Does tart cherry juice help you sleep?

Possibly a little, in some people with insomnia, and the evidence is too thin to rely on. A 2025 systematic review found 7 intervention studies of tart cherry and sleep. Only 3 reported better sleep duration, efficiency or onset, and the reviewers called the evidence limited and heterogeneous. The two newest randomized trials, in 44 healthy adults and in 34 adults with overweight and sleep problems, found no difference from placebo.

Unsettled. Tart cherry juice for sleep is an open question. The trials that found something were tiny and short, two of them pilots in older adults with insomnia. The trials that found nothing were larger and more recent. No review we could use has pooled them into one number.

What the trials found

The early positive trials

In a randomized double-blind crossover trial, 20 healthy adults took tart cherry juice concentrate for 7 days. They had more melatonin in their urine and longer total sleep time and sleep efficiency than on placebo. The abstract gives no sizes for those changes, and we could not get the full text.

In a pilot crossover trial of 15 older adults with chronic insomnia, a proprietary juice blend from its manufacturer cut the minutes spent awake after falling asleep compared with placebo. It did not shorten the time taken to fall asleep, and total sleep time and sleep efficiency did not improve.

The largest effect comes from the smallest trial. Adults over 50 with insomnia drank 8.1 fl oz (240 ml) of tart cherry juice twice a day for 2 weeks. The 8 who completed it slept 84 minutes longer on a sleep lab recording. Sleep efficiency on one questionnaire improved, and the other questionnaires showed no significant difference.

The newer trials that found nothing

In 44 healthy adults who drank two 8.1 fl oz (240 ml) bottles of Montmorency tart cherry juice a day, or took capsules, for 30 days, sleep time and quality did not differ from placebo. Both groups slept a bit better over the month, which is a reminder of why a placebo group matters. Sleep was self-reported in a daily questionnaire.

In a crossover trial of 34 adults with overweight or obesity and sleep problems, 500 mg tart cherry capsules taken an hour before bed for 14 days changed no measure of sleep or inflammation. Those were capsules of powder, not juice, and the authors suggest the dose may have been too low for people with obesity.

What the reviews say

A systematic review of randomized placebo-controlled trials of food sources of melatonin found only 8 eligible trials, all on milk or cherry juice, and gave no pooled result. The 2025 review of 7 tart cherry studies also did not pool them, so neither gives a size of effect.

Who should be careful

Not for everyone. Poor sleep that lasts is worth a medical check before a bottle of juice. In the 2018 insomnia trial, 3 of the 11 adults over 50 who were randomized turned out to have sleep apnea on the sleep lab recording and were referred for care. That is one small trial, not a measure of how common it is, but it shows that what feels like insomnia can be something else.

The juice also carries sugar. USDA analysis of 8 samples of shelf-stable tart cherry juice from concentrate found about 3.8 g of fructose and 7.0 g of glucose per 3.5 oz (100 g). The insomnia trial used two 8.1 fl oz (240 ml) glasses a day, which is a real amount of sugar. If you limit sugar, for example because of diabetes, count the juice as sugar, not as a sleep aid without a cost. We found no trial that reported side effects of drinking it for sleep, and no records of interactions with medicines.

What expert bodies say

We found no guidance from any health agency on tart cherry for sleep, in the US or the EU, and no authorized health claim about sleep for it in either place.

How we searched

What would change this answer

• A meta-analysis from a source we can use. We found a 2026 meta-analysis of randomized trials in a journal that is not on our list of trusted sources, and one from 2023 that we could not read. Neither is used on this page.
• One properly sized randomized trial of tart cherry juice in adults with diagnosed insomnia, with sleep measured in a sleep lab rather than a diary, and people with sleep apnea screened out first.
• Trials that report how big the change was. Several abstracts report only that a result was significant.
• The US trial registry lists no running trial of tart cherry for sleep.

Nutrition values and other findings for the juice are on the tart cherry juice page.

Sources

1. ev-tcjs-01 · Meta-analysis or systematic review · systematic review of RCTs without meta-analysis · n = 8 trials
   Of the 25 eligible articles, eight met the inclusion criteria. They addressed the intake of milk or cherry juice in children, adults, and elderly subjects and evaluated sleep quality by questionnaires, sleep diary, actigraphy, or polysomnography.
   
   Who: randomized placebo-controlled trials 2005 to 2019 in children, adults and elderly people given milk or cherry juice
   Effect: 8 of 25 eligible articles included; no pooled estimate
   Certainty: No meta-analysis; doses and durations differ; milk and cherry together, and the abstract has no separate summary for cherry.
   J Food Sci, 2020 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
2. ev-tcjs-02 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · systematic review of interventional studies without meta-analysis · n = 7 studies
   In total, seven interventional studies were included in the review. Three studies reported significant improvements in sleep indicators such as sleep duration, sleep efficiency, or sleep onset time.
   
