The demand for the best natural sleep supplements is expanding across nearly all age groups, which is no surprise considering that sleep problems are increasingly common in today’s 24-hour digital world.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1 in 3 adults in the United States report not getting sufficient rest or sleep daily. In fact, 40% of adults report falling asleep during the day without intending to at least once a month, and 50–70 million Americans have chronic sleep disorders1https://archive.cdc.gov/www_cdc_gov/media/releases/2016/p0215-enough-sleep.html https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/sleep-deprivation#:~:text=Nearly%2040%25%20of%20adults%20report,%2C%20or%20ongoing%2C%20sleep%20disorders..
That said, sleep plays a critical role in overall health and well-being. Therefore, supplements to increase deep sleep are sought after by consumers to promote restful sleep naturally.
Contract manufacturers have a special responsibility to stay one step ahead of both the science behind sleep and behind those botanicals and nutraceuticals that have been shown to promote a healthy sleep cycle. Vitaquest can help you custom-manufacture high-quality sleep support supplements.
Understanding Sleep: The Science Behind It
Scientists have organized sleep patterns into stages, which broadly fall into two categories: non-rapid eye movement sleep (NREM) sleep and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
NREM sleep includes stages of light sleep and deep sleep, crucial for physical restoration, while REM sleep is essential for cognitive restoration and dreaming.
When we fall asleep, we typically enter NREM stage 1 and then cycle between NREM stages 2 and 3. After that, we go into REM sleep and start dreaming. After the first REM cycle, we start a new sleep cycle and go back into stage 1 or 2, and the cycle restarts.
One cycle normally takes about 90 to 120 minutes before the next one begins. Generally, people go through four or five cycles per night—assuming they get a full eight hours of sleep—and that’s a big “if.”
Hormonal Regulation
Hormones such as melatonin regulate the sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin levels rise in the evening, promoting sleep, and decrease in the morning, helping with wakefulness.
External Factors
Various factors can impact sleep quality, including:
- Changed routines—such as new wake-up times or bedtimes, eating dinner right before bed, and doing intense exercise right before bedtime.
- Excessive screen time—as the average American spends more than 7 hours daily in front of TVs, computers, and smartphones.
- Increased alcohol consumption—as it reduces REM sleep, etc.,
- Blurred lines between work and personal life.
- Stress—which can bring on increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol and the fight-or-flight hormone adrenaline.
- Jet lag—when traversing 2 to 3 time zones, as this causes our circadian rhythm to be disrupted.
- Health conditions—such as aches and pain, heartburn.
- Medications—especially if they are CNS stimulants.
- Excess coffee consumption.
What Are the Best Natural Sleep Aids?
The best supplements to help sleep vary based on individual consumer needs and underlying sleep issues.
Nevertheless, here are some of the best sleep supplements with strong scientific backing:
Melatonin
Melatonin is naturally produced in the body and helps regulate sleep-wake cycles. It’s effective for sleep onset and duration but, at certain dosages, can have limitations such as dependence and potential side effects, such as drowsiness and daytime fatigue.
Melatonin is not actually a direct sleep promoter but, instead, is a circadian rhythm regulator, especially helpful for issues such as shift work and jet lag. Higher doses are not necessarily more effective and may have the opposite effects, making users sleepy during the day. Moreover, there are concerns about melatonin supplements’ safety, especially for children, and some products contain dangerous levels of melatonin.
Time-release melatonin can be a good option to extend sleep time, but care must be taken by the manufacturer to make sure that melatonin release is designed to end before desired wake-up time to prevent morning drowsiness.
Of course, melatonin is not the only sleep ingredient with science behind it. There are, in fact, many sleep supplements that do not contain melatonin. What follows is a list of the best sleep supplements without melatonin.
Magnesium
Some are surprised that magnesium not only helps with muscle relaxation and tension relief but is also on most lists of supplements to help with sleep. But, magnesium supplements for sleep may have side effects and interactions with some medications, so you should check with your healthcare provider for advice before using magnesium.
L-Theanine
L-Theanine is a calming compound found in tea leaves. It is high on the list of sleep supplements that work, as it helps to reduce anxiety and promote relaxation for restful sleep.
Valerian Root
Valerian root is traditionally used as a sleep aid. Research on its effectiveness is mixed, with its most often-cited value being to reduce sleep latency (the amount of time required to fall asleep).
Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha’s adaptogenic properties reduce stress, thereby having an indirect effect on sleep quality.
Chamomile
Chamomile is a traditional relaxing herbal remedy. Research on its effectiveness for sleep is limited, but it has millions of adherents around the world.
Lavender
Lavender has calming and sleep-promoting effects. Research supports its effectiveness
Glycine
Glycine is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that has shown promise for encouraging sleep in preliminary studies, although more research is needed.
The Rising Demand for Sleep Supplements: A Lucrative Market Opportunity
According to Yahoo Finance, The U.S. sleep supplements market was valued at $1.02 billion in 2023, and is expected to reach $1.45 billion by 2029, rising at a CAGR of 5.97%2https://finance.yahoo.com/news/united-states-sleep-supplements-market-100300943.html.
There’s also a greater concern today about the long-term effects of prescription sleep medications and a growing interest in natural remedies that help people go to sleep but do not make them feel groggy the next day.
Safety Considerations for Sleep Supplements: A Brand Owner’s Perspective
When formulating or manufacturing dietary supplements for sleep, it is crucial to consider several key factors to ensure product safety and efficacy:
- Drug and Supplement Interactions: Although rare, natural sleep aids can interact with medications and other supplements, potentially altering their effects. Encourage end-users to check with their doctor before starting any new supplement regimen on your product packaging and marketing materials.
- Contraindications: Certain medical conditions may be incompatible with natural sleep aids. In addition, some supplements may not be suitable for children, older adults, or pregnant and breastfeeding women, due to insufficient safety data for these groups. Once again, it is up to the consumer to consult a physician before introducing any new supplement to the diet.
- Label Accuracy: Utilize third-party verification for quality and label content through well-known and respected consumer protection organizations such as NSF or USP. Vitaquest has long held NSF certification for GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice), and the company recently completed the USP Quality Systems GMP Audit Program for three of its production facilities
- Ensuring that these factors are responsibly addressed will enhance the safety and effectiveness of your sleep-aid formulations.
Key recommendations for brand owners include:
- Partner with reputable ingredient suppliers for quality control
- Ensure your contract supplement manufacturer has earned third-party certifications from USP or NSF.
- Use ingredients with clinical evidence to support structure-function claims, and use them at the recommended levels. Provide clear and comprehensive labeling, with help from an experienced contract manufacturer – such as Vitaquest – with a robust Regulatory presence.
- Consider the target audience’s needs and preferences
- Promote user compliance with factors like taste, delivery format, and ease of use
New to the dietary supplement industry and need a reliable manufacturer? Check out our CEO Patrick Brueggman’s expert tips on finding the right contract supplement manufacturer in this blog post!
How Can Vitaquest Help You Manufacture Customized Natural Sleep Supplements?
Natural sleep supplements like melatonin, magnesium, and L-theanine have been shown to promote the quality of one’s sleep. With consumer demand growing in both the short and long term, supplement brands have a significant market opportunity.
With over 45 years of successful supplement contract manufacturing expertise, Vitaquest can help your brand create high-quality natural sleep products customized to your specifications. We keep a vast inventory of raw materials on hand and can produce your products in popular delivery formats such as capsules, tablets, and powders.
Ready to get started? Call 800-526-9095 to speak with our sales executives or request a competitive nutraceutical manufacturing price quote!
Frequently Asked Questions:
Q: What supplement is best for sleep?
This varies from user to user depending on their activities, health needs and preferred delivery forms. For some, melatonin is sufficient; for others, botanical combinations are fine; and for others, certain minerals or amino acids may work best.
Q: What works better than melatonin?
Melatonin works to restore the body’s biological clock and remains very popular, especially for swing shift workers and jet-hoppers. Some people prefer alternatives such as ashwagandha and other adaptogenic herbs, calming botanicals such as theanine, or soothing minerals such as magnesium.
Q: Can supplements really help you sleep better?
Sleep support formulas made with specific clinically backed ingredients are very popular and are trusted by many. It is often advised that the consumer tries more than one of the available options to determine what works best for them.
3Paiva R, Correia M, Delerue-Matos C, Amaral JS. Adulteration of brain health (cognitive, mood, and sleep enhancement) food supplements by the addition of pharmaceutical drugs: A comprehensive review of analytical approaches and trends. Foods. 2024 Mar 16;13(6):908.
