Sleep aids for adults
As many as 20% of Americans suffer with sleep problems.
Loss of sleep not only makes you feel exhausted and lack energy.
You can lose focus during the day which could be dangerous, especially if driving or handling machinery at work.
Lack of sleep can cause you to have memory lapses, and can also lead to low mood and depression.
Long term problems getting to sleep and staying asleep can also result in weight gain, increased blood pressure and even affect your heart health.
Sleep is necessary to relax, and is when processes that repair, detox and restore the body occur.
Restorative sleep is absolutely imperative for good health. It is therefore, very important that you get a decent night’s sleep.
Between 7 and 9 hours is the recommended amount of time to sleep each 24 hour period.
Our finely tuned sleep-wake cycle is based on the circadian rhythm which is controlled by the hormones melatonin and cortisol.
Put very simply, when it becomes dark the pineal gland in the brain discharges melatonin.
This helps us to relax and sleep.
When the pineal gland senses daylight in the morning, melatonin secretion stops and cortisol is discharged.
Cortisol causes glucose to be created and used for the energy necessary to start the day’s activities.
Cortisol is also produced during times of long term stress.
Unfortunately this sleep-wake cycle is affected by modern day living.
Exposure to indoor lighting and blue light from electronic devices interferes with the delicate hormone balance.
Both of these types of light prevents melatonin from being produced, as the pineal gland cannot distinguish between it and daylight.
Melatonin is therefore one of the main ingredients in all the sleeping aids being compared in this article.
This is because if you suffer from sleeplessness it is very likely that your levels of melatonin are low.
The sleep-wake cycle is also probably out of sync.
Why use sleeping aids?
Having exhausted the recommended ways of getting a decent night’s sleep many people turn to sleeping aids.
Good advice to getting restorative sleep includes buying a good quality mattress, avoiding caffeine, drinking camomile tea, putting lavender under your pillow, avoiding the use of electronic devices before bedtime, eating at least 3 hours before bedtime and quite a few more.
Often the stress of life leads to sleepless nights and then the sleepless nights, spent tossing and turning and worrying about not getting enough sleep, compound the issue.
Your doctor can prescribe sleeping pills but these are usually drugs which are toxic, addictive and have side effects.
So it is worth turning to sleeping aids made of natural products.
A Comparison of sleep aids
The first comparison of the sleep aids Melatrol, Nutri sleep, MelaLuna and Lunexia is their ingredients.
All of them state that their product is made from 100% natural ingredients which are safe. They all contain melatonin, passion flower and valerian.
Valerian has a sedative effect however, it may interact with St. John’s Wort which is of concern as it is also in the list of ingredients in Lunexia and Nutri Sleep.
Melatrol and Melaluna have just 6 ingredients, however Lunexia has 18 and Nutri Sleep 17.
I have been unable to find a Lunexia website other than review websites is this is a huge turn off and suggests affiliates are selling this without knowing much about it.
It could also be the same product being sold under two different names.
Especially as the price is similar.
Sleep aids for adults: Ingredients comparison
| Ingredient | Melatrol |
Lunexia |
Melaluna | NutriSleep |
| Melatonin | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| 5-HTP (5-Hydroxy Tryptophan),✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Valerian root | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| Gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Rhodiola rosea extract | ✔ | |||
| Passion flower | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
| L-Theanine | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Ashwagandha | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Calcium | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Chamomile | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Goji | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Hops | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Inositol | ✔ | |||
| Lemon balm | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| L-Taurine | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| L=Tryptophan | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | |
| Magnesium | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| St John’s Wort | ✔ | ✔ | ||
| Skullcap | ✔ | ✔ |
- Ashwagandha: Natural antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties. Reduces release of cortisol to aid sleep.
- Calcium: Helps the brain use tryptophan (an amino acid) to produce melatonin.
- Chamomile: Herb with calming and relaxing properties. Decreases anxiety. Promotes sleep naturally.
- GABA: (Gamma amino butyric acid) A relaxing neurotransmitter that calms brain activity helping to induce sleep.
- Goji: Goji berries are rich in antioxidants. Improves mood and reduces anxiety and depression.
- Hops: Natural sedative.
- 5-HTP – A natural precursor to serotonin, a hormone that supports the production of melatonin.
- Inositol: Helps balance serotonin and GABA to promote a feeling of calm
- Lemon Balm: A calming, sleep-inducing herb.
- L-Taurine: An amino acid that has a calming effect when taken with L-Tryptophan.
- L-Theanine: An calming amino acid found in black
- L-Tryptophan: A precursor to serotonin which itself is a precursor to melatonin. Enhances mood. With L-Taurine it is reported to induce a hypnotic state.
- Magnesium: Insomnia is a symptom of magnesium deficiency. Magnesium needs to be present in the body to produce GABA, a relaxing neurotransmitter that supports sleep.
- Melatonin: A hormone necessary for sleep. Released by the pineal gland in the brain in response to the amount of daylight.
- Passion Fruit: A source of melatonin. Contains chemicals that relax the nervous system induce a tiredness.
- Rhodiola rose extract: Stabilises physiological stress and alleviates fatigue
- Skullcap: Herb that promotes a feeling of calm and reduces anxiety.
- John’s Wort: Stimulates GABA and serotonin production and reduces depression and anxiety.
- Valerian: A naturally sedative herb.
Read our full post here on herbs for health and healing.
Sleep aids for adults: A closer Look
Melatrol is the only sleep aid that mentions the source of the melatonin in the supplement.
This source is the seed of the Griffonia tree, valerian root and passion flower.
The company behind Melatrol is also a member of The Natural Products Association.
