Natural sleep aids are a great alternative to prescription sleep medication for the people who have self reported sleep issues and do not want to see a sleep medicine specialist or take any potentially harmful drugs, but who still need a little bit of help with their sleep schedule.
However, while they may be safer than prescription sleep aids, not being guided by a doctor can make it hard to know the best natural sleep aids, as they often contain a range of unusual ingredients. As a result, people often simply go for the most known sleep aids, like Relaxium.
Like with many dietary supplements though, just because certain sleep aids are the most well known, doesn't mean they are the best. That is why we have made our list of the best natural sleep aids to use as an alternative to Relaxium, to ensure you can truly get the best one for you.
RestAgain - The Best Alternative To Relaxium Sleep
RestAgain is a natural sleep aid produced by FA Nutra Ltd. One of the most popular natural sleep aids in the United Kingdom for the last few years, its reputation has continued to grow after it was recently released in the United States.
Its 11 ingredient formula has been carefully designed to help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and enjoy better sleep quality, to ensure you get a good night's sleep. The reason we mark this as the best alternative to relaxium is that not only is it cheaper than relaxium sleep, but it contains every effective ingredient in relaxium in a higher dose as well as a few extras that relaxium sleep doesn't have.
It contains ashwagandha, l-theanine, magnesium, valerian root extract, calcium, melatonin, 5-htp, GABA, vitamin b6, vitamin b12, and vitamin d. Each ingredient has sufficient evidence to support its inclusion and effects on sleep quality, and is present in an optimal dosage.
The sleep hormone melatonin controls your sleep wake cycle and how quickly you enter REM sleep (1). The herb ashwagandha and amino acid 5-htp both help people relax and get restful sleep by making them feel calmer, improving their mood, and helping reduce stress and anxiety (2)(3).
The formula's other amino acid, l-theanine, provides the same benefits while also improving brain functions and the health of the immune system, all of which will combat sleep problems (4).
The neurotransmitter GABA (gamma aminobutyric acid) will further improve relaxation and reduce stress levels even more (5). This is then aided by the valerian root, which is a herbal extract and absorption enhancer that improves the potency and effects of GABA (6).
Calcium and magnesium are both minerals that can make entering REM sleep and falling asleep faster and easier. They do this by inducing a sensation of calmness, boosting your health, and preventing the onset of things like cramps, which can disrupt sleep (7)(8).
The vitamins then promote effective recovery by ensuring you enter a deep sleep, which will make sure you wake up feeling fresh, rested, and invigorated each morning (9)(10)(11).
When you combine this great range of ingredients and sedative effects with a more than reasonable price tag and a lack of any reported side effects, it makes RestAgain the all around best and most effective natural sleep aid currently on the market.
Pros
- All of the ingredients are effective natural sleep aids
- Neither the product or its ingredients have been linked to any side effects in these doses
- Every ingredient has been included in its optimal dose
- Very reasonably priced, particularly given its efficacy
- Will help you fall asleep faster and improve your sleep quality and duration
Cons
- There isn't really any for RestAgain as far as we can tell
NooCube Sleep Upgrade - The Best Relaxium Alternative Without Melatonin
NooCube Sleep Upgrade is unlike most sleep aids, as it has been designed without using any melatonin. While melatonin supplements can definitely improve sleep quality for most people, they can also cause effects in a minority of people that negatively affect sleep too, such as nightmares or a frequent need to urinate. If you're one of the people who are looking for an alternative to relaxium sleep due to melatonin side effects, then noocube sleep upgrade is by far the best option.
The NooCube Sleep Upgrade formula instead uses a blend of natural ingredients that includes magnesium, calcium, vitamin d, lemon balm leaf powder, and lavender essential oil extract.
The magnesium will reduce the frequency of brain signals being fired, which will increase relaxation, help you fall asleep faster, and ensure you enjoy longer, better quality sleep.
Calcium supplements will also lead to you falling asleep faster, while they will also prevent the chronic insomnia symptoms that people with a calcium deficiency will often experience.
In a similar vain, a vitamin d deficiency can also cause poor sleep quality or length. However, boosting vitamin d levels above base level can actually elevate both your circadian rhythm and natural melatonin production in the pineal gland, significantly improving sleep quality.
Lemon balm leaf powder is a herbal extract taken from a plant in the mint family that has been used in traditional herbal teas for decades, due to its ability to induce a feeling of calm.
Research suggests it can be used to treat insomnia, anxiety, and other chronic sleep problems. There is even proof that it reduces the symptoms of chronic insomnia by as much as 42% (12).
Finally, there is the lavender extract. A relative of lemon balm, lavender essential oil is used to produce similar results, as well as for its potent sedative effect, which can combat mild sleep disturbances and improve sleep quality, without putting you at risk of any side effects (13).
While its range of ingredients isn't quite as diverse as a sleep aid like RestAgain, NooCube Sleep Upgrade is a great choice for people hoping to get better sleep by using otc sleep aids that don't contain any melatonin.
Pros
- Can help people to overcome a range of sleep disorders and improve their circadian rhythm
- Contains only natural sleep remedies and absolutely no melatonin
- Unique ingredients like lavender essential oil and lemon balm leaf powder allow it to work differently to other sleep aids
- No side effects or adverse reactions have been reported by people using the supplement or any of its ingredients
- Very reasonably priced
Cons
- Not containing melatonin means some users may find it will improve sleep quality less than other medications that do
- As a new sleep medicine, reviews and availability of the product are quite limited
Spruce Rest - The Best Essential Oil Sleep Aid
Spruce Rest is a sleep aid made using a blend of essential oils. It is designed to help those who are having trouble sleeping reset their sleep wake cycle and enjoy better quality sleep. It is also a great choice for people who have trouble or simply don't like taking sleeping pills.
