[www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov]

Montmorency (Prunus cerasus) tart cherry juice has been reported to have a positive effect on insomnia in elderly people as measured by the Insomnia Severity Index. The biggest effect seen was on the “waking after sleep onset” subscale.7 Although the authors stated that the mechanism for the beneficial effect of tart cherry juice on insomnia was unknown, they suggested that melatonin contained in the cherries could be responsible. The effective dose of the cherry juice was juice derived from 100g of cherries. The amount of melatonin in the dose of cherry juice used in the study was equivalent to 0.135 µg, and the dose of melatonin recommended for sleep is 0.5 to 5 mg.8 Thus, it would appear that the effect of tart cherry juice on sleep is due to more than its melatonin content.

Tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin, reduces sleep latency in humans at doses of 1.2 to 2.4 grams.9 Since tart cherries contain only 9 mg of tryptophan per 100 grams, one might presume that this small amount of tryptophan could not impact insomnia. Tryptophan degradation, however, parallels and predicts insomnia.10–12 Tryptophan is degraded by the enzyme indoleamine 2, 3 deoxygenase (IDO) to produce kynurenine. Indoleamine 2, 3 deoxygenase is stimulated by inflammation, and inhibition of IDO not only increases serotonin and improves mood, but also decreases inflammation.13–14. Since tryptophan is degraded into kynurenine, the ratio of kynurenine to tryptophan is a measure of tryptophan degradation, a lower value suggesting decreased tryptophan degradation.

Tart cherry juice contains 0.2% procyanidins.15 Since procyanidins can be detected in human serum 2 h after ingestion,16 we hypothesized that tart cherry juice standardized to a specific procyanidin content would decrease the ratio of kynurenine to tryptophan and contribute to the treatment of insomnia.

Subjects who passed screening drank 240ml of tart cherry juice containing a measured level of procyanidin (Table 4) or placebo juice in the morning and 1 to 2 hours before bedtime for 14 days.

Pigeon et al. performed a pilot cross-over study exploring the effect of tart cherry juice (240ml twice a day) or placebo over two weeks on insomnia in individuals =65 years of age with a 2-week washout period between crossover arms.7 They reported statistically significant improvement during the cherry juice consumption in the Insomnia Severity Index and a 62 minute improvement in waking after sleep onset.

Howatson et al. evaluated sleep quality in 20 healthy exercising volunteers between the ages of 18 and 40 years (26±4.6, mean ± SD).24 They used actigraphy to access the endpoints and gave 30ml of tart cherry juice concentrate twice a day for 7 days or placebo in a cross-over trial with a 2-week washout period between study arms. The cherry juice condition had a statistically significant increase of time in bed (25 minutes), total sleep time (34 minutes) and sleep efficiency (5–6%). The urinary degradation product of melatonin increased statistically (~17%) in the cherry juice condition, but there was no change in the circadian rhythm of melatonin. Melatonin is postulated to treat insomnia, by restoring disturbed circadian rhythms. Cherry juice increased melatonin intake by 85µg/d while the melatonin dose shown to treat insomnia ranges between 0.5 and 5 mg/d, a dose that is 6- to 60-fold higher. Thus, the increase in melatonin may not be the major mechanism responsible for the improving sleep quality.

Despite the small size of our pilot study, we demonstrated a statistically significant 84 minute increase in sleep time by polysomnography and reduced plasma levels of kynurenine with increased tryptophan levels. The kynurenine tryptophan ratio (K/T) is the gold standard for determining IDO activity.28–29 The in vitro and in vivo results obtained suggest that the procyanidin B-2 in cherry juice is an inhibitor of IDO and part of the mechanism by which tart cherry juice improves sleep efficiency. These findings suggest that procyanidin B-2-rich cherry juice can improve tryptophan bioavailability for serotonin synthesis and might theoretically contribute to mood-enhancing effects, although this was not detected on the questionnaires evaluated in this study.30 These findings suggest that of all the procyanidins that reach the gastrointestinal tract, the oligomeric procyanidins are converted into dimeric procyanidins and absorbed.

We conclude that tart cherry juice is an effective treatment for insomnia. It has no adverse events as demonstrated in our study as well as in prior studies by others. Procyanidin B-2 is a likely active ingredient in tart cherry juice acting through plasma kynurenine reduction, tryptophan enhancement, and inhibition of IDO. Procyanidin B-2 may be an effective ingredient for improving insomnia. Thus, tart cherry juice and its active ingredients may offer a safe, yet effective, improvement in insomnia that will not increase the prevalence of falls or other side effects associated with hypnotic medications.

Do you know if sweet cherries have this same benefit?

I don't know.

But there is black seed (black cumin). It is ususally taken as black seed oil. If there is excitation by not being able to lower glutamate levels in the brain, there will be sleeping problems and consequences. Black seed-oil lowers the levels by having a unique compound called TQ (ThymoQuinone). It fixes many things. I've heard that vegans live longer with black seeds because of its all range of treatments.

Also rosemary extract is very potent for the brain.


Every thing else is small in comparison to the two mentioned above (blackseed, rosemary). Worth to try is there are mental problems.

oops. The comment about living longer was about moringa seeds, not black seeds. But I am sure black seeds would make you live longer too.