Having looked at the NPA website this is reassuring and increases the credibility of the company and product.
Sleep aids for adults-Pricing
Lunexia 1 bottle of 60 capsules being a one month supply $24.97
30 day money back guarantee.
Every link I found redirected to an Amazon survey (in Edge) and to a site that McAfee said was unsafe and restricted (in Chrome) and it was then impossible to return to the original review website with the back button.
Nutri Sleep 1 bottle containing 60 capsules
1 bottle – $39, 3 bottles (popular package) – $99 or 6 bottles at $174
Melatrol 1 bottle containing 60 capsules
1 bottle – $47.08, 3 bottles (2 plus one free) – $94.17 ($31.39), 5 bottles (3 plus 2 free) – $141.25 ($28.25) This last price option was highlighted as the most popular package which I feel may be a marketing trick although it is the best value.
You also get free shipping but this is restricted to USA. There is the promise of a 100% money back guarantee on the website.
However, you have to read the extensive Terms and Conditions to get more information.
It is a 90 day money back guarantee on unopened and unused bottles.
If a package including free products is purchased all products must be returned.
Shipping is not refundable and there is a $10 restocking charge.
This all makes the money back guarantee a bit of a nonsense.
The terms and conditions advise that a doctor’s advice is sought before taking the product and warns that some of the ingredients may cause an allergic reaction.
It mentions that herbs should not be taken in excess, can interact with some medication and that pregnant women should not take the supplement.
This is sensible but I feel it should be more visible on the website.
Melaluna 1 bottle $59.95, 4 bottles (popular package) – $149.96 ($37.49), 8 bottles = $199.92($24.99)
Despite being the most expensive there is not much evidence that it is the most effective.
Sleep aids for adults-Reviews
The website cites many 5 star reviews although it is evident that some of the images of so-called customers are stock images.
There was one 5 star Amazon review saying the product helped the reviewer sleep and he ‘highly recommended’ Melaluna.
However, there was only this review and it was from 2015.
Another online review only gave the product 2 stars with no explanation.
Lunexia is less than half the price of Melaluna (the most expensive).
One reviewer on Ebay said she was on her third bottle and raved about it.
However, on Amazon there were 6 reviews. Four of these only gave the product 1 star saying it didn’t work.
There were two 5 star reviews with one reviewer saying having been addicted to prescription sleeping tablets they had switched to Lunexia, as a natural non-addictive solution and was ‘very happy’.
The other 5 star review simply said ‘good’ which is not really very helpful.
Reviews on the Melatrol website are all favourable saying that customers were able to sleep much better.
However, the company are unlikely to show unfavourable reviews on their sales page where they are trying to convince customers to part with their money.
Amazon customers, however, tell a different tale.
There are 3 reviews – 2 give only 1 star and both said they tried the product for a month and it didn’t help.
The 4 star review simply says ‘nice’ which isn’t useful.
Compared to the other sleep aids Melatrol contains less melatonin.
This may mean it could be less effective, however, 0.5 mg to 1.5 mg is said to be adequate to have the desired effect.
It is also preferable for the body to produce melatonin naturally and restore the sleep-wake cycle so having less melatonin is not necessarily a bad thing.
The Nutri Sleep may be short on testimonials but this is a good sign in one way as most testimonials for such things are often fake.
There is an image of a doctor in a lab coat holding a bottle of the supplement on the Melatrol website.
No reference is made to the product being recommended by doctors though.
The other thing that makes the Nutri Sleep website appear more trustworthy is that the comments about the ingredients and their effectiveness is backed up by scientific research.
With links back to peer-reviewed research papers.
They are FDA and GMP registered in an industry where 82% are not.
They are non GMO too.
Sleep aids for adults – Extra Information
The Melatrol website does not have much information on it compared to the Melaluna and Nature Sleep websites which have a lot.
This information talks about ingredients, how melatonin works to induce sleep, what the implications of lack of sleep are and FAQs.
The Melaluna website states that the product is gluten–free.
However the capsules contain gelatine.
The other sleep aids in vegetable based capsules so are suitable for vegetarians.
The Lunexia strap-line on all the review sites I found was ‘Fall asleep, stay asleep, Wake refreshed’ so is addressing all the reasons that a sleep aid is required.
Melaluna states it is an advanced sleep aid that supports relaxation and promotes healthy sleep.
However the information that is at the top of the website is the pricing.
The most expensive package is the first one listed and the order form is already populated with this package, although it is easily changed.
This 5 (plus 3 free)offer is billed as being the best value package as well.
The middle pricing option is marked as being the most popular which I am more inclined to believe than Nutri Sleep who refer to their most expensive package as the most popular.
At the top of the Nutri Sleep website it simply says ‘Get better sleep instantly’ with no marketing gimmicks.
Anything else?
Melatrol leads with an order form and mentions claiming a free bottle.
There is no pricing on the main page.
You have to complete the contact details first.
At the top of the website the manufacturer is focussing on the fact that all the ingredients are natural as it says ‘natural sleep support’ under the logo on the header.
Under the header is ‘Naturally fall asleep fast’ in large black font and immediately afterwards ‘With Melatrol Natural Sleep Aid You’ll Sleep Peacefully – Every Night’ Underneath that the second bullet point is ‘Drug free solution’.
This reinforces the fact that the supplement is not a drug.
As a potential customer it is quite hard to make a decision on whether the products work based on the testimonials on the websites.
Each product has some good points and some bad, therefore, overall one product does not stand out as better than the others unless you consider price.
In short, you need to make your own decisions but to us, Nutri Sleep was overall winner.
PS…Did you like this comparison of Sleep aids for adults? Let us know.
