Melatonin gummies are a fun way to help you get more restful sleep, and Olly and Natrol make some of the best melatonin gummies on the market. But gummy supplements have some drawbacks. Here, we’ll look at the differences between Olly vs Natrol melatonin (both gummies and other products), but we’ll also show you some other ways to try melatonin.
In this article, we'll cover:
What You Need to Know About Melatonin Gummies
Before we get into the differences between Olly and Natrol melatonin gummies, let’s talk about the differences between gummies and other types of melatonin supplements.
Obviously, what gummies have going for them is that they taste good. They’re basically candy! They’re also a little easier to take than pills, since you can chew them instead of swallowing them whole.
Unfortunately, gummy supplements have low bioavailability – meaning you don’t absorb everything in the supplement. When you really have trouble falling asleep, you may want something with higher bioavailability. For instance, liquid supplements have an average of 98% bioavailability. More on this later.
Thankfully, you don’t have to limit yourself to melatonin gummies. At MELO Labs, we were unsatisfied with the melatonin products available, so we created our own. We’ve designed our supplements to be more fast-acting and efficient than the many melatonin gummies and pills you’ll find on the market.
For instance, our melatonin vaporizer MELO Air works faster than any other melatonin supplement you’ll find. Since it doesn’t need to pass through your digestive system, it goes straight from your lungs to your bloodstream. It’s made with minimal safe ingredients – melatonin, organic vegetable glycerin, and natural flavors. Again, more on this later.
Olly vs Natrol Melatonin Gummies
For those of you who are set on gummies, here’s our breakdown of the differences between Olly melatonin gummies and Natrol melatonin gummies.
Olly Melatonin Gummies
The melatonin gummies from Olly have 3 mg of melatonin, but like Melo Sip (which we’ll learn about later), they also have extra ingredients to help you relax. They are more expensive than the Natrol gummies, but if l-theanine, chamomile extract, passionflower extract, and lemon balm extract all sound good to you, they might be worth it. These ingredients are all very relaxing.
A package has 30 servings, but note that the package says one serving is two gummies. It may be wise to start with one gummy when you first try it, to see whether or not that’s enough for you. If it is, that cuts your melatonin cost in half, and you’ll also be consuming less sugar. One serving has 2 grams of sugar, meaning each gummy has 1 gram of sugar.
Overall, customers rated these just over 4 stars (out of 5). They were happy with the taste, and the effectiveness. Some customers specifically mentioned that they only need to take one. This makes sense: One gummy only has 1.5 mg of melatonin, but the addition of l-theanine and the natural extracts will enhance the effects of the melatonin.
One drawback to Olly gummies is that they also contain gelatin. This is an animal-based ingredient, so vegetarians may want to avoid these. Other than that, they have glucose syrup, beet sugar, water, natural flavors, citric acid, carrot and blueberry juice (for color), pectin, vegetable oil, and carnauba wax. They are gluten free (as are the Natrol melatonin gummies).
Natrol Melatonin Gummies
If you’re looking for something with a higher dose of melatonin, Natrol melatonin gummies might be a better option. Each gummy has 5 mg of melatonin. Unlike Olly, they don’t have any additional sleep-enhancing ingredients. These gummies are pure melatonin.
Additional ingredients include organic tapioca syrup, organic cane sugar, pectin, natural flavor, citric acid, elderberry juice (for color), sodium citrate, coconut oil, and carnauba wax. These gummies don’t have gelatin, making them suitable for vegetarians. And with just 1 gram of sugar per serving, they have slightly less sugar than the Olly gummies.
Natrol melatonin sleep gummies come in two flavors: strawberry and grape. Customers were happy with both flavors, and overall, they found these gummies very effective. Some specifically mentioned how happy they were to find vegan melatonin gummies. The average rating is 4.6 stars (out of 5), so in this respect, they’re fairly similar to the Olly melatonin gummies.
A package contains 90 servings, so these are also a more economical option than the Olly gummies. If you don’t care about the additional sleep-enhancing ingredients and just want melatonin, this is the option for you.
Melatonin Gummies vs Other Melatonin Supplements
We know you came here to compare two melatonin gummies, but at this point, we need to consider some of the problems with taking gummies as a supplement. As we’ll soon see, there are a lot. Let’s take a look at how gummy supplements compare to other types of supplements and talk about what other options you have for melatonin.
Keep in mind melatonin is a naturally occurring hormone, not a strong sedative or sleep medicine. This means melatonin supplements are considered dietary supplements, which are not regulated by the FDA. As such, you’ll want to find melatonin supplements that mention third party testing. Olly, Natrol, and MELO Labs melatonin products have all been third party tested.
