Buyer's Guide To
Sleep Supplements
What Everyone Needs to Know About Sleep Health

Melissa

Rating: C
Company: New Nordic

Specs: Lab Report
Site: www.newnordic.com

What is it?

Manufactured by New Nordic Manufacturing, Melissa is an all-natural solution designed to help people relieve stress and fall asleep faster--benefits that may fight the signs and symptoms of insomnia, a chronic sleep disorder. Although the FDA has not approved any herbal substance for the treatment of insomnia, Melissa claims it can effectively--and naturally treat--certain sleep disorders, including insomnia. It never explains how its formula treats sleeplessness, however--it just claims to be a non-addictive formula that reportedly induces "deep sleep".

What ingredients does Melissa contain?

According to Mew Nordic Manufacturing, the makers behind Melissa, it contains lemon balm, l-theanine, chamomile flower, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B3, vitamin B6, vitamin B12 and magnesium.

Do the ingredients in Melissa help promote sleep?

Melissa may only help people fall asleep if they have a per-existing deficiency of vitamin B12--and even then, its effects of sleep have only been proven through anecdotal, not scientific, evidence. According to the Queen Anne Naturopathic Center, vitamin B12 could potentially treat insomnia due to its ability to influence melatonin secretion in the brain, a chemical shown to affect a person's sleep cycle. Interestingly enough, people with low levels of vitamin B12 often report suffering from insomnia or fatigue--conditions that miraculously disappear in people with moderate to high levels of vitamin B12.

But therein lies the problem with vitamin B12 and the Melissa sleep aid: it won't help insomniacs fall asleep if they don't suffer from a vitamin B12 deficiency. A B12 deficiency is extremely rare, and usually only occurs amongst the vegan and vegetarian population. A good percentage of insomniacs are not vegetarian, making this supplement unlikely to benefit most insomniacs.

Is Melissa safe?

There have been few side effects associated with its product. It appears to be clinically safe to use.

Verdict:

Although Melissa may help people with a B12 deficiency fall asleep, it has not been clinically proven to induce sleep in insomniacs that do not have this deficiency. This is probably not a beneficial supplement for most insomniacs.