If you’re one of the countless people who struggle to fall and stay asleep, natural sleep aid supplements may provide the help you need. (1)

Unfortunately, poor sleep can leave you more than just feeling tired the next day. It can negatively affect your daily activities, which is why it is important that you rectify the situation as soon as possible.

Thankfully, there are quite a few natural sleep aid supplements on the market. Of course, with all these options, it can be very difficult to decide which one is right for you.

To assist you in making this decision, the following offers a review of five of the top natural sleep aid supplements. Before you get to the reviews, you’ll find a short overview of natural sleep aid supplements, including what types of ingredients they often contain, who would benefit from them, and what to look for when choosing a supplement.

What do Natural Sleep Aid Supplements Contain?

Natural sleep aids usually contain one or more vitamins, minerals, and/or herbs that have demonstrated an ability to reduce the stress and anxiety that tend to keep you up at night, as well as contain sedative properties that promote sleep.

In addition to passion fruit, magnesium, and lavender, they frequently contain:

Chamomile

Used for centuries, this herb acts like a mild tranquilizer and sleep-inducer. It is believed to do this by binding to benzodiazepine receptors in the brain. (2)

Valerian root

This is an herbal extract that increases GABA (a neurotransmitter that is crucial for relaxation and reducing stress and anxiety) in the brain, which calms nerve cells and promotes a sedative effect. (3)

Melatonin

Although it is not a vitamin, mineral, or herb, melatonin, a hormone your body naturally produces to signal the brain that it is time to sleep, is also often included in natural sleep aid supplements. When melatonin is included in supplements, a man-made synthetic version is used that is chemically identical to the melatonin that is produced in your body. (4)

While all melatonin is inherently going to be synthetic, you should still avoid other synthetic ingredients in your supplements. 

Who Could Benefit from Natural Sleep Aid Supplements?

Almost anyone who either has difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or a combination of the two will likely benefit from a natural sleep aid supplement.

In addition, they may prove beneficial for individuals who:

  1. Wake up feeling unrefreshed after a night’s sleep
  2. Struggle with fatigue, low energy, and the feeling of always being tired
  3. Have difficulty concentrating during the day
  4. Often wake up too early or after just a few hours of sleep

Reasons to Avoid Buying a Natural Sleep Aid

Synthetic, Unnatural ingredients

Ingredients, such as diphenhydramine (the active ingredient in Benadryl), do more than just make you sleepy. For example, diphenhydramine helps treat allergic reactions, as well as itching, sneezing, and runny nose. Unless you are having a true allergic reaction, you do not need a supplement with unnatural ingredients.

Supplements purchased overseas

The FDA strongly suggests avoiding any natural sleep aid supplements purchased overseas or marketed almost completely in a language you don't understand. (5) They could be dangerous.

Prescription sleep aids

While prescription sleep aids are usually considered safe for a short period of time, they tend to be highly addictive. (6) You can get the same effects from a natural sleep aid without the fear of becoming addicted.

What to Look for in a Natural Sleep Aid Supplement

When choosing a natural sleep aid supplement, take a good look at the label:

Well-known companies

A reputation for producing high-quality supplements is created by long-term quality.

Third-party testing

Products should be tested by an impartial, outside source for potency and purity.

As few ingredients as possible

This helps you avoid unnecessary chemicals, such as fillers and preservatives.

Remember, you should always speak with your physician before starting any type of supplement. He or she can also advise you on a good dosage to start off with.

3 Secrets to Better Rest

Practice good sleep hygiene

Sleep hygiene is a series of practices that helps your body maintain a sleep routine. It includes staying out of bed unless you are going to sleep, avoiding sugary snacks before bed, and more.

Don’t shower right before bed

You may feel more relaxed, but your body needs to cool down before you can fall asleep easily. If you like to shower at night, you should give your body about an hour before you try to sleep.

Avoid bright lights

Especially from hi-tech devices, like smartphones, tablets, and HDTVs, blue-wave light has been shown in studies to disrupt your sleep patterns. Try reading before bed instead, or use the “night mode” on your devices.

OUR SPECIALIZED RANKING SYSTEM

Now, that you have a better understand of natural sleep aids and how you can benefit from the supplements, it’s time to look at some of the most popular supplements on the market. At Smarter Reviews, we employ a comprehensive evaluation system to analyze and measure the full value of products. This is based on ingredients, safety, potential effectiveness, return policies, and overall customer satisfaction. We call our method the Smarter Reviews Ranking System.

TOP 5 natural sleep aid supplements

These short reviews include information on their ingredients, safety, return policy, customer satisfaction level, and projected effectiveness.