Lemon Balm for Sleep in Menopause: What Small Trials Show
Lemon balm smells like a lemon crossed with mint, and people have been brewing it at bedtime for centuries. Lately it's turning up in "calm" and "sleep" gummies.
So I went looking for the trials in women our age. There are fewer than the marketing suggests, and the most cited one tested lemon balm combined with valerian, not lemon balm on its own.
Lemon balm for sleep in menopause has some promising but limited evidence. A trial of 100 women aged 50 to 60 found better sleep quality with a lemon balm and valerian combination than with placebo. But nearly every study paired lemon balm with another herb, the trials were small, and sleep was self-reported.
What is lemon balm?
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a perennial herb in the mint family, native to the Mediterranean, with a recorded medicinal history of around 2,000 years. A 2024 review in Nutrients describes it as rich in compounds such as rosmarinic acid and citral, which are thought to underlie its calming effects.
Lab and animal studies suggest those compounds may act on several brain signaling systems, including GABA, the main "calming" messenger that many sleep medicines also target. That's a plausible mechanism, not proof of an effect in people.
Lemon balm is sold as a dietary supplement in the US. Under federal law, the FDA does not have the authority to approve dietary supplements before they're marketed, so the dose and quality in a given bottle depend on the manufacturer.
What do the menopause trials show for lemon balm?
Two randomized trials have tested lemon balm products in menopausal women with sleep problems. Both reported benefits. Both also combined lemon balm with a second herb, which is the detail most summaries leave out, because it means neither trial can show what lemon balm does on its own.
| Trial | Women | What they took | What it found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taavoni 2013 | 100 women aged 50 to 60 with sleep disorders | 80 mg lemon balm + 160 mg valerian, twice a day for 4 weeks, or placebo | Sleep disorder scores (PSQI) fell significantly more than on placebo |
| Shirazi 2021 | 60 postmenopausal women with sleep disturbance | One 500 mg capsule of equal parts lemon balm and fennel fruit daily, citalopram 30 mg, or placebo, for 8 weeks | Menopause quality-of-life scores improved more than with citalopram or placebo |
The Taavoni trial is the stronger of the two for sleep, because it measured sleep directly with the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, a standard questionnaire. Still, valerian was in every capsule, and valerian has its own sleep research, covered in our valerian guide.
The Shirazi trial measured menopause quality of life rather than sleep itself, and the authors reported the biggest gain in the hot flash domain. One oddity: the trial registration listed in the paper names a different herb, Asperugo procumbens, with fennel. The paper also describes its scoring scale inconsistently. That doesn't make the result wrong, but it's a reason to read it cautiously.
What about lemon balm trials in other adults?
Outside menopause, lemon balm trials are mixed. The cleanest test of lemon balm alone was a 2023 trial in 100 adults (average age 31, range 18 to 60) with emotional distress or poor sleep: 400 mg a day of a lemon balm extract for 3 weeks improved sleep quality scores more than placebo did.
There's a catch in the same paper. At the start, the lemon balm group already reported worse sleep than the placebo group, a difference the authors flag, which can make an improvement look bigger. The participants included men and women, and the extract was a specific branded formulation.
Combination products have done less well in some trials:
- Lemon balm and valerian, 1999: 98 healthy adults aged 20 to 70 with mild sleep problems took the pair for 30 days. Self-rated sleep quality on the main scale showed no significant difference from placebo, though 23 of the 98 participants verbally reported better sleep.
- Four-herb formula, 2024: 64 adults with impaired sleep took L-theanine, lemon balm, valerian and saffron for 6 weeks. It did not improve objective or self-reported sleep more than placebo.
The 2024 Nutrients review sums it up: lemon balm's effects on mood and sleep in middle-aged adults "are still unclear," partly because so many studies used it with other herbs or supplements.
Does lemon balm help hot flashes?
Lemon balm hasn't been shown to treat hot flashes on its own. The only signal comes from the Shirazi trial, where a lemon balm and fennel capsule improved the hot flash part of a quality-of-life questionnaire. That's one small trial of a combination product, measuring how women rated their symptoms, not a hot flash count.
If night sweats are what wake you, it's worth looking at treatments with stronger evidence first. Our hot flashes guide lists them, and our natural remedies for night sweats article covers the non-prescription options.
Is lemon balm safe?
Lemon balm has been well tolerated in the trials. The 2024 review found that daily doses between 80 mg and 5,000 mg, taken once or repeatedly for up to 8 weeks as capsules, tablets or tea, were all well tolerated. The Taavoni and Shirazi trials reported no side effects in the lemon balm groups.
"Well tolerated over a few weeks" isn't the same as proven safe for years. None of these trials ran longer than 8 weeks, so we don't know much about taking lemon balm for sleep nightly over months.
The same review notes some trials found small dips in certain thinking tasks after lemon balm, which the authors say isn't surprising for a calming herb. It's sensible to see how it affects you before driving. If you take a sedative, another sleep aid or any regular medicine, ask your pharmacist before adding it, as with any supplement.
How do you use lemon balm wisely?
If you want to try lemon balm, use what the trials used as a guide rather than the label's promises. The menopause trials used measured extracts in capsules, either 160 mg a day of lemon balm with valerian or 500 mg a day of a lemon balm and fennel product, and checked results after 4 to 8 weeks.
- Check the ingredient list: many "sleep" products mix lemon balm with valerian, melatonin or other herbs. Know what else you're taking, especially if you already take melatonin.
- Track it: note your sleep for two weeks before and four weeks after starting, so you can judge the change honestly.
- Keep tea in perspective: no menopause trial tested tea. Our what to drink before bed guide treats herbal teas as a ritual rather than a treatment.
