The Best Natural Sleep Aids

Lush’s Bath/Shower Set for $8-$40: I tested many products from Lush aimed at sleep—they have an extensive line of Sleepy products intended for shower, bath, and getting ready before bed. Like the spray and dust, the shower gel, bath bombs (muslin-wrapped and in cube forms), massage bar, and body lotion all have top notes of rich, calming lavender. (I particularly like Lush’s Sleepy scents because they don’t have that artificial, overly sweet lavender scent and are balanced with other subtle, essential oil-esque scents like tonka and chamomile). I really liked the massage bar, which was cut in a grooved pattern that made the bar feel like a tiny massage when rubbed on the skin. The bar itself smells like essential oil lavender and also contains chamomile and magnesium to promote healthy sleep. It left my skin covered in a waxy, oily hydrating sheen. The lavender-scented lotion is made of oat milk and cocoa butter, and infused with essential oils like almond, jojoba, and lavender. Because of the oils, the lotion on skin has a bit of an oily sheen to it, but it feels like a creamy body butter.

MoonBrew Hot Cocoa for $43: Like the mushroom-based Alice Chocolate on this list, MoonBrew Hot Cocoa uses a blend of superfoods like reishi fungi to slowly nurture your body’s natural sleep cycles, rather than an addition like melatonin that aids in immediate help with insomnia. In addition to reishi, the cocoa has other familiar heavy sleep-inducing hitters, like L-theanine; a magnesium blend; and chamomile, lavender, and zinc to promote relaxation and a deeper sleep. It’s vegan and sugar- and gluten-free, and can be added to cold or hot water or milk. The cocoa is pretty tasty, but definitely has a more natural taste and crunchy texture than a super-sweet hot cocoa you’d find from a big name like Nestle (I think that’s mostly due to the reishi). I liked it best when combined with warmed oat milk for a before-bed dessert-type drink. As mentioned, this is more of a slow burn designed for long-term use, so I didn’t feel an immediate super-sleepy effect, but I stayed asleep the whole night after drinking and woke up without grogginess. I still like our other drink mix pick, Som, better, but this is a more effective sleep aid than a cup of herbal tea.

Celestial Seasonings Sleepytime Extra for $5: Sleepytime Extra tea is a variation of the classic Sleepytime tea, which has been a major household name in commercial teas for more than 50 years. Sleepytime Extra tea is Celestial Seasonings’ classic blend of chamomile and spearmint, with soothing herbs like lemongrass, hawthorn berry, and tilia flower. There’s also added valerian root, which has historically been used as an all-natural supplement to help with insomnia and anxiety (although the claim hasn’t been tested by the FDA). The tea has a pleasant, mild spearmint flavor with a hint of citrus. However, I’m not sure if it really helped me knock out—I think just brewing a nice warm cup of tea automatically makes you feel cozier and sleepier. This didn’t make me immediately drowsy, but it was helpful for relaxation before bed, and just looking at that snoozing bear on the box makes me sleepy.

Numi Sweet Slumber Tea for $10: This tasty organic herbal tea uses familiar natural ingredients thought to help with relaxation, with an herbal blend of chamomile, lavender, lemon balm leaf, and licorice root. There’s also valerian root, which has historically been used as an all-natural supplement to help with insomnia and anxiety (although the claim hasn’t been tested by the FDA). Passionflower and hop flowers (the same family as the hops in beer) promote drowsiness. The tea has a nice, mild herbal flavor that’s given a little citrus flavoring from the lemon balm and a very faint, anise-esque taste from the licorice root. This didn’t make me immediately drowsy like others on this list, but it was helpful for relaxation before bed—this nice warm cup of tea brought the cozy vibes.

Emergen-Zzzz Nighttime Sleep Aid for $14: Emergen-Zzzz Nighttime Sleep Aid is the snoozy version of the popular Emergen-C Vitamin C supplement drink. Emergen-Zzzz has melatonin to help promote sleepiness, along with vitamin C and antioxidants like zinc and vitamin D for immune system help. (Melatonin is generally considered safe for pregnant people, but a doctor should be consulted.) You stir the powder into a glass of water and it fizzes until dissolved. The Berry flavor tastes very artificial and wasn’t my favorite. The product says it takes around 30 minutes to become effective and contains 3 milligrams of melatonin. I felt more relaxed and slightly sleepier after taking this, but it wasn’t as powerful as some others on this list. My issue with it is that it didn’t seem to make me stay asleep, as I woke up a few times during the night. However, I think this would help an average person without major sleep issues get to sleep faster.

Olly Sleep Gummy for $20: Olly is a super trendy brand whose gummy supplements consistently go viral on social media like TikTok and sell out fast. These are tasty: blackberry flavored with a hint of mint, and they contain 3 milligrams of melatonin; L-theanine, which eases anxiety and promotes a healthy sleep cycle; and botanicals like chamomile, passionflower, and lemon balm extract. (Melatonin is generally considered safe for pregnant people, but a doctor should be consulted.) The first time I took these gummies, I felt the effects and fell asleep easily. I woke up around 2 am and took two more and eventually got back to bed. The next night, after taking two I didn’t feel the sleepy effects as strongly and doubled the dose to four gummies (6 milligrams) and fell asleep after an hour or so but again woke up in the middle of the night and took more. Every time I took more, I did feel sleepier, so it was effective that way, but with so many people (both on the internet and in my real life) swearing by these Olly sleep gummies, I expected more. For someone who struggles with falling asleep as much as I do, they didn’t keep me asleep as effectively as some of the other products on this list.