Uploaded November 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
I had a great time climbing the sour cherry tree we had in our garden when I was a young boy. Yes, I can remember that. I can’t remember what I ate for lunch yesterday, but I remember picking the cherries and looking for the double stem ones that for some inexplicable reason I hung over my ears. Who would have thought that one day I would be scrutinizing the scientific literature for studies about the health benefits of drinking the juice squeezed out from these fruits. And there is plenty of literature!
I wish one day I would come across a paper on nutrition that doesn’t end with “more study is needed.” That, however, is unlikely and is certainly not the case with tart cherry consumption. Since the chemical reactions that go on in our body all the time and basically constitute life are to a large extent dependent on what we eat, it is not surprising that just about everything that goes into our mouth has been investigated in terms of its effect on health. Fruits and vegetables have been particularly inviting targets because of the large number of compounds they contain, many of which at least in the lab or animal studies have been linked with benefits. Tart cherries are a case in point as in addition to numerous polyphenols with their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties they also contain melatonin, the hormone that is produced in the pineal gland and regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin supplements are widely used to aid in combatting sleep problems so it was natural that researchers would be interested in the potential sleep-inducing properties of tart cherry juice.
Indeed, there have been numerous studies, but the results are difficult to interpret because some have used juice, some concentrated extracts, others tart cherry powder. The studies are of different duration, involve generally a small number of subjects and use different measures of the effect on sleep. In general, drinking a glass of juice an hour before going to bed seems to have a mild effect, but the evidence is not conclusive. It is difficult to reconcile any effect with melatonin content because a glass of juice contains about 3-4 micrograms, an amount roughly a thousand times less than that in melatonin pills. Of course, it is possible that some of the other components in the juice may improve sleep due to an anti-inflammatory or antioxidant effect. Keep in mind, though, that a glass (250 mL) of tart cherry juice has about 25 grams of sugar!
Cherry juice has also been studied for other possible effects. Some trials have shown improved exercise performance and relief of sore muscles. Others found a reduction in blood pressure or favourable changes in the gut microbiome but none of these are compelling. Remember that other foods have also been examined for potential sleep-inducing effect. For example, a study showed that eating Atlantic salmon three times a week for 5 months increases sleep latency, another one found that milk fermented with Lactobacillus helveticus improves sleep and yet another noted that consuming two kiwifruits one hour before bedtime for four weeks improves sleep onset and total sleep time. None of these are compelling either. But they all get counted when it comes to the number of publications produced by a researcher. That matters in terms of academic prestige whether the papers have any practical significance or not. Most do not.
I had a great time climbing the sour cherry tree we had in our garden when I was a young boy. Yes, I can remember that. I can’t remember what I ate for lunch yesterday, but I remember picking the cherries and looking for the double stem ones that for some inexplicable reason I hung over my ears. Who would have thought that one day I would be scrutinizing the scientific literature for studies about the health benefits of drinking the juice squeezed out from these fruits. And there is plenty of literature!
I wish one day I would come across a paper on nutrition that doesn’t end with “more study is needed.” That, however, is unlikely and is certainly not the case with tart cherry consumption. Since the chemical reactions that go on in our body all the time and basically constitute life are to a large extent dependent on what we eat, it is not surprising that just about everything that goes into our mouth has been investigated in terms of its effect on health. Fruits and vegetables have been particularly inviting targets because of the large number of compounds they contain, many of which at least in the lab or animal studies have been linked with benefits. Tart cherries are a case in point as in addition to numerous polyphenols with their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties they also contain melatonin, the hormone that is produced in the pineal gland and regulates the sleep-wake cycle. Melatonin supplements are widely used to aid in combatting sleep problems so it was natural that researchers would be interested in the potential sleep-inducing properties of tart cherry juice.
Indeed, there have been numerous studies, but the results are difficult to interpret because some have used juice, some concentrated extracts, others tart cherry powder. The studies are of different duration, involve generally a small number of subjects and use different measures of the effect on sleep. In general, drinking a glass of juice an hour before going to bed seems to have a mild effect, but the evidence is not conclusive. It is difficult to reconcile any effect with melatonin content because a glass of juice contains about 3-4 micrograms, an amount roughly a thousand times less than that in melatonin pills. Of course, it is possible that some of the other components in the juice may improve sleep due to an anti-inflammatory or antioxidant effect. Keep in mind, though, that a glass (250 mL) of tart cherry juice has about 25 grams of sugar!
Cherry juice has also been studied for other possible effects. Some trials have shown improved exercise performance and relief of sore muscles. Others found a reduction in blood pressure or favourable changes in the gut microbiome but none of these are compelling. Remember that other foods have also been examined for potential sleep-inducing effect. For example, a study showed that eating Atlantic salmon three times a week for 5 months increases sleep latency, another one found that milk fermented with Lactobacillus helveticus improves sleep and yet another noted that consuming two kiwifruits one hour before bedtime for four weeks improves sleep onset and total sleep time. None of these are compelling either. But they all get counted when it comes to the number of publications produced by a researcher. That matters in terms of academic prestige whether the papers have any practical significance or not. Most do not.
