logo
Sleep Aid Buyer’s Guide (updated May 2024)

How To Find A High Quality Effective Sleep Aid

An image of the site's  Senior Editor - Sally Harper.
  Sally Harper
  Senior Editor
  Health & Wellness Advice

Are you one of the 75% of Americans that have trouble sleeping? Does a decent night’s sleep elude you? Are your sleeping habits leaving you drained and exhausted? You may have tried new pillows, white-noise machines or even sleep coaches, to no avail. It may help you to know that more and more people are turning to natural herbs

It can not be underestimated how important it is to get a good night’s sleep. Losing sleep isn’t just frustrating, it’s also debilitating and can lead to physical distress and illness. Not only that, but studies have shown that driving when you are sleep deprived can have the same effect as driving while under the influence of alcohol. Even worse, according to scientific research, consistently getting poor sleep can lead to an early demise shaving years off your life as your body shuts down from lack of sleep, which is ultimately when your body repairs itself . In our modern lifestyle of  demanding work schedules, stress, anxiety and depression make it almost impossible to get a good night’s sleep without using a sleep aid. 

However, it can be beyond confusing for consumers, not knowing which sleep aids are worth buying and which are worthless fakes. We carefully examined which products are backed up with scientific support and clinical data. We also looked for real explanations as to why they have formulated their version of a sleep aid in the way that they have or exactly how they work to help target the causes of sleeplessness, induce healthy sleep patterns as well as promote a long and restful slumber.

What Is The Science Behind Natural Sleep Aids?

Sleep aids work with the chemistry of your body in order to promote healthy sleep patterns to ensure that you wake feeling rested and refreshed.

One way is to boost the production of a neurotransmitter known as gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA). GABA’s role is to help ‘turn off’ the brain by quieting the activity of neurons. As a result, GABA plays a key role in our sleep cycles.

Another way is by a hormone called Melatonin which signals our brains that it is time to sleep. Melatonin is naturally produced by the body, and it helps to maintain our circadian rhythms, which are cycles of being awake and being sleepy which revolve on a 24-hour timetable.

Our Research On Natural Sleep Aids

When looking for an effective sleep aid to help reduce stress and promote restful sleep, you must read product labels to better understand what you are buying. We were able to immediately spot manufacturers that were simply out to make a quick return and cash in on the latest trends versus the products that we consider to be high quality and effective supplements that will bring positive results.

Our research identified key, clinically-proven ingredients which should be included in a sleep aid for optimal effects. These ingredients include:

  • The amino acid L-ornithine to relieve stress and improve sleep quality.
  • A proven combination of Valerian and Hops Flower to efficiently induce sleep and increase sleep time. 
  • A high dose of 6 mg of Melatonin for effectively regulating sleep patterns and promoting restful sleep. 
  • Calming agents such as Lemon Balm, Chamomile and Passion Flower to reduce stress and anxiety as well as promote calmness and tranquility.
  • Adaptogenic Reishi mushrooms to help lessen stress, enhance the immune system, improve sleep and reduce fatigue.  

Thorough research takes time and money, which most people don’t have an endless supply of. So, we did the work for you, saving you both. We researched numerous sleep aids to ascertain an in-depth analysis of what is out there on the market.

To determine those products that we could rate as beneficial, we looked to see if they contained the correct concentration and ingredients, how potent they were and their grade of purity. We eliminated products that we found to contain synthetic fillers, unnecessary ingredients and those that each pill showed inconsistency with each other.

However, that was not all, we didn’t stop there. We understand that facts and figures don’t always tell the whole story. So, we looked for real consumers who had purchased and used the products and asked them for their feedback. Their testimonials helped us to establish a list of the best possible products currently available based on the experience of real consumers.

How To Find High-Quality Sleep Aids

OK, so….there are several key elements to look out for that can pretty much guarantee the product’s authenticity. 

  • Optimal Dosage and Purity: We eliminated any products with synthetic fillers, unnecessary ingredients and inconsistent pills.
  • Verified Customer Reviews: We reviewed testimonials of real consumers who had purchased, used the products and given feedback.
  • Monitoring by a Third-Party: Using third-party organizations to independently monitor and track the reputation of a manufacturer and assess their customer satisfaction levels is crucial.
  • 100% Money-Back Guarantee: A strong guarantee demonstrates the confidence that manufacturers have in their products.
  • External Testing: Third-party testing substantiates and verifies the quality of the manufacturer’s product. It can be very expensive for manufacturers to undertake and even disqualify entire shipments of products that don’t reach the correct standards.

We are very confident in the brands that we did pick. Given our stringent parameters and reasons for choosing our recommendations, we are sure our suggestions will help you achieve the results you are looking for.

Our Natural Sleep Aid Recommendations

Our product recommendation stands tall against its competition, we think you will agree. The company’s excellent reputation, quality product, external independent monitoring, and testing, coupled with an incredible money-back guarantee policy, makes this a good product to consider if you are looking for a quality sleep aid.

 

Sleep Aid Report
APPROVED

Rating: Excellent

5starsn

Effectiveness
Potency
Money Back Guarantee
Value
Consumer Feedback
Company Reputation

Editor’s Choice

Approved Science Sleepsyl

If you are unlucky enough to suffer from debilitating sleeplessness, then Approved Science Sleepsyl is something that deserves your undivided attention. Of all the sleep aids currently available on the market, this is the one formula that is based on scientific studies, backed by clinical data and very likely, the one that will give you the restorative sleep you crave!

