Pick what you take — juice, concentrate or capsules — and type one serving and how many a day. You see your day against what each sleep trial of tart cherry gave, when they gave it, to whom, and what it found — including the trials that found nothing — and the melatonin the papers report in it.
Your 16 fl oz a day is
About what the juice trials gave a day 16 fl oz a day against 16 fl oz to 16.2 fl oz
Of the 6 randomized trials of tart cherry alone, 4 reported a sleep measure better than placebo and 2 found no difference.
Nearest: Pigeon et al. 2010 gave 8 fl oz twice a day — one serving in the morning between 8 and 10 a.m. and one serving in the evening 1–2 hours before bedtime — to 15 adults aged 65 or over with chronic insomnia, otherwise healthy (crossover), for 14 days, and reported: “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.”
Losso et al. put the melatonin in Pigeon’s daily juice at 0.135 μg; 0.5 mg (500 μg), the low end of the sleep dose they cite, is 3,704 times that.
| Trial | What they gave | Who | Found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pigeon et al. 2010 | Juice: 8 fl oz × 2 a day, 14 days | 15 adults aged 65 or over with chronic insomnia, otherwise healthy (crossover) | A sleep measure better than placebo |
| Howatson et al. 2012 | Concentrate: 30 mL × 2 a day, 7 days | 20 healthy adults (crossover) | A sleep measure better than placebo |
| Losso et al. 2018 | Juice: 240 mL × 2 a day, 14 days | 8 adults aged 50 or over with insomnia who completed (11 randomized; 3 with sleep apnea excluded) | A sleep measure better than placebo |
| Chung et al. 2022 | Concentrate: 30 mL (made up to 200 mL) × 2 a day, 3 days | 19 elite female field hockey players after exhausting exercise (10 juice, 9 placebo) | A sleep measure better than placebo |
| Tucker et al. 2024 | Capsules: 500 mg × 1 a day, 14 days | 34 adults with sleep issues and overweight or obesity (crossover) | No difference |
| Hillman et al. 2022 | Juice: 240 mL × 2 a day, 30 days | 44 healthy adults (juice, capsules or placebo) | No difference |
This is not medical advice and none of it is a dose recommendation. It shows what small trials gave and found. Trouble sleeping for weeks is worth a conversation with your doctor — Pigeon et al. found tart cherry’s effects “considerably less” than those of the proven treatments for insomnia.
Of the six randomized trials of tart cherry alone, four reported a sleep measure better than placebo and two found no difference. They gave about 8 fl oz (240 mL) of juice twice a day, or 30 mL of concentrate twice a day — one serving in the morning, one in the evening — or one 500 mg capsule an hour before bed.
How to use it
Pick what you take — ready-to-drink juice, concentrate (the amount before you add water) or capsules — type one serving in the unit on your bottle and choose how many a day. You see your day against what the trials of that same form gave, the trial nearest to your amount as it was actually run (when, to whom, for how long and what it found), the count of trials that found something and nothing, and the melatonin the papers report in a day’s dose. It never tells you how much to take: it places your amount among theirs.
The trials
These are every randomized human trial of tart cherry alone with a sleep outcome that a PubMed search for cherry and sleep, insomnia or melatonin returned (searched 2026-10-09). Trials of blends that include tart cherry, of sweet cherries, and protocols without results are left out.
| Trial | Form | A day | Found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pigeon et al. 2010 | Juice | 473.2 mL (16 fl oz) | A sleep measure better than placebo |
| Howatson et al. 2012 | Concentrate | 60 mL (4.1 tbsp) | A sleep measure better than placebo |
| Losso et al. 2018 | Juice | 480 mL (16.2 fl oz) | A sleep measure better than placebo |
| Chung et al. 2022 | Concentrate | 60 mL (4.1 tbsp) | A sleep measure better than placebo |
| Tucker et al. 2024 | Capsule | 500 mg | No difference |
| Hillman et al. 2022 | Juice | 480 mL (16.2 fl oz) | No difference |
In their own words. Pigeon et al. (15 adults aged 65 or over with chronic insomnia): “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.” — and “These effects, however, were considerably less than those for evidence-based treatments of insomnia: hypnotic agents and cognitive-behavioral therapies for insomnia.” Howatson et al. (20 healthy adults, 7 days): “There were significant increases in time in bed, total sleep time and sleep efficiency total (P < 0.05) with cherry juice supplementation." Losso et al. (8 completers aged 50 or over with insomnia): "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." Chung et al. (19 elite field hockey players over 48 hours): "The variables of sleep quality showed significant interaction effects with regards to the total time in bed (TTB; p = 0.015), wake after sleep onset (WASO; p = 0.044), and movement index (MI; p = 0.031) variables." Tucker et al. (34 adults with overweight or obesity): "No significant effects of MTC supplementation were observed for any of the measures of interest (p > 0.05 for all).” Hillman et al. (44 healthy adults, 30 days): “There were no significant differences in sleep time or quality between groups, though both increased over 30 days.”
