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Ora Organic is widely known as a vegan-friendly supplement brand that relies purely on organic ingredients to create its highly transparent and clean formulas.
You’re a Knockout is an ethical and natural sleep aid devised by Ora Organic as an alternative to chemical, animal-based sleep aids, which is why it doesn’t have melatonin, a common ingredient that is either produced synthetically or extracted from the pineal gland of cows.
In this article, I’m going to cover each ingredient in this formula and determine whether or not it’s actually effective at supporting your sleep. If you’re interested in the answer, feel free to continue reading.
Main Takeaways
- Ora Organic’s You’re A Knockout combines several ingredients like tart cherry powder, Panax ginseng root extract, lemon balm, passion flower extract, and Valerian root extract in a 1100mg proprietary blend, along with 25mg of magnesium. The proprietary nature limits transparency concerning individual dosages, which is essential in evaluating their effectiveness.
- While the ingredients have historical or traditional use for sleep and relaxation, the scientific evidence supporting their effectiveness is limited or mixed. For instance, tart cherry powder has only minimal research backing, and Panax ginseng may offer short-term mood benefits. The inclusion of magnesium, though beneficial, is in a quantity unlikely to significantly impact sleep.
- Priced at $34.99 for 30 servings, consumers may obtain a discount through a subscription. However, given the mixed evidence regarding ingredient effectiveness and the lack of dosage transparency, individuals seeking sleep improvements should weigh their options carefully. Consider alternatives with more solid scientific backing.
Ora Organic You’re A Knockout Ingredients
Ora Organic’s You’re A Knockout formula contains a variety of ingredients, however, it’s difficult to exactly determine their effectiveness because they all fall under a proprietary blend, apart from the magnesium.
The proprietary blend contains 1100 mg of the following ingredients: organic tart cherry powder, organic Panax ginseng root extract, organic lemon balm, organic passion flower extract, and organic Valerian root extract.
Magnesium (25 mg)
Research doesn’t indicate that magnesium helps you to quickly fall asleep or improve your sleep quality, however, it suggests that a lack of magnesium negatively impacts sleep.
Low levels of magnesium are associated with poor sleep quality and insomnia. 1
Conditions such as anxiety and depression also correlate with low levels of magnesium, and consequently, both these conditions can contribute to insomnia. 2, 3
Rae’s sleep aid contains about 8% of the recommended daily value of magnesium, which I don’t think makes a difference. It’s important, however, that you include more magnesium in your diet by eating a variety of foods such as whole grains and dark leafy vegetables.
Tart Cherry Powder
Tart cherries are rich, natural sources of melatonin, the sleep hormone. The basic notion behind taking melatonin from an external source is that you increase your melatonin stores for more effective sleep.
However, there’s very limited clinical evidence on using tart cherries for sleep. One study found that tart cherry juice was associated with statistically significant improvements in self-reported sleep among older adults with insomnia. 4
Still, more research is necessary as the sample size is too small (only 15 subjects).
Panax Ginseng Root Extract
Factually one of the most researched types of ginseng, Panax ginseng appears to have some benefits regarding mood, immunity, and cognition.
One study using 200mg and 400mg of Panax Ginseng found it increased calmness in a relatively dose-dependent manner after acute ingestion in adults. 5
And although it is true that one 60-day study using the exact same doses and product failed to note any benefits 6, the bulk of the evidence suggests that acute dosing of Panax Ginseng leads to mental health improvements, as well as an improvement in social function. 7, 8
However, there’s a possibility that such benefits are short-lived (lasting from 1 to 4 weeks), which means that taking Panax Ginseng may only improve your mood temporarily.
Lemon Balm
Also known as Melissa officinalis, Lemon Balm is a herb traditionally known for inducing calmness and improving cognition. Both effects can be seen in scientific literature.
Rats given lemon balm extract at 120-360mg/kg body weight for 15 days appeared to have experienced anxiolytic effects in an open field test, as well as in an elevated maze test. 9
Another study has shown that the anxiolytic effects of lemon balm dosed at 30-300mg/kg were equivalent to 1mg/kg of Diazepam over 10 days. 10
A study with humans consuming 300mg of lemon balm extract at breakfast and again before sleep over a period of 15 days has shown a reduction in anxiety. 11
However, it’s not possible to determine whether this ingredient is dosed appropriately due to it being included in a proprietary blend, therefore, I can’t state with certainty that it’s effective at inducing calmness.
Passion Flower Extract
Passion Flower is often advertised as a solution for anxiety and sleep problems, but a lot of the research done on it is not conclusive, so I can’t say it’s effective.
The small existing evidence reports that it might be effective for anxiety before a surgical or dental procedure, but as I’ve said, that isn’t set in stone.
Valerian Root Extract
Valerian is a plant that is typically brewed for tea or eaten for relaxation and sedation purposes. Its primary use (as a dietary supplement) is to soothe anxiety and potentiate sleep.
