If you have been tossing and turning lately, your bedtime routine might not be the only thing to blame. Many people reach for supplements to fall asleep faster or feel more restored in the morning, especially during stressful stretches of the year. But some common products can quietly interfere with the parts of sleep that matter most for memory, mood, and feeling refreshed. A recent SheFinds report by Abigail Connolly highlights two frequent culprits that can disrupt deep sleep and REM sleep, even when they are taken with good intentions.
The first surprise is green tea supplements, which are often marketed for metabolism and general wellness. Green tea as a drink can feel gentle, but supplements are a different story because they can be far more concentrated. Neurologist and lifestyle medicine physician Lynette Gogol says the issue is not the tea itself, it is what comes with it. “Green tea supplements can disrupt REM sleep because they often contain concentrated and sometimes undisclosed amounts of caffeine,” she explains.
That caffeine matters because it can change how your brain moves through the night. Gogol points out a key mechanism that many people do not connect to their bedtime, especially if they take supplements earlier in the day. “Caffeine blocks adenosine, the neurochemical that promotes sleep pressure,” she says. In plain terms, it can make your brain feel less ready to sleep deeply, which can lead to lighter rest and more wake ups.
Another complication is that supplement labels are not always as straightforward as a cup of tea. Some people assume they are caffeine free because they are not drinking coffee, but extracts can still deliver a noticeable stimulant hit. If you are sensitive to caffeine, even moderate amounts can linger into the evening and make it harder to stay asleep. The tricky part is that you might fall asleep normally and still wake up feeling foggy, because the quality of sleep can be altered even when the total hours look fine.
The second supplement on the list is melatonin, specifically when the dose climbs too high. Melatonin is a hormone your body already makes, and many people use it to shift their sleep schedule or deal with occasional insomnia. It can be helpful in some situations, but more is not always better, and taking it nightly without guidance can backfire. Naturopathic doctor Patricia S. Haebe warns that overdoing it can interfere with the normal pattern of the night.
“One of the biggest culprits I see clinically is taking too high a dose of melatonin (more than 5mg),” Haebe says. She also stresses that the downside is not just grogginess the next morning. “While melatonin is fantastic for regulating sleep timing, excessive doses can disrupt normal sleep architecture by delaying REM onset or fragmenting REM cycles,” she explains. When REM sleep gets choppy, people can end up with vivid dreams, more frequent awakenings, and sleep that feels less refreshing.
It is worth noting that these warnings do not mean everyone must avoid green tea supplements or melatonin forever. The takeaway is that if sleep is your goal, you should treat supplements like tools with specific uses, not harmless shortcuts. If you suspect one of these is affecting you, try pausing it for a short stretch and track what changes in how you feel in the morning. It also helps to check timing, since anything stimulating can cause trouble later in the day, and anything sedating can still disrupt sleep if the dose is off.
If you decide to troubleshoot, keep the rest of your routine steady so you can actually tell what is making a difference. Stick to the same bedtime and wake time, limit late scrolling, and keep the bedroom cool and dark. Pay attention to patterns like waking at the same time every night or having unusually intense dreams, since those clues can point to disrupted sleep stages. Most importantly, if you take medications, are pregnant, or have a chronic condition, it is smart to talk to a clinician before changing supplements, because interactions and side effects are very real.
To put all this in context, sleep is not one single state, it is a cycle that repeats several times each night. You move through lighter stages and deeper stages, and you also enter REM sleep, which is strongly tied to dreaming and important brain processes. When something shifts the balance, you can still log seven or eight hours and wake up feeling like you barely slept. That is why focusing only on hours can be misleading, because quality and continuity matter just as much.
Melatonin is naturally produced by the body in response to darkness, which is why bright light at night can make sleep harder. Caffeine works in the opposite direction by reducing the feeling of sleepiness, and concentrated sources can be easy to underestimate. Supplements are also not identical from brand to brand, so the amount you get can vary more than you would expect. If your sleep has been off, looking at what you take daily, including wellness capsules and extracts, can be as important as looking at your mattress or bedtime habits.
Have you ever had a supplement unexpectedly mess with your sleep, and what did you change to fix it, share your thoughts in the comments.
