ZzzQuil Pure Zzzs Melatonin + Botanicals Sleep Aid Review

For the past week, I’ve been testing ZzzQuil Pure Zzzs, which is one of several over the counter sleep aids made by the company Procter & Gamble under their Vicks brand.

I bought it online in the US, where melatonin is available over the counter, unlike the UK and many other countries where you need a prescription for it.

The active ingredients in the version I took are melatonin, valerian, chamomile, lemon balm, and lavender.

It’s important to note that ZzzQuil Pure Zzzs is different from ZzzQuil Nighttime, which contains an antihistamine as the active ingredient.

The short summary is that they seemed to work well for me, as has been my experience with melatonin in the past. It’s always tricky to be sure if it’s the sleep aid working or the placebo effect, but I do feel I slept better when taking them.

My experience

The instructions on the bottle were to take one to two gummies 30 minutes before bedtime. I took two, immediately noting that they both taste good and are very sugary.

Each gummy has 2.5 grams of added sugars, so five grams in a full dosage. I’m not a fan of adding sugar to sleep aids; not only does it make you want to brush your teeth again if you already did, but I think it makes them too appealing to children.

Aside from the sugar, the melatonin content is 2 mg, which although still higher than some medical sites recommend (such as John Hopkins Medicine in the US) and is a lot less than the 10 mg in some other sleep aids I’ve tried have (such as Natrol). And then there’s also the 100 mg blend of botanicals, which I’ll discuss below.

First night

After taking the ZzzQuil Pure Zzzs gummies, I stayed up reading in bed for a while. I do feel I was a bit drowsy after around 40 minutes, but I was tired anyway so I can’t be sure it was the Pure Zzzs.

I slept for 7.5 hours in total that night and had no significant wakings. That’s a good night’s sleep for me considering how often I sleep for less than seven hours.

No side effects so far

As far as I could tell, I had no side effects that night. I didn’t have vivid dreams, which is sometimes associated with melatonin.

I had no fuzzy head in the morning either, which is an issue I’ve had with several over the counter sleep aids containing antihistamines.

Three more nights

I took the same dosage around the same time for the next three nights. Again, I slept reasonably well each night, with no side effects.

Waking with a headache after night 5

On night five, I slept well but woke up with an unpleasant headache. I did work out hard in the gym in the evening, so there’s a chance I was a little dehydrated during the night.

I don’t usually get that kind of headache though, so I wondered if the ZzzQuil Pure Zzzs had something to do with it.

A milder effect, but no side effects on nights 6 and 7

After my headache after night five, I wondered if it was the beginning of ongoing side effects. This sometimes happens with sleep aids in my experience; I’m fine for a couple of nights, but then side effects creep in and increase over time.

However, I had no repeat of the headache or any other side effects. So either it was a one-off or perhaps down to my gym session.

In terms of my sleep, I did wake up a little more often than the previous nights, and my total sleep started to drop down again. Whether I was building a tolerance to them or there was another explanation is impossible to say.

My conclusion

I took ZzzQuil Pure Zzzs every night for seven nights and slept well for the first five. The effect lessened towards the end of the week, but it’s not clear why this was.

There was only one night with any side effects – a mild headache – which is better than some other sleep aids I’ve taken. They often leave me with a fuzzy head in the morning (and sometimes longer), so it was good to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to start the day.

I don’t like the sugar content though, and would personally avoid them in the future purely based on that point. If you have children in the house, I would keep these well out their reach as they look, smell and taste exactly like sweets.

The role of the placebo effect

I have to admit, I’ve tried melatonin sleep aids before, and have had good results from them. So I’m aware that my expectations may increase the likelihood of the placebo effect happening when I test a new one. I’ve also found in the past that the herbal ingredients valerian and chamomile may have a mild sedative effect for me.

Since I’m not wired up to gold standard testing equipment in a sleep lab when I test a sleep aid, and rely on sleep tracker data and my observations, the outcome is a subjective review.

So please bear in mind that you might not have the same experience as me if you decide to try ZzzQuil Pure Zzzs.

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Additional information

Ingredients

These were the ingredients listed on the bottle when I bought the ZzzQuil Pure Zzzs in the US in 2019. Keep in mind that the manufacturer may change the ingredients over time.

Active ingredients per 2 gummy serving

• Melatonin 2 mg
• 100 mg blend of chamomile flower extract, lemon balm leaf extract, valerian root extract, lavender flower extract

Inactive ingredients

• Sucrose
• Corn syrup
• Water
• Hydrogenated coconut oil
• Pectin
• Natural flavors
• Maltodextrin
• Sodium potassium tartrate
• Citric acid
• Soy lecithin
• Sodium citrate
• Malic acid
• Sodium polyphosphate
• Red 40
• Blue 1

Manufacturer warnings and possible side effects

It’s always wise to check with your doctor or a qualified healthcare provider that a sleep aid is safe and appropriate for you to take, even if it’s available over the counter. They can give you personalised advice rather than relying on the brief description on a label.

It’s important to be aware that the manufacturer has some warnings about which groups of people should not take ZzzQuil Pure Zzzs. They also list some possible side effects to be aware of.

I’ve decided not to list them here because I think it’s important to check the latest information from the manufacturer.

Here are the links so you can check the current information on the Zzzquil website. They are not paid or sponsored in any way.

Zzzquil.com FAQ page – lots of guidance about their sleep aids, precautions, and possible side effects.

Zzzquil.com melatonin FAQ – specific guidance around taking melatonin.

Further reading

Here are some other useful resources to consider:

WebMD melatonin section – lots of background to melatonin and warnings.

WebMD natural sleep aids article – a brief look at different natural ingredients, such as chamomile and valerian, which are contained in ZzzQuil Pure Zzzs. WebMD also has more extensive sections on different herbal ingredients.

My sleep hygiene tips – lots of sleep tips around daily routines and lifestyle choices.