A 2025 systematic review of seven studies (Barforoush et al., Food Science & Nutrition) sums it up: “Three studies reported significant improvements in sleep indicators such as sleep duration, sleep efficiency, or sleep onset time.” — and “the available evidence is still limited and heterogeneous”.
When they gave it
Pigeon et al. told participants to “drink two 8-ounce servings of the assigned beverage with one serving in the morning between 8 and 10 a.m. and one serving in the evening 1–2 hours before bedtime to avoid excess fluid intake immediately before bed”. Losso et al. gave 240 mL in the morning and 1 to 2 hours before bedtime. Howatson et al.’s registration on ClinicalTrials.gov gives 30 mL before the morning meal and 30 mL before the evening meal. Tucker et al. gave the capsule one hour before bed.
How much melatonin is in it
Burkhardt et al. (2001) measured it in fresh-frozen cherries: “Montmorency cherries (13.46 +/- 1.10 ng/g) contain approximately 6 times more melatonin than do Balaton cherries (2.06 +/- 0.17 ng/g).” In a trial’s dose it is very little. Losso et al. on Pigeon’s juice: “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.” On Howatson’s concentrate: “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.” Their conclusion is that melatonin alone does not explain what the juice trials found. For melatonin itself, see the Melatonin Dose & Timing Calculator.
Worked examples
- Juice, 8 fl oz twice a day (the page’s example): 16 fl oz a day — about what the juice trials gave (16 to 16.2 fl oz).
- Juice, 8 fl oz once a day: 0.5× the juice trials’ day; every juice trial gave two servings.
- Concentrate, 2 tablespoons once a day: 0.5× the 60 mL a day both concentrate trials gave.
- Capsules, 500 mg twice a day: 2× Tucker et al.’s 500 mg — the one capsule trial with a stated strength, which found no difference.
Common mistakes
- Counting only the trials that found something. Two of the six found no difference, including the longest (Hillman, 30 days) and the one capsule trial with a stated strength (Tucker, 34 people).
- Comparing concentrate with juice. 30 mL of concentrate is made up into a whole drink; the page compares each form only with the trials of that form.
- Expecting a melatonin dose. The papers put the melatonin in a day’s dose at 0.135 μg to 85 μg — a small fraction of a 0.5 mg tablet.
- Drinking it right at bedtime. The juice trials gave the evening serving 1–2 hours before bed, Pigeon et al. “to avoid excess fluid intake immediately before bed”.
Frequently asked questions
Does tart cherry juice help you sleep?
Four of the six randomized trials of tart cherry alone reported a sleep measure better than placebo; two found no difference. The trials were small (8 to 44 people), short (3 to 30 days) and measured different things. A 2025 systematic review called the evidence “still limited and heterogeneous”.
How much tart cherry juice for sleep did the trials use?
Juice: 8 fl oz (Pigeon) or 240 mL (Losso, Hillman) twice a day. Concentrate: 30 mL twice a day (Howatson; Chung over 48 hours). Capsules: 500 mg once a day (Tucker), which found no difference.
When should you drink tart cherry juice for sleep?
The trials gave one serving in the morning and one in the evening — the juice trials 1 to 2 hours before bed, Howatson’s before the evening meal. The capsule trial gave it an hour before bed.
How much melatonin is in tart cherry juice?
Burkhardt et al. measured 13.46 ng per gram in Montmorency cherries. Losso et al. put the melatonin in a trial’s daily dose at 0.135 μg (Pigeon’s juice) and 85 μg (Howatson’s concentrate) — against a sleep dose they cite of 0.5 to 5 mg.
Juice, concentrate or capsules?
The four trials that reported a benefit used juice or concentrate; the one capsule trial with a stated strength found no difference. Its authors chose powder because “MTC concentrate has been shown to contain lower amounts of melatonin than MTC powder”, and suggested higher doses should be tested.
How long did the trials last?
From 48 hours (Chung) and 7 days (Howatson) to 14 days (Pigeon, Losso, Tucker) and 30 days (Hillman).
Other sleep aids, trial by trial: Valerian for Sleep, Magnesium for Sleep and Chamomile for Sleep.
Read next
- Montmorency tart cherry: info, benefits, dosage, side effects
- Does honey help you sleep?
- L-Tryptophan
- Do nootropics affect sleep?
This is not medical advice, and nothing here diagnoses or treats anything. It shows what small trials gave and what they found; it is not a dose recommendation. Insomnia that lasts is worth a conversation with your doctor, and fruit juice adds sugar — Pigeon et al. excluded anyone with diabetes for that reason. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist before adding anything if you take blood thinners, antidepressants or blood-pressure medication. Some links on this site are affiliate links: I buy what I review at full price, and a commission never changes a verdict.