Although scientific measurements for sleep did not show a difference between subjects that supplemented Valerian and subjects that supplemented a placebo, many of them still anecdotally reported an improvement in sleep quality. 12
There was also a small study with 8 people that noted an improvement in sleep latency (assessed by wrist activity measurement), but acute doses led subjects to feel drowsiness the following day. 13
However, take this information with a grain of salt as the sample size (number of people) in these studies is very small, which means it’s not statistically significant.
How Much Does It Cost?
One bottle of Ora Organic You’re a Knockout sleep aid comes with 30 servings and it costs $34.99, which is the equivalent of $1.17 per serving.
You can bring the price down to $27.99 or $0.93 per serving, but you are required to subscribe to Ora Organic’s recurring delivery service and select how often you’d like to receive this specific product.
They offer you 4 different delivery options: every 30 days, 45 days, 60 days, or 90 days. However, this is only a viable option if it’s a supplement that makes sense to take long-term (a protein powder, for instance).
Does It Actually Help You Sleep Better?
Frankly, I would not bet on this product being effective as a sleep aid, and the reason I say this is two-fold:
- It’s hard to gauge the effectiveness of its ingredients since Ora Organic doesn’t list the amount of each ingredient in the formula, which makes it difficult to draw a conclusion even by looking at the scientific evidence.
- Most of the ingredients are not backed by solid scientific evidence. Even though a lot of the results sound promising, most of the studies have small sample sizes (not enough people) or are dismissed by other existing studies, which suggests the evidence is mixed.
With that being said, there are many users reporting positive effects after taking this sleep aid, although it’s questionable whether it happens because of the formula itself.
Ora Organic offers a 100% satisfaction guarantee that covers all first-time purchases made within 60 days, so you could try out this supplement and see if it works out without incurring any risks.
We have an article where we have compiled a few vegan-friendly sleep aid supplements, so feel free to check it out if you want a more effective solution, or just go with our favorite sleep aid below.
Editor’s note: The content on this website is meant to be informative, but it should not be taken as medical advice. The content of our articles is not intended for use in the diagnosis, prevention, and/or treatment of health problems. It’s always best to speak with your doctor or a certified medical professional before making any changes to your lifestyle, diet, exercise routine, or trying a new supplement.
References:
1. Djokic G, Vojvodić P, Korcok D, Agic A, Rankovic A, Djordjevic V, Vojvodic A, Vlaskovic-Jovicevic T, Peric-Hajzler Z, Matovic D, Vojvodic J, Sijan G, Wollina U, Tirant M, Thuong NV, Fioranelli M, Lotti T. The Effects of Magnesium – Melatonin – Vit B Complex Supplementation in Treatment of Insomnia. Open Access Maced J Med Sci. 2019 Aug.
2. Schwalfenberg GK, Genuis SJ. The Importance of Magnesium in Clinical Healthcare. Scientifica (Cairo). 2017.
3. Medline Plus. Governmental Website. About Insomnia.
4. Pigeon WR, Carr M, Gorman C, Perlis ML. Effects of a tart cherry juice beverage on the sleep of older adults with insomnia: a pilot study. J Med Food. 2010 Jun.
5. Reay JL, Scholey AB, Kennedy DO. Panax ginseng (G115) improves aspects of working memory performance and subjective ratings of calmness in healthy young adults. Hum Psychopharmacol. 2010 Aug.
6. Cardinal BJ, Engels HJ. Ginseng does not enhance psychological well-being in healthy, young adults: results of a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. J Am Diet Assoc. 2001 Jun.
7. Ellis JM, Reddy P. Effects of Panax ginseng on quality of life. Ann Pharmacother. 2002 Mar.
8. Ingela Wiklund, Johan Karlberg, Bernt Lund, A double-blind comparison of the effect on the quality of life of a combination of vital substances including standardized ginseng G115 and placebo, Current Therapeutic Research, Volume 55, Issue 1, 1994, Pages 32-42.
9. Ibarra A, Feuillere N, Roller M, Lesburgere E, Beracochea D. Effects of chronic administration of Melissa officinalis L. extract on anxiety-like reactivity and on circadian and exploratory activities in mice. Phytomedicine. 2010 May.
10. Taiwo AE, Leite FB, Lucena GM, Barros M, Silveira D, Silva MV, Ferreira VM. Anxiolytic and antidepressant-like effects of Melissa officinalis (lemon balm) extract in rats: Influence of administration and gender. Indian J Pharmacol. 2012 Mar.
11. Cases J, Ibarra A, Feuillère N, Roller M, Sukkar SG. Pilot trial of Melissa officinalis L. leaf extract in the treatment of volunteers suffering from mild-to-moderate anxiety disorders and sleep disturbances. Med J Nutrition Metab. 2011 Dec.
12. Fernández-San-MartÃn MI, Masa-Font R, Palacios-Soler L, Sancho-Gómez P, Calbó-Caldentey C, Flores-Mateo G. Effectiveness of Valerian on insomnia: a meta-analysis of randomized placebo-controlled trials. Sleep Med. 2010 Jun.
13. Leathwood PD, Chauffard F. Aqueous extract of valerian reduces latency to fall asleep in man. Planta Med. 1985 Apr.