It contains the highest quality, clinically-proven ingredients for addressing the root cause of sleeplessness, such as stress and anxiety, as well as promoting a deep and restful slumber more readily and for longer. Each ingredient was handpicked and was the only product we found that contains L-ornithine (clinically proven to help insomnia), a combination of Valerian and Hops Flower and a whopping 6 mg of Melatonin. This unique formula provides a multi-faceted approach to stop sleeplessness by working to reduce stress, calm nerves, promote GABA production, initiate sleep and remain in a deep slumber. Moreover, it contains L-taurine as well as calming herbs such as Lemon Balm for optimal sleep support. It does not contain any additives or preservatives and is 100% safe to use with no long-term side effects.

Quality: Approved Science Sleepsyl contains high-grade, natural, clinically-verified ingredients that are GMP certified.

Reputation: Their reputation is top quality. This manufacturer has several third-party monitoring services, including buySAFE, Norton, and Trustee, as well as an A+ rating from the quality monitoring company QualityTrusted.

Money Back Guarantee: Every item sold, is supported by a 60-Day 100% Money Back Guarantee. Such guarantees from manufacturers show strong confidence in their products’ ability to deliver results. Great news for consumers.

What’s more, they are well known in the industry and an established company that provides great customer support service, secure and easy checkout as well as prompt, efficient delivery.

Their commitment to the health industry and consumer is excellent, providing further qualification of efficacy by producing their products in an FDA registered laboratory.

If you are looking for a product that ticks all the boxes, from an established reputable company with an excellent money-back guarantee, this is the supplement for you.

It would be good to note that, due to high demand, Approved Science Sleepsyl is often sold out. To avoid having to back order, don’t hesitate to make that purchase when you see it in stock.

See The Full Review

 

Rating: Good

4-star-rating

 

Relaxium Sleep 

Relaxium Sleep was developed by Dr. Eric Ciliberti and claims to promote relaxation and restore the natural sleep cycle of the body. While it may contain some top-notch ingredients, such as Valerian Root and Hops Flower, we placed it in second place due to a number of missing factors where we felt it fell short and needed to improve. The issues we had included a lack of ingredients such as L-ornithine as well as a lower dose of ingredients than we would have expected.  

This product contains 2 proprietary blends containing Valerian Root, Hops and Ashwagandha. While these ingredients have been used for centuries to induce quality sleep, we are always wary of proprietary blends which do not list the doses of the ingredients found inside. There is no indication that the scientifically correct amounts of each ingredient is included in this formula. This makes it frustrating for consumers when they are trying to find the most effective product to help them get desperately-needed sleep.   

We turned to customer reviews to get the scoop of how effective Relaxium Sleep really is. We found a mixed bag of comments. Some people found it to be helpful and others said they didn’t notice any change. Quite a few consumers noted that while this product did help them relax, it did not help them get any sleep. 

Additionally, while there is a money-back guarantee on this product, it is only for 30 days. Unfortunately, this may not give consumers enough time to ascertain if this formula will work for them. Many times it can take weeks before natural ingredients take effect and induce a change as great as managing sleep cycles. Since this is an expensive product, we would have liked to see a stronger return policy. If you do not need a longer money-back guarantee on your sleep product, perhaps this might be one for you.

Click here to read the full review

 

Rating: OK

3-star-rating

ProHealth FibroSleep

FibroSleep by ProHealth is composed of pure and natural ingredients and promises to be a powerful sleep aid that will support deep sleep so you can wake up feeling refreshed and restored in the morning. These are big claims so we were interested to see how this product worked out there in the real world and hear from customers as to whether it was effective or not.  

We liked that this product contains scientifically-researched ingredients in order to promote sleep. These ingredients are Valerian, Hops, Lemon Balm and Passion flower. We were also pleased to see the inclusion of 3mg of Melatonin. While this is not the highest dose of Melatonin we have seen in sleep aids, we were encouraged by its inclusion in this formula. However, there are also many ingredients that we were surprised to find here. One of them is 5-HTP. While it may help someone trying to get more sleep, it also comes with some serious side effects. Another ingredient is ZMA which does not have a lot of research to back up its efficacy as a sleep aid. We also were not sure why this formula has a proprietary blend. It is unclear how much of each ingredient is included within this blend and why it would be beneficial for someone seeking to improve their sleep.   

The cost of one bottle is in the mid-range for sleep aids, however, it might be necessary to use 2 bottles per month. The manufacturer recommends taking 1-4 capsules per night which would make this quite an expensive monthly charge. To alleviate this burden, the manufacturer offers discounts when signing up for an autoship program. However, consumers may be wary of committing themselves to an automatic monthly payment as it is easy to become entangled and extremely difficult to cancel should this product not work for you.  

Click here to read the full review

What You’ll Discover:

Which Sleep Aid is the BEST BUY and comes with a great GUARANTEE!
Which formula and ingredients are the most EFFECTIVE and work the fastest?
How NOT to get ripped off! BE AWARE of poor quality and cheap products.

The Top 6 Items to Consider:

  1. Ingredients
  2. Cost Per Serving
  3. Product’s Testing Results
  4. Company’s Reputation
  5. Consumer Reviews
  6. Return Policy & Satisfaction Guarantee

Sign Up For Our Newsletter!

We will send, straight to your inbox, the latest and most relevant information regarding sleep aids to keep you updated and informed.

Our promise: We will never share your contact details, unless you give us permission. And, we will only ever send you information that is helpful and significant.