Its essential oils blend uses things like coconut oil, which is full of medium chain triglycerides (MCTs), a type of healthy fatty acid. These lower your body temperature and make you feel full, which the National Sleep Foundation says improve sleep latency, length, and quality (14).
MCTs also offer health promotion that extends beyond improving your sleep schedule as well. This includes reducing the risk of heart disease, suppressing appetite, boosting energy levels and fat metabolism, fighting bacteria, and enhancing brain, gut, and nervous system health.
Produced in the United States from nothing but natural, gluten free, organic, vegan friendly, lab grade ingredients, each and every bottle of Spruce Rest has been third party tested, to guarantee it offers the highest levels of quality and efficacy.
Sure, its lack of ingredients mean it will not offer the same range of benefits as a more diverse sleeping aid. However, when you add in the fact that it has a delightful, natural vanilla flavour, Spruce Rest is an ideal sleep aid for anyone who has no intention of swallowing a sleeping pill.
Pros
- Made using only vegan and organic ingredients and with a wonderful vanilla flavour
- A perfect natural sleep aid for those who don't like taking sleeping pills
- Can benefit your health in far more ways than just combatting sleep problems
- Every bottle is third party tested, to ensure that it is of the highest quality and offers the greatest efficacy
Cons
- Relies heavily on one core ingredient to promote healthy sleep patterns, while most top products combine multiple sleep aids to offer a greater range of effects
- There have been complaints about both the taste and the texture of the oil
Olly Sleep Gummies - The Best Natural Sleep Aid In Gummy Form
Olly Sleep Gummies are a gluten free sleep aid designed as a Blackberry Zen flavour gummy.
Made to make it easier to relax, fall asleep, stay asleep, and get into a healthy sleep pattern, Olly Sleep Gummies are a great option for those not wanting to swallow either over the counter or prescription sleeping pills.
The Olly Sleep Gummies are made from l-theanine, melatonin, chamomile flower extract, lemon balm extract, and passionflower extract, as well as a selection of additional, non-active ingredients, such as colours, flavors, sweeteners, and stabilisers.
The amino acid l-theanine and lemon balm extract both make you calmer and more relaxed, so you can fall asleep more quickly. The melatonin then helps you to achieve good sleep hygiene and quality, and ensure that you stay asleep longer.
Chamomile flower extract contains apigenin, which research suggests has a great calming and stress and anxiety relieving effect. It can help you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer, and is also being capable of treating insomnia, inflammation, and digestive system issues (15).
Passionflower extract also claims to improve relaxation and prevent sleep disorders, although it does it by increasing the brain's natural production of GABA. That said, far more evidence is required before the benefits of passionflower extract can be considered to be conclusive (16).
The only problem that must be mentioned with Olly Sleep Gummies is the efficacy. While its formula can produce all of these effects, the doses and abundance of ingredients that are only used to improve its enjoyability mean they are not as potent as in other sleep supplements.
That makes Olly Sleep Gummies a sleep medicine best reserved for people seeking mild sleep aids or who are really concerned about enjoying a dietary supplement or not swallowing pills.
Pros
- Contains a number of natural supplements known to combat sleep issues
- Pleasant tasting and ideal for people who don't like swallowing pills
- Affordably priced and gluten free
Cons
- Some of the ingredients need to be researched more extensively before their benefits can be considered conclusive
- Many of the ingredient dosages are lower than is ideal
REMfresh - The Best Budget Sleep Medicine
REMfresh is a sleep medicine designed to optimise your sleep schedule and make it easier to both wake up and fall asleep, while improving the quality and duration of the sleep that you get. The idea is that you will feel totally alert and refreshed when you wake up each morning.
Unlike most sleep supplements, REMfresh relies solely on a single ingredient, melatonin. This is, undoubtedly, one of the best very sleep aids on the market, but it can struggle to make a huge impact when it is taken in dietary supplements that do not include other ingredients.
This is particularly true when taken in lower doses, like those that are present in REMfresh.
However, what has allowed it to earn its place on our list of the best natural sleep aids is its price. While cost is not everything, an extremely affordable sleep aid that does contain an ingredient as effective as melatonin certainly has its place in the sleep supplement market.
So, while it definitely will not be ideal for everyone, REMfresh can be a good choice for those who need some help sleeping and are shopping for sleep supplements on a very tight budget.
Pros
- Very reasonably priced and ideal for those shopping for natural sleep aids on a very tight budget
- Made exclusively of melatonin, one of the top ingredients in dietary supplements aimed at helping people with their sleep cycle
Cons
- Contains no supporting sleep aids to widen its range of potential benefits
- The melatonin dosage is very low, so will be less effective than in other sleep supplements
- Contains a number of additional ingredients that are used solely to create the pill, rather than to provide any benefits, each of which could cause side effects or allergic reactions
Final Thoughts On The Best Natural Sleep Aids
Natural sleep aids are a great option for people who are having trouble sleeping but don't want to risk taking any potentially harmful prescription medications. While Relaxium is one of the most popular sleep aids, safe money suggests that RestAgain is, by far, the most effective.
Made from optimal doses of a wide range of proven ingredients, it can benefit your sleep cycle and quality from every angle, combatting virtually any issue that you may have. That is all without even mentioning that it is also incredibly reasonably priced and side effect free.
If, for some reason, it does not sound like the right sleep supplement for you, one of the other entries on our list of the top natural sleep aids certainly will be. For everyone else though, we highly recommend you try RestAgain for yourself and see the incredible benefits it can offer.