The evidence for tart cherry and sleep is mixed. Small trials of tart cherry juice in older adults with insomnia found modest improvements, and a short trial in healthy adults found longer sleep. Larger and longer trials have mostly found no effect, and the most recent meta-analysis of ten trials found no significant overall benefit (Sinclair, Baker and Bottoms, 2026).
So tart cherry is promising in some settings and unproven in others. Here is the detail.
What is Montmorency tart cherry?
Montmorency is a variety of sour cherry, Prunus cerasus. It is different from the sweet cherries (Prunus avium) sold for eating, and the research on one does not automatically apply to the other.
Tart cherries are rich in polyphenols, especially the red pigments called anthocyanins. They also contain a small amount of melatonin, the hormone that helps time sleep, which is where the interest in sleep began.
Does tart cherry contain melatonin?
Yes, though very little. Montmorency cherries contain about 13.5 nanograms of melatonin per gram of fruit (Burkhardt et al., 2001). That works out at a little over one microgram in 100g of cherries.
For comparison, melatonin in the UK is a prescription-only medicine, usually given as a 2mg tablet (NHS, 2023). You would need to eat well over 100kg of cherries to match it.
This matters for two reasons. First, melatonin content alone is unlikely to explain any effect tart cherry has on sleep. Second, the pooled trial data show no significant change in melatonin levels with tart cherry (Sinclair, Baker and Bottoms, 2026). One trial in healthy adults did find a rise in a melatonin marker in urine (Howatson et al., 2012), while another in athletes found no change in blood melatonin (Chung, Choi and Lee, 2022).
What the trials found
The positive studies
Older adults with insomnia. Fifteen older adults drank two 240ml servings of a tart cherry juice blend each day for two weeks. Compared with placebo, insomnia severity scores improved and time awake during the night fell from about 79 minutes to 62. Time to fall asleep, total sleep time and sleep efficiency did not differ significantly. The authors described the effects as modest (Pigeon et al., 2010).
A sleep-laboratory pilot. Eight adults over 50 with insomnia drank 240ml of Montmorency juice twice a day for two weeks. Sleep measured overnight in the laboratory was 84 minutes longer than with placebo. Time to fall asleep and time awake in the night did not change (Losso et al., 2018).
Healthy adults. Twenty healthy volunteers took tart cherry juice concentrate for seven days. Time in bed, total sleep time and sleep efficiency all increased, and a urinary marker of melatonin rose (Howatson et al., 2012).
These studies are small, and the two insomnia trials were funded by the cherry industry.
The studies that found no effect
- Three months of concentrate. Fifty middle-aged adults took 30ml of Montmorency concentrate twice a day for three months. Self-rated sleep did not differ from placebo (Kimble et al., 2022).
- Juice and capsules for 30 days. In 44 healthy adults, neither Montmorency juice nor capsules of powdered cherry changed sleep time or quality compared with placebo. Sleep improved in all groups (Hillman et al., 2022).
- Capsules before bed. Thirty-four adults with sleep complaints took 500mg of Montmorency cherry powder an hour before bed for two weeks. There was no effect on any sleep measure, including sleep time recorded by EEG (Tucker et al., 2024).
- Athletes. In elite hockey players, 48 hours of tart cherry concentrate changed some movement-based sleep measures but not total sleep time (Chung, Choi and Lee, 2022).
What the reviews say
An earlier meta-analysis reported that cherries improved objectively measured sleep time and sleep efficiency, with no significant effect on self-reported sleep (Stretton et al., 2023). It combined tart and sweet cherry studies and predates several of the null trials.
A 2025 systematic review of seven studies found that three reported improved sleep and concluded the evidence is still limited and inconsistent (Barforoush et al., 2025).
The most recent meta-analysis covered ten randomised trials and 294 people. It found no significant effect on overall sleep quality. In the two trials of people with insomnia there was a benefit, which the authors called preliminary and rated as low certainty (Sinclair, Baker and Bottoms, 2026).
Put together, the signal is strongest in older adults who already sleep badly and weakest in healthy people.
If not melatonin, how might it work?
One idea is that tart cherry protects tryptophan, the amino acid your body uses to make serotonin and melatonin. In the Losso pilot, a blood marker of tryptophan breakdown fell after cherry juice, and in cell experiments a cherry polyphenol called procyanidin B-2 blocked the enzyme responsible (Losso et al., 2018).
