inside a three-ingredient combination, where it beat placebo by under 2 points on a 56-point anxiety scale.
The sleep evidence belongs to jujube seed (suan zao ren) inside multi-herb Chinese formulas, not to the sweet jujube fruit most supplements sell.
Most sleep blends work because of the melatonin in them, at a dose you can buy alone for a fraction of the price — and the rest of the label is usually sub-therapeutic.
CBN's reputation as 'the sleepy cannabinoid' came from 1970s pharmacology that never actually showed it was sedating on its own.
A well-absorbed, gentle-on-the-gut form of magnesium marketed for sleep and anxiety.
Magnesium sulfate works as an osmotic laxative when swallowed, which is well established.
A traditional North American nervine herb (Scutellaria lateriflora) used for anxiety and restlessness.
A pleasant traditional bedtime tea made from Tilia flowers, long used in Europe and Latin America for tension and restlessness.
Famous for its effect on cats, catnip (Nepeta cataria) is also sold as a mild human sedative tea.
A bitter Artemisia herb with a long history as a digestive tonic and, in folklore, as a dream herb.
A biphenyl compound from magnolia bark with a clear sedative mechanism in animals.
A fungus used for centuries in Chinese medicine to 'calm the spirit' and drain dampness, and a component of many classical sleep formulas.
An Ayurvedic root (Nardostachys jatamansi) related to valerian and used for sleep and stress.
An Egyptian water lily (Nymphaea caerulea) sold as a relaxing tea or vape, with claims built almost entirely on ancient iconography.
A European nervine (Stachys officinalis) traditionally used for tension headaches and nervous unease.
Kiwifruit is one of the few whole foods with published sleep data, but the studies used fresh fruit, were small, and mostly lacked a placebo group.
Known in Chinese medicine as the 'collective happiness bark' and used for low mood and disturbed sleep.
Bedtime blends of valerian, chamomile, lemon balm, passionflower and lavender.
A whey protein fraction unusually rich in tryptophan, taken in the evening to raise brain serotonin.
A classical Chinese multi-herb formula (also sold as Gui Pi Wan) for insomnia with worry and fatigue.
The classic Chinese insomnia decoction, built around sour jujube seed.
A traditional Chinese formula for restless sleep with palpitations and anxiety.
Gummies and liquids combining low-dose melatonin with chamomile, lemon balm or L-theanine.
Comparison guides for this category
Glycinate, citrate, malate, threonate, oxide and more
Plain, extended-release or gummies?
The dietary amino acid or the step-closer precursor?
Ashwagandha, rhodiola or L-theanine?
Melatonin, magnesium glycinate, glycine, valerian or L-theanine?
Goals these supplements are ranked for
What actually helps you fall asleep and stay asleep, ranked by strength of evidence — plus the popular sleep supplements that do not hold…
Which anxiety and stress supplements actually have trials behind them, ranked by strength of evidence — plus the popular ones worth…
What actually helps with low energy and fatigue, ranked by strength of evidence, plus the popular energy supplements that do not hold up.
An evidence-ranked guide to supplements for jet lag and travel: what helps you adjust, what keeps you alert, and what to skip.
Our verdict
For trouble falling asleep or jet lag, melatonin is the reasonable first try, with modest expectations and attention to timing; extended-release melatonin has its best data in adults over 55. Be sceptical of sleep blends and herbal teas that promise sedation, and remember that melatonin gummies often contain a different dose from the one on the label.