Cherry Extract

jenniewb

First of all: Not looking for advice, I know what I want to buy, just not which brand, My question is about that not about advice.


I was recently given a trial sample for a months worth of a powdered nutri/herbal drink containing acerola cherry extract and magnesium, it was advised to take at night, I took it and it really helped with me sleep!

Sadly the company no longer make this. I can see many pill varieties online but they are not cheap and I don't know if the pill forms work or if some are better than others....

Does anyone have any personal experience with cherry extract? Usual sleeping remedies (valerian, hops, lavender...etc) are a normally a waste of time for me, I was surprised it did anything.

Toothsmith

A link from the NHS website.

https://www.nhs.uk/news/food-and-diet/cherry-juice-for-insomnia/

A.Penny.Saved

It would be Tart Cherry that contains Melatonin which can promote sleep. There are some other foods which also contain small amounts of melatonin. Do a search and you will find out what they are. Taking the additional nutrients to increase production of melatonin might be worth doing. Read up on the nutrients needed for melatonin production. This might be important seeing as the one you tried did contain magnesium and cherry juice only contains small amounts of melatonin usually less than 100 micrograms.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22038497

5-HTP might also help. Read up on it and Tryptophan amino acid. Also Read about foods which can help promote sleep and which amino acids, vitamins and minerals are involved in the process.

A good article on Melatonin, it's effects and it has a list of foods which contain it.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5409706/

Dietary factors and fluctuating levels of melatonin:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3402070/

A.Penny.Saved

Holland and Barratt sell a concentrated juice and Amazon sell Biona Cherry juice 3x1 litres for just under £15.
Holland & Barrett Montmorency Cherry Juice Concentrate 473ml £13.99

jenniewb

Thanks for the info on melatonine- I can't just eat foods with health benefits sadly, I have an eating disorder which I'm really struggling with and eating things I am not used to really makes me feel anxious. I have to say that of all the things that make it difficult to sleep, anxiety is right up there so would be counter productive for me.


I have been taking melatonine but the thing I find is that every few days it stops working so well and I either need to take a higher and higher dose, or cut back for a few days/week in which time I don't sleep.


I've taken 5HTP and it didn't help. Thanks for the suggestion.


It was really a question on cherry extract and I was looking for people who had experience of taking it for sleep. I have had insomnia for many years and tried a great deal of things over the years (decades) with little help other than those that did help and made my insomnia much worse in the long term.