For ongoing insomnia, the 2017 American Academy of Sleep Medicine guideline says that "all patients with chronic insomnia should receive CBT-I as a primary intervention." Lemon balm for sleep can sit alongside that, not replace it. Our CBT-I guide explains how it works.
Where to go from here
To compare lemon balm with the other herbs on the shelf, start with our herbal supplements for menopause sleep overview, then valerian, ashwagandha and saffron. If you're adding more than one supplement, read how to combine supplements safely first.
For how all of this fits into the bigger picture of midlife sleep, start at the complete perimenopause and menopause sleep guide.
Key takeaways
- The menopause evidence is small: two trials, of 100 and 60 women, both using lemon balm combined with another herb.
- The best sleep result was a combination: lemon balm with valerian improved sleep quality scores in women aged 50 to 60 over 4 weeks.
- Other trials are mixed: lemon balm alone helped sleep scores in one 3-week trial in adults averaging 31 years old, while combination products had mixed results, with two doing no better than placebo.
- It's generally well tolerated in trials of up to 8 weeks, but long-term safety isn't well studied and the FDA doesn't approve supplements before sale.
- It isn't a hot flash treatment: the only signal is one small trial of a lemon balm and fennel product.
Frequently asked questions
Does lemon balm help you sleep during menopause?
Possibly, but the evidence is thin. Two small trials in menopausal women reported better sleep or quality of life, yet both used lemon balm combined with another herb, valerian or fennel. That makes it impossible to say how much came from lemon balm itself, and neither trial measured sleep with a sleep-lab recording.
How much lemon balm was used in the menopause trials?
In the valerian combination trial, 100 women aged 50 to 60 took 80 mg of lemon balm with 160 mg of valerian twice a day for 4 weeks. In the fennel trial, 60 postmenopausal women took one 500 mg capsule of lemon balm with fennel fruit extract daily for 8 weeks. Neither tested lemon balm tea.
Is lemon balm tea as good as a supplement?
Nobody knows, because the menopause trials used capsules of measured extracts, not tea. A tea bag's dose varies with the leaf and the brewing. A warm, caffeine-free cup can still be a calming part of a bedtime routine, but that's the ritual, not proof of the herb's effect.
Is lemon balm safe to take?
Lemon balm has generally been well tolerated in trials. A 2024 review found daily doses from 80 mg to 5,000 mg, taken for up to 8 weeks as capsules, tablets or tea, were all well tolerated. Long-term safety isn't well studied, and the FDA doesn't have the authority to approve supplements before they're sold.
Can I take lemon balm with valerian?
Most of the sleep research did: the best-known menopause trial used a lemon balm and valerian combination. Results for combinations are mixed, and two did no better than placebo. The pair was well tolerated for up to 4 weeks, but both herbs are calming, so ask your pharmacist before combining them with a sedative or alcohol.
Sources cited
- Taavoni S, Nazem Ekbatani N, Haghani H. Valerian/lemon balm use for sleep disorders during menopause. Complement Ther Clin Pract. 2013;19(4):193-196. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Shirazi M, Jalalian MN, Abed M, Ghaemi M. The effectiveness of Melissa officinalis L. versus citalopram on quality of life of menopausal women with sleep disorder: a randomized double-blind clinical trial. Rev Bras Ginecol Obstet. 2021;43(2):126-130. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Bano A, Hepsomali P, Rabbani F, et al. The possible "calming effect" of subchronic supplementation of a standardised phospholipid carrier-based Melissa officinalis L. extract in healthy adults with emotional distress and poor sleep conditions. Front Pharmacol. 2023;14:1250560. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Mathews IM, Eastwood J, Lamport DJ, Le Cozannet R, Fanca-Berthon P, Williams CM. Clinical efficacy and tolerability of lemon balm (Melissa officinalis L.) in psychological well-being: a review. Nutrients. 2024;16(20):3545. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Cerny A, Schmid K. Tolerability and efficacy of valerian/lemon balm in healthy volunteers (a double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicentre study). Fitoterapia. 1999;70:221-228. doi.org
- Gutiérrez-Romero SA, Torres-Narváez ES, Zamora-Gómez AC, et al. Effect of a nutraceutical combination on sleep quality among people with impaired sleep: a randomised, placebo-controlled trial. Sci Rep. 2024;14(1):8062. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Sateia MJ, Buysse DJ, Krystal AD, Neubauer DN, Heald JL. Clinical practice guideline for the pharmacologic treatment of chronic insomnia in adults: an American Academy of Sleep Medicine clinical practice guideline. J Clin Sleep Med. 2017;13(2):307-349. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- US Food and Drug Administration. Questions and answers on dietary supplements. fda.gov
How this article was checked
The Shirazi and Bano trials and the 2024 Nutrients review were read in full text; the Taavoni and Gutiérrez-Romero trials were read as abstracts, and the Taavoni doses and side-effect report and the Cerny 1999 results come from their descriptions in the 2024 review. The FDA's role is quoted from its dietary supplement Q&A page.
It has not been reviewed by a clinician. Ellen Hayes is a researcher and writer, not a doctor, and nothing here is a diagnosis or a substitute for being seen by one.
Ellen Hayes
Health & Wellness Writer and Researcher
Hi — I'm Ellen. I expected a clear yes or no on lemon balm. What I found instead was a pleasant herb with a few small, encouraging trials, almost all of them shared with another herb. I'd treat it as a gentle experiment, not a fix.
I'm not a doctor. I'm not an expert — and I'm never going to talk down to you like one. I'm a woman in the middle of perimenopause who got tired of vague answers, started reading the actual research, and writes it down here in plain English, the way I'd explain it to a friend over coffee. More about Ellen →