Ashwagandha vs Melatonin
Which is better for sleep?
Short answer
Both are rated Moderate for sleep, so the choice turns on what kind of sleep problem you have and how long you can wait. Melatonin is the one to try if you mainly struggle to fall asleep: the gain is small (about 7 minutes faster across 19 trials) but you can judge it within about a week.
Ashwagandha's trials measured overall sleep rather than minutes to fall asleep: a five-trial meta-analysis found a small-to-moderate improvement, larger in people with insomnia taking 600 mg a day or more for 8 weeks or longer. It also carries more cautions, including rare liver injury.
Small-to-moderate gain in overall sleep across 5 trials, larger in insomnia and after 8 weeks
Small but quick to judge: about 7 minutes faster to fall asleep across 19 trials
Side by side
| Attribute | Ashwagandha | Melatonin |
|---|---|---|
| Evidence for sleep | Moderate (sleep and insomnia) | Moderate (falling asleep (adults)) |
| Best for | Anxiety and sleep | Jet lag |
| How fast | 4+ weeks | Same night |
| Typical form | Root extract, 250–600 mg a day | Oral tablet or capsule, 0.5–5 mg |
| Main caution | Rare liver injury; avoid in pregnancy | Long-term safety unknown; overdose risk in children |
| Safe in pregnancy? | NCCIH advises avoiding it | Safety research is lacking |
| How long to judge it | About 8 weeks, the length most trials ran | About a week; stop if there is no clear gain |
| Longest use covered | Appears safe up to about 3 months (NCCIH) | Long-term safety not established |
Which should you pick?
Choose Ashwagandha if
- you have insomnia rather than the odd bad night, and can judge it over about 8 weeks, the length most trials ran
- you take warfarin or another blood thinner (melatonin's entry says to ask first; ashwagandha's lists no such row)
- you are not pregnant and have no thyroid, autoimmune or liver condition and no surgery planned
Choose Melatonin if
- you mainly struggle to fall asleep and want something you can judge within about a week
- ashwagandha's liver, thyroid or autoimmune cautions rule it out for you
- you are an adult, not pregnant or breastfeeding, and not on warfarin or another blood thinner
Questions people ask
Can I take ashwagandha and melatonin together?
Neither entry reviews the two taken together, and neither names the other as an interaction.
Ashwagandha's entry lists sedatives and sleep medication at Caution because NCCIH names sedatives and drowsiness as a side effect; melatonin is not named there and melatonin's entry has no sedatives row, so whether that added-drowsiness concern applies to the pair is unknown, not cleared.
Is ashwagandha or melatonin better for sleep?
Both are rated Moderate, and neither effect is large. Melatonin shortened the time to fall asleep by about 7 minutes and added about 8 minutes of sleep across 19 placebo-controlled trials.
Ashwagandha gave a small-to-moderate improvement in overall sleep across 5 trials, with larger effects in people with insomnia, at 600 mg a day or more and after 8 weeks or longer.
Which works faster?
Melatonin. Its trials suggest judging it over about a week. Ashwagandha's sleep trials found bigger effects at 8 weeks or longer, so do not expect a change in days.
Which is safer to take for months?
Neither entry can say for long-term use. NCCIH says ashwagandha appears safe for up to about 3 months, but rare liver injury has been reported, so stop and get medical advice if you notice yellow skin or eyes, dark urine or itching. Melatonin's long-term safety has not been established, and children can be harmed by accidental overdoses.
Sources (5)
- Systematic review Cheah KL, Norhayati MN, Husniati Yaacob L, Abdul Rahman R. Effect of Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) extract on sleep: A systematic review and meta-analysis. PLoS One. 2021;16(9):e0257843.
- Regulator / government health agency National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH). Ashwagandha: Usefulness and Safety.
- Case series Björnsson HK, Björnsson ES, Avula B, et al. Ashwagandha-induced liver injury: A case series from Iceland and the US Drug-Induced Liver Injury Network. Liver Int. 2020;40(4):825-829.
- Meta-analysis Ferracioli-Oda E, Qawasmi A, Bloch MH. Meta-analysis: melatonin for the treatment of primary sleep disorders. PLoS One. 2013.
- Regulator guidance NCCIH. Melatonin: What You Need To Know. National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health, reviewed May 2024.
Reader notes
Experiences and questions from readers, read by an editor before they appear. They are personal accounts, not evidence, and are not medical advice.