Luna

7.1

Sleep latency

6.5/10

Sleep quality

7.0/10

Price

6.0/10

Safety

9.0/10

Positives

• Very good dose of melatonin
• Good serving of theanine

Negatives

• A lot of dead waste in the formula
• Chamomile unproven
• Valerian unproven
• GABA not effective

Luna Review: What does this sleep aid do exactly?

Luna is a natural sleep aid made and distributed by Nested Naturals. This has been one of the top selling sleep aids on Amazon for some time now. There are thousands of positive Luna reviews posted by verified users. So, we thought it was time for us to do our own comprehensive review of Luna. What does this sleep aid claim to do? Why has it become so popular?

According to the main sales page, Nested Naturals Luna helps with every aspect of sleep:

• Promotes relaxation
• Helps you fall asleep faster
• Promotes deep, restful sleep
• Makes you feel more refreshed each morning

Nested Naturals have made a big deal about their formula being third-party tested. They say that Luna is extremely safe, side effect-free, and made from natural, high quality ingredients.

It certainly sounds like a great sleep supplement. The question is, how much of this is really true?

Does Nested Naturals Luna really work? Is it safe? What kind of side effects will it cause? Is Luna worth the money? Is there a better option? Read our full Luna sleep aid review to find out!

Luna Ingredients

Here is the Luna formula as it appears on the bottle:

And here is a quick overview of what each ingredient does, how it promotes better sleep (if it does so), and what we make of the dosage. If you have any questions please post them in the comments section at the end of this page.

L-Theanine – 200mg

Theanine is a phenomenal sleep aid. It has been shown in numerous clinical trials to be effective for reducing sleep latency (where you lie awake at night unable to fall asleep). It promotes physical relaxation, brings sleep on faster, and helps you remain asleep for longer. It is an all-round sleep aid – ideal for people struggling to unwind at night. The 200mg we get from Luna is perfect.

Valerian Extract – 150mg

We’re not convinced that valerian root actually works as a sleep aid at all. It has been used for a long time as a natural relaxant and sleep promoter. But the clinical evidence just isn’t there to back this one up. We’ve never come across a peer-reviewed, clinical trial in which valerian root supplementation led to better sleep outcomes for patients.

Chamomile Extract – 150mg

Chamomile does have relaxing properties. It has been drunk as a tea for hundreds of years, and it has always been prized for its ability to promote calmness and relaxation. However, once again there is a real lack of hard scientific evidence. Studies have failed to show a significant improvement in sleep quality, duration, or latency from chamomile supplementation. We recommend sticking to tea with this one.

Passion Flower Extract – 100mg

There is absolutely no evidence that passion flower extract – any extract – improves sleep quality, duration, latency, depth, or anything else for that matter. It isn’t even clear what has been extracted from passion flower extract here. Our research could not find any explanations for the mechanism behind passion flower’s supposed sleep-enhancing properties. Until we see some concrete proof, we’re going to just assume this one is bogus.

Lemon Balm Extract – 100mg

A couple of studies have found that Lemon Balm extracts are potentially effective for treating anxiety and stress-associated sleep disorders (source). One interesting study found that a potent lemon balm extract was able to treat dyssomnia in children without any adverse effects. Despite these promising findings, we still deem lemon balm to be relatively unproven. More research is needed before we consider this a truly effective sleep aid.

Hops Extract – 100mg

There is some evidence that hops act as a mild sedative. One study has found that the administration of a hops extract reduced nocturnal activity levels and was associated with a healthier circadian rhythm. Interestingly, this has been achieved with low doses of hops. However, we don’t think the results have been particularly impressive; people using hops sleep mildly better. We’ve only seen a handful of trials on this ingredient. Non-alcoholic beer might be a better option for unwinding before bed.

GABA – 100mg

GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in mammals (yes, that includes humans). Many people assume that taking GABA will lead to greater activity at GABA receptors in the brain, which reduces anxiety, lowers inhibitions, and produces a feeling of relaxation (like alcohol without the intoxication).

However, this doesn’t really work in reality. GABA is not well absorbed in the gut, and it cannot easily cross the blood-brain barrier. What GABA is absorbed in the gut is used there by the enteric nervous system. A poor sleep aid, but sadly a very common ingredient in these supplements!

Melatonin – 6mg

If we had to recommend a single substance to promote sleep, we’d say go with melatonin. Melatonin is the hormone which governs your sleep-wake cycles. Spikes of melatonin are what make you tired mid-afternoon and at night. Melatonin is what keeps you in deep sleep. A crash of melatonin and a spike of cortisol is what wakes you up in the morning.

Amazingly, melatonin is well absorbed in the gut, and it does seem to cross the blood-brain barrier very easily. Several robust clinical trials have found that supplementing with melatonin leads to much better sleeping patterns in disparate groups – young, old, restless sleepers, insomniacs, people with jetlag; everybody!

The Luna sleep aid formula contains a lot of useless dead weight.

We advise sticking to a sleep supplement with a more focused formula, providing a little more bang for your buck. Luna does contain some good ingredients. But there’s just too much bloat here for our liking.

Side Effects: Is Luna safe for daily use?

Luna looks like a perfectly safe sleep supplement to us. There is nothing in Luna which we think you need to be seriously worried about from a health and safety perspective. Its ingredients have all been tested in clinical trials – using human subjects – and they have all been deemed safe for regular human consumption.

We don’t think there are any long-term risks associated with these ingredients either.

There are no powerful sedatives in here and no psychotropics. We think it is highly unlikely that you will become dependent on Luna for sleep.

In conclusion – Is Luna a good sleep aid?

We have very mixed feelings about this sleeping supplement. If you’ve read our full Luna review above, then you’ll know that the formula has some very good points and some very bad points.

It contains a very large dose of melatonin.

But it also contains GABA, which doesn’t cross the blood-brain barrier.

Luna provides a generous serving of theanine.

But theanine can easily be obtained from tea (and in similar quantities).

Some of the ingredients used by Nested Naturals Luna are unproven – valerian root, lemon balm and hops all lack conclusive scientific evidence. Until we see more research showing these substances having a positive effect on sleep, we’re not convinced that they work.

Is this an effective sleep supplement? Yes. We think a lot of you will see improvements in sleep quality and duration while using Nested Naturals Luna.

Is Luna the best sleep aid on the market right now? No, not even close.