Another is that cherry polyphenols reduce inflammation, which can interfere with sleep. A review of cherry research found reduced markers of inflammation in 11 of 16 studies (Kelley, Adkins and Laugero, 2018), though the capsule trial that measured them found no change (Tucker et al., 2024).
Both are hypotheses resting on small studies and laboratory work.
Juice versus capsules
This is where honesty matters most. The trials with positive results used juice or concentrate in large amounts: roughly 480ml of juice a day, equivalent to about 100 cherries (Pigeon et al., 2010). Reviews put the range used across cherry studies at the equivalent of 45 to 270 cherries a day (Kelley, Adkins and Laugero, 2018).
The trials of capsules and powders, at around 500mg, did not find a sleep benefit (Hillman et al., 2022; Tucker et al., 2024).
Comparing products is harder still because studies report their doses inconsistently. A review of 43 tart cherry studies found that polyphenol doses ranged from 143 to 2,140mg a day, and that over half of studies had not analysed the product they used (Sabou et al., 2021).
Juice does carry a cost. A 30ml serving of concentrate contains about 18g of sugar (Sinclair et al., 2022), so the usual trial dose of two servings adds roughly 36g of sugar a day. Capsules avoid that.
How OFFLINE Sleep uses tart cherry
OFFLINE Sleep contains 150mg of Montmorency tart cherry extract. No published trial has tested that amount for sleep, and we do not claim it reproduces the juice studies.
We include it as a supporting ingredient in a five-part formula, for its polyphenols and its small natural melatonin content, alongside ingredients with stronger individual evidence. It is taken 30 to 45 minutes before bed with the rest of the formula.
Is it safe?
Side effects in trials were uncommon, over periods of up to three months (Kimble et al., 2022; Sinclair, Baker and Bottoms, 2026). There are no long-term safety studies.
There is one published case of acute kidney injury in a person with chronic kidney disease who was taking cherry concentrate daily (Luciano, 2014). If you have kidney disease, speak to your doctor before using concentrated cherry products. The same applies if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or taking regular medication.
Frequently asked questions
Is tart cherry a natural source of melatonin? It contains melatonin, but 100g of cherries holds over a thousand times less than a prescription dose (Burkhardt et al., 2001; NHS, 2023).
Is sweet cherry the same? No. Some studies used sweet Jerte Valley cherries (Garrido et al., 2010). They are a different species.
Does tart cherry help you fall asleep faster? The trials do not show this. Where benefits appeared, they were in total sleep time and time awake during the night (Pigeon et al., 2010; Losso et al., 2018).
Can I buy melatonin in the UK instead? Not over the counter. Melatonin is available on prescription only (NHS, 2023).
The bottom line
Tart cherry has a few encouraging small studies, mostly of juice in older adults with insomnia, and a growing number of trials that found nothing. It is a reasonable supporting ingredient and a poor candidate for a stand-alone sleep fix. Anyone telling you it is a proven natural melatonin replacement is ahead of the evidence.
This article is for general information and is not medical advice. Food supplements are not a substitute for a varied diet. If you have ongoing sleep problems, speak to your GP.
References
Barforoush, F., Ebrahimi, S., Abdar, M.K., Khademi, S. and Morshedzadeh, N. (2025) 'The effect of tart cherry on sleep quality and sleep disorders: a systematic review', Food Science & Nutrition, 13(9), e70923. doi:10.1002/fsn3.70923.
Burkhardt, S., Tan, D.X., Manchester, L.C., Hardeland, R. and Reiter, R.J. (2001) 'Detection and quantification of the antioxidant melatonin in Montmorency and Balaton tart cherries (Prunus cerasus)', Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 49(10), pp. 4898–4902. doi:10.1021/jf010321+.
Chung, J., Choi, M. and Lee, K. (2022) 'Effects of short-term intake of Montmorency tart cherry juice on sleep quality after intermittent exercise in elite female field hockey players: a randomized controlled trial', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(16), 10272. doi:10.3390/ijerph191610272.
Garrido, M., Paredes, S.D., Cubero, J., Lozano, M., Toribio-Delgado, A.F., Muñoz, J.L., Reiter, R.J., Barriga, C. and Rodríguez, A.B. (2010) 'Jerte Valley cherry-enriched diets improve nocturnal rest and increase 6-sulfatoxymelatonin and total antioxidant capacity in the urine of middle-aged and elderly humans', Journals of Gerontology: Series A, 65A(9), pp. 909–914. doi:10.1093/gerona/glq099.