   Who: English-language interventional studies of tart cherry consumption and sleep, searched to January 2025
   Effect: 3 of 7 studies reported improved sleep indicators; 3 reported higher melatonin; no pooled estimate
   Certainty: The review includes interventional studies of various designs, not only RCTs, hence level B (No. 6, 2026-10-06); no meta-analysis and no quantitative effect estimate.
   Food Sci Nutr, 2025, The Effect of Tart Cherry on Sleep Quality and Sleep Disorders: A Systematic Review · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
3. ev-tcjs-03 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized double-blind placebo-controlled crossover trial · n = 20
   There were significant increases in time in bed, total sleep time and sleep efficiency total (P < 0.05) with cherry juice supplementation.
   
   Who: healthy men and women, tart cherry juice concentrate vs placebo for 7 days, actigraphy and questionnaires
   Effect: total melatonin, time in bed, total sleep time and sleep efficiency significantly higher (P < 0.05); sizes not given in abstract
   Certainty: 20 people, one week, healthy people without sleep disorders; effect size not given in the abstract, no full text in PMC.
   Eur J Nutr, 2012 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
4. ev-tcjs-04 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized double-blind crossover pilot trial · n = 15
   When compared to placebo, the study beverage produced significant reductions in insomnia severity (minutes awake after sleep onset); no such improvements were observed for sleep latency, total sleep time, or sleep efficiency compared to placebo.
   
   Who: older adults with chronic insomnia who were otherwise healthy, 2 weeks juice blend and 2 weeks placebo with 2-week washout
   Effect: significant reduction in insomnia severity (wake after sleep onset) vs placebo; no difference for sleep latency, total sleep time, sleep efficiency; effect sizes moderate to negligible
   Certainty: Pilot of 15 people; sleep diaries; proprietary manufacturer blend (CherryPharm).
   J Med Food, 2010, Effects of a tart cherry juice beverage on the sleep of older adults with insomnia: a pilot study · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
5. ev-tcjs-05 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized placebo-controlled balanced crossover trial · n = 8 completers (11 randomized)
   The 8 completers with insomnia increased sleep time by 84 minutes on polysomnography (P = 0.0182) and sleep efficiency increased on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (P = 0.03). Other questionnaires showed no significant differences.
   
   Who: adults older than 50 with insomnia, 8.1 fl oz (240 mL) cherry juice twice daily or placebo for 2 weeks each, 2-week washout
   Effect: +84 minutes sleep time on polysomnography (P = 0.0182); PSQI sleep efficiency improved (P = 0.03); other questionnaires no difference
   Certainty: Only 8 completed; of five questionnaires, one shifted.
   Am J Ther, 2018, Pilot Study of the Tart Cherry Juice for the Treatment of Insomnia and Investigation of Mechanisms · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
6. ev-tcjs-06 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized placebo-controlled balanced crossover trial · n = 11
   Eleven subjects were randomized; 3 with sleep apnea were excluded and referred.
   
   Who: adults older than 50 with self-reported insomnia screened by polysomnography
   Effect: 3 of 11 randomized participants had sleep apnea and were excluded and referred
   Certainty: A single small study; the share of apnea is not a prevalence estimate, only an illustration that "insomnia" can be a different diagnosis.
   Am J Ther, 2018, Pilot Study of the Tart Cherry Juice for the Treatment of Insomnia and Investigation of Mechanisms · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
7. ev-tcjs-07 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized placebo-controlled trial · n = 44
   There were no significant differences in sleep time or quality between groups, though both increased over 30 days.
   
   Who: healthy adults, two 8.1 fl oz (240 ml) bottles per day of tart cherry juice or placebo, or two capsules per day of powder or placebo, 30 days, daily sleep questionnaire
   Effect: no significant between-group differences in sleep time or quality
   Certainty: Sleep by self-report; analysis of only 44 people with complete sleep data.
   Nutr Health, 2026 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
8. ev-tcjs-08 · Randomized controlled trial(s) · randomized controlled crossover trial · n = 34
   No significant effects of MTC supplementation were observed for any of the measures of interest (p > 0.05 for all).
   
   Who: adults with sleep issues and overweight or obesity (BMI 32.1), 500 mg Montmorency tart cherry capsules or placebo one hour before bed for 14 days
   Effect: no significant effects for any outcome (p > 0.05 for all), including total, deep and REM sleep and insomnia scores
   Certainty: Powder capsules, not juice; the authors suggest the dose is too small for people with obesity.
   Nutrients, 2024 · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the abstract
9. ev-tcjs-09 · Position of an expert body · dataset · n = 8
   Juice, tart cherry, from concentrate, shelf-stable | Fructose 3.808 g per 100 g (range 3.01-4.51, n=8) | Glucose 6.969 g per 100 g (range 6.21-7.46, n=8)
   
   Who: US retail samples of tart cherry juice from concentrate, shelf-stable
   Effect: fructose 3.808 g/100 g (range 3.01-4.51); glucose 6.969 g/100 g (range 6.21-7.46)
   Certainty: Entry from concentrate reconstituted to juice; sugar in a serving is calculated only approximately (two glasses of 8.1 fl oz (240 mL) ≈ 50 g of sugars): this is our recalculation, not a number from the source.
   USDA FoodData Central, Foundation Foods (release 2026-04-30), FDC 2727589, Juice, tart cherry, from concentrate, shelf-stable · checked 2026-10-06 · we read the dataset