Gummies: Easy to Take, But Low Bioavailability
Gummies are less shelf-stable than pills, meaning they can become less potent more quickly. As Dr. Neha Vyas from the Cleveland Clinic explains, you might not be able to trust the label when trying to figure out how much melatonin is in a melatonin gummy.
Dr. Vyas also points out gummies tend to be high in sugar, which of course isn’t doing you any favors. As we saw above, both the Olly and Natrol gummies contain sugar in multiple forms. Additionally, the bioavailability of gummies isn’t very high. As we’ll soon see, it’s comparable to that of pills.
Pills: Similar to Gummies
What gummies and pills do have in common is their relatively low bioavailability. A study from Nutrients suggests gummies have slightly higher bioavailability than pills – but the effect is small.
Pills actually have the lowest bioavailability of any supplement. An article from Medicare Europe says pills have an average bioavailability of 39% to 53%. So, more than half of the supplement might not actually get absorbed. Not only that, but it’ll take upwards of half an hour just for your body to break down the pill before it can be absorbed.
Of course, if you came here looking for gummies, you probably don’t need to be talked out of pills – but you may be curious about the next two types of melatonin supplements on this list.
Liquids: Easily Absorbed, Easy to Take
The same article from Medicare Europe suggests liquid supplements are a better choice than pills (or gummies for that matter). The article claims liquid supplements have an average bioavailability of 98% and take only 1-4 minutes to be absorbed. Plus, they’re much easier to swallow than pills and less problematic for your teeth than gummies.
MELO Labs makes a melatonin supplement that comes in liquid form, MELO Sip. Apart from 4.3 mg of melatonin, it contains chamomile extract, valerian root extract, l-theanine, and GABA, all of which will help you relax and fall asleep. It also has a selection of sleep-enhancing vitamins and minerals, making it a complete sleep support supplement in one tasty drink.
It’s also very easy to use: Simply empty the contents of an individual packet into a glass of water and stir. It’s up to you how much water to use: You can experiment to find your preferred concentration. It comes in three sweet flavors with no added sugar. (It’s sweetened with monk fruit extract.) Overall, customers really enjoy the taste of all three flavors.
Shop MELO Sip melatonin powder
Note that Natrol makes a melatonin liquid as well, which may be more effective than the gummy. Natrol Melatonin Liquid has 1 mg of melatonin per serving and comes in tincture form. Unlike Melo Sip, it just contains melatonin (and no additional herbal extracts).
The package says a serving is four droppers, but these can be difficult to use. This may be especially problematic if you want a higher dose than 1 mg of melatonin. For instance, if you want a 3 mg dose, you’ll have to measure out 12 droppers. Each additional dropper introduces more room for error.
Additionally, customers were not very satisfied with the flavor. Some specifically mentioned a bitter aftertaste, likely from the stevia that’s added to sweeten it. To counter this, you can add the liquid to a glass of water to help dilute it. With enough water, you won’t taste it at all.
Vaporizers: The Fastest Working form of Any Supplement
Even faster and more efficient than liquids, vaporizers (or diffusers) are the fastest way to get a supplement into your bloodstream. Because the vapor doesn’t have to pass through your digestive system, you’ll feel the effects almost right away.
MELO Labs also makes a melatonin vaporizer, MELO Air. It comes in many popular flavors, and the only ingredients are melatonin, organic vegetable glycerin, and natural flavors. It has no vitamin E acetate, nicotine, nor any other substance known to be harmful when vaporized.
Shop MELO Air melatonin diffusers
Try MELO Labs Products for All Your Melatonin Needs
If you’re looking for an inexpensive gummy with a moderate dose of melatonin and nothing else, Natrol is the way to go. If you want a melatonin gummy with more to promote restful sleep – l-theanine and some relaxing natural extracts – and you don’t mind gelatin, Olly is the product for you. But if you want something even more effective, try products from MELO Labs.
MELO Sip has two of the same ingredients as the Olly gummies (l-theanine and chamomile extract), but it also has valerian root extract, GABA, vitamins B, C, and D, zinc, and potassium, but no added sugar. It’s one of the most complete sleep packages you’ll find on the market. And since it’s a liquid, you’ll feel the effects quickly.
For those who are interested in vaporizers, MELO Air is an even faster-acting option. It’s just pure melatonin, and ten puffs will give you 1.3 mg of melatonin. This doesn’t sound like a lot, but trust us – you need a much smaller amount of melatonin when you inhale it. This is because you’ll absorb it very quickly and efficiently, much more so than when you take a gummy or pill.
At MELO Labs, we are confident we’ve created some of the best melatonin supplements on the market. The very high reviews speak for themselves: Our products receive over 3,000 5-star reviews every year. And with both vaporizers and powdered drinks, there’s something for everyone.
Leave a comment