Hillman, A.R., Trickett, O., Brodsky, C. and Chrismas, B. (2022) 'Montmorency tart cherry supplementation does not impact sleep, body composition, cellular health, or blood pressure in healthy adults', Nutrition and Health, advance online publication. doi:10.1177/02601060221111230.
Howatson, G., Bell, P.G., Tallent, J., Middleton, B., McHugh, M.P. and Ellis, J. (2012) 'Effect of tart cherry juice (Prunus cerasus) on melatonin levels and enhanced sleep quality', European Journal of Nutrition, 51(8), pp. 909–916. doi:10.1007/s00394-011-0263-7.
Kelley, D.S., Adkins, Y. and Laugero, K.D. (2018) 'A review of the health benefits of cherries', Nutrients, 10(3), 368. doi:10.3390/nu10030368.
Kimble, R., Keane, K.M., Lodge, J.K., Cheung, W., Haskell-Ramsay, C.F. and Howatson, G. (2022) 'Polyphenol-rich tart cherries (Prunus cerasus, cv Montmorency) improve sustained attention, feelings of alertness and mental fatigue and influence the plasma metabolome in middle-aged adults: a randomised, placebo-controlled trial', British Journal of Nutrition, 128(12), pp. 2409–2420. doi:10.1017/S0007114522000460.
Losso, J.N., Finley, J.W., Karki, N., Liu, A.G., Prudente, A., Tipton, R., Yu, Y. and Greenway, F.L. (2018) 'Pilot study of the tart cherry juice for the treatment of insomnia and investigation of mechanisms', American Journal of Therapeutics, 25(2), pp. e194–e201. doi:10.1097/MJT.0000000000000584.
Luciano, R.L. (2014) 'Acute kidney injury from cherry concentrate in a patient with CKD', American Journal of Kidney Diseases, 63(3), pp. 503–505. doi:10.1053/j.ajkd.2013.09.021.
NHS (2023) About melatonin. Available at: https://www.nhs.uk/medicines/melatonin/about-melatonin/ (Accessed: 13 October 2026).
Pigeon, W.R., Carr, M., Gorman, C. and Perlis, M.L. (2010) 'Effects of a tart cherry juice beverage on the sleep of older adults with insomnia: a pilot study', Journal of Medicinal Food, 13(3), pp. 579–583. doi:10.1089/jmf.2009.0096.
Sabou, V.R., O'Leary, M.F., Liu, Y., Brown, P.N., Murch, S. and Bowtell, J.L. (2021) 'Review of analytical methods and reporting of the polyphenol content of tart cherry supplements in human supplementation studies investigating health and exercise performance effects: recommendations for good practice', Frontiers in Nutrition, 8, 652094. doi:10.3389/fnut.2021.652094.
Sinclair, J., Bottoms, L., Dillon, S., Allan, R., Shadwell, G. and Butters, B. (2022) 'Effects of Montmorency tart cherry and blueberry juice on cardiometabolic and other health-related outcomes: a three-arm placebo randomized controlled trial', International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19(9), 5317. doi:10.3390/ijerph19095317.
Sinclair, J.K., Baker, L. and Bottoms, L.M. (2026) 'Effects of tart cherry (Prunus cerasus) supplementation on overall sleep quality, melatonin, and inflammatory biomarkers: a systematic review and meta-analysis', Recent Progress in Nutrition, 6(3), 024. doi:10.21926/rpn.2603024.
Stretton, B., Eranki, A., Kovoor, J., Bacchi, S., Gupta, A., Maddern, G. and Boyd, M. (2023) 'Too sour to be true? Tart cherries (Prunus cerasus) and sleep: a systematic review and meta-analysis', Current Sleep Medicine Reports, 9(3), pp. 225–233. doi:10.1007/s40675-023-00261-w.
Tucker, R.M., Kim, N., Gurzell, E., Mathi, S., Chavva, S., Senthilkumar, D., Bartunek, O., Fenton, K.C., Herndon-Fenton, S.J., Cardino, V.N., Cooney, G.M., Young, S. and Fenton, J.I. (2024) 'Commonly used dose of Montmorency tart cherry powder does not improve sleep or inflammation outcomes in individuals with overweight or obesity', Nutrients, 16(23), 4125. doi:10.3390/nu16234125.