Zleep is a wellness brand that makes topical patches used to improve sleep quality. The brand claims that their “skin therapy patches” can help users “fall asleep, stay asleep & wake up refreshed.”
But does Zleep contain ingredients shown in medical studies to improve sleep quality? Can patches actually cause absorption into the bloodstream? Are there any dangerous ingredients? And what was our experience trying Zleep for a month?
In this article we’ll answer all of these questions and more, as we analyze the ingredients in Zleep to give our take on whether or not the patches are likely to be effective for improving sleep quality, and whether or not they're healthy.
We'll also highlight some questionable health claims on the Zleep website, and share our honest experience purchasing and testing Zleep for a month.
Key takeaways:
- We can't find any evidence that transdermal sleep patches work
- We tried Zleep and noticed increased sleep duration (perhaps placebo)
- We do not currently recommend Zleep
Ingredient Analysis
The ingredients in Zleep are shown below:
Melatonin is arguably the most well-studied supplement for sleep.
A 2017 medical review found that melatonin supplementation helped to synchronize circadian rhythms, reduced time-to-sleep and increased sleep quality and sleep duration.
Chamomile was shown in a meta-study published in the Phytotherapy Research journal to significantly improve sleep quality and significantly reduce anxiety scores.
Ashwagandha has also been clinically shown to improve sleep quality, as we documented in our Relaxium sleep reviews article on another sleep supplement containing this ingredient.
Valerian root was also shown to improve sleep quality in a 2020 medical review that analyzed data from hundreds of clinical trials.
While these ingredients may be effective for improving sleep quality, their dosage may be too low in Zleep to have any effect.
All of the herbal ingredients in Zleep are included in a “Dream Patch Complex” that contains six active ingredients and a total dose of only 65 milligrams (mg). This equates to only 11 mg per ingredient.
The effective dose of ashwagandha for sleep is over 100 mg according to the clinical research cited above.
The effective dose of chamomile appears to also be over 100 mg, and the effective dosing range of valerian root extract is 300-600 mg per day according to the above-cited review.
Zleep doesn’t contain any ingredients that we consider likely to be harmful, but several of its active ingredients appear to be included at too low of a dose to be effective.
Do Skin Patches Even Work?
Zleep claims that ingredients are “delivered directly into the bloodstream through skin pores via transdermal technology.”
Transdermal absorption does work for some nutrients, but certainly not for all.
Magnesium is an ingredient in Zleep and has been shown in a clinical trial to be effectively absorbed through the skin. This is unsurprising, given that Epsom salt foot soaks are actually magnesium chloride and have been used medicinally for thousands of years.
The clinical trial used 400 mg of magnesium daily, which is the same amount as in Zleep.
Melatonin was shown in a clinical trial to be effectively absorbed transdermally at a lower dose than exists in Zleep sleep patches.
We can’t find any clinical evidence that any of the other active ingredients are effective for improving sleep quality when applied topically, and Zleep fails to cite any on their website.
Just because an ingredient like ashwagandha is effective for sleep when taken orally does not necessarily mean it will be effective when used transdermally. Just like you can’t rub vitamin C on your skin to take your daily vitamin C, we find it highly questionable that Zleep fails to publish any convincing evidence that most of the ingredients in its formulation actually work when taken transdermally.
We Tested Zleep Patches
As the author of this article, I wanted to try Zleep patches myself to share my thoughts on their effectiveness.
I don't have major issues sleeping, but I do typically work late and drink a few cups of coffee during the day, which can make it challenging for me to get a full eight hours of rest.
When I first started using these patches, I didn't notice any improvements to sleep quality and I didn't sleep for a longer duration, but after applying two patches nightly instead of one, I experienced about an hour longer sleep per night than usual.
I'm unsure if this is a placebo effect, but I did have a favorable experience using these patches.
I applied Zleep to the top of my feet, and I recommend wearing socks at night to "lock them in" so they don't unseal if you toss and turn during the night.
The patches have a faintly pleasant smell of chamomile, and they are convenient to use.
Overall, I'd rate this product a 7/10 and would consider recommending it to friends and family who suffer from sleep issues even though I have questions about its mechanism of action.
Questionable Health Claims on Website
There are a number of questionable and uncited health claims on the Zleep website that we disagree with.
The brand’s website has a comparison chart, shown above, claiming that Zleep works in 3-5 minutes. We’re unsure how they make that claim when Zleep doesn’t appear to have been studied in any clinical trials, and there is no proof given to support that claim.
The brand also claims that the absorption rate of their product is 65% without any proof at all.
Zleep’s comparison chart states that the “reaction time” of sleep pills is 4-5 hours, which is an obviously absurd and illogical claim given that there are thousands of different sleep pills, all with varying formulations.
Zleep also includes a diagram of their patch which claims that the “formula layer” is “designed to release nutrients through the night.” There is zero proof provided of how Zleep’s patch releases the nutrients in a timed manner.
We recommend that consumers be wary of wellness brands that make bold health claims without providing any proof that those claims are accurate.
Zleep vs. Popular Sleep Products
Here's how Zleep compares to other popular sleep products in terms of potential effectiveness and healthiness, in our opinion:
Breathe Right Strips
This physical device increases airflow by propping the nasal bridge open, and is clinically shown to improve sleep quality scores.
Winner: Breathe Right
Dodow
Although our Product Tester had some complaints about Dodow, breathing exercises are clinically shown to improve sleep quality and duration, as we documented in our Dodow reviews article.
Winner: Dodow
Dr. Teal's Sleep Spray
Faces same topical absorption issues as Zleep, but also includes two inactive ingredients we consider to be unhealthy.
User experience is far worse as well, because the spray makes your sheets and bedding sticky and uncomfortable after being transferred from the skin.
Winner: Zleep
Our Clean Sleep Picks
Ritual BioSeries Melatonin is our top premium sleep supplement.
It provides an effective dose of melatonin, which is clinically shown to improve sleep quality, and which is arguably the best-studied compound for sleep support.
Nolah Weighted Bamboo Blanket is a great option for consumers who prefer non-supplement solutions for sleep. Weighted blankets are clinically shown to improve sleep quality in both older adults and in children, and early research suggests they may also reduce anxiety.
Both of the products recommended in this section are free of ingredients or materials that we consider to be unhealthy.
Zleep Pros and Cons
Pros
- Unlikely to cause harm
- Safe ingredients
- Affordable
Cons
- Not all ingredients work transdermally
- Questionable, unproven health claims
- Mediocre online reviews
