Quick answer

There is no official daily amount for lemon balm. Single-dose studies used 300 to 1,600 mg, and sleep trials used 400 mg a day of one extract, or 600 mg a day of another, for two to three weeks. The longest trial gave an extract with 500 mg of rosmarinic acid daily for 96 weeks.^1,2,3,4,5,6

Key facts

In one study, 1,600 mg of dried leaf raised calm and memory scores, while lower doses slowed memory tasks.²
The 400 mg a day used in both placebo-controlled sleep trials came from one phospholipid-bound extract.^3,4
A single dose of extract with 500 mg of rosmarinic acid caused no changes in liver, kidney or blood tests.⁷
No upper limit has been set for lemon balm.^2,6

The amounts used in studies

Lemon balm amounts in human studies^{1,2,3,4,5,6,8,9}
Study	Product	Amount	How long
Mood, 20 young adults	Standardized extract	300, 600 or 900 mg once	Single doses a week apart
Mood and memory, 20 young adults	Dried leaf	600, 1,000 or 1,600 mg once	Single doses a week apart
Stressful task, 18 adults	Standardized extract	300 or 600 mg once	Single doses a week apart
Demanding tasks, 106 young adults	Extract	300 mg once	One test day
Sleep, 100 adults	Phospholipid-bound extract	200 mg twice a day	3 weeks
Sleep, 30 adults	Phospholipid-bound extract	400 mg each evening	2 weeks
Sleep and tension, 20 adults, no placebo	Leaf extract	300 mg twice a day	15 days
Memory, 323 older adults	Extract rich in rosmarinic acid	500 mg of rosmarinic acid a day	96 weeks

Amounts do not transfer from one product to another. In the single-dose studies, calm rose at 300 mg of one extract but needed 1,600 mg of dried leaf, and 900 mg of the extract lowered alertness instead.^1,2

An open trial without a placebo group used 600 mg a day, as 300 mg in the morning and 300 mg in the evening before sleep, for 15 days.⁵

In a Japanese trial, older adults took an extract providing 500 mg of rosmarinic acid a day for 96 weeks.⁶

Lemon balm dosage for sleep

The two placebo-controlled sleep trials used 400 mg a day of a phospholipid-bound extract, either as 200 mg twice a day or as 400 mg in the evening.^3,4

May improve self-rated sleep quality, in short trials of one extract*^3,4,5

Early evidence

Two randomized trials tested the same phospholipid-bound extract at 400 mg a day. In 100 adults with poor sleep or moderate stress, three weeks lowered scores on a standard sleep quality questionnaire much more than placebo, but the lemon balm group started with worse sleep. In a crossover trial of 30 adults, 400 mg taken 30 minutes before bed for two weeks lowered a sleep difficulty score by 2.9 points more than placebo; its lead author directs the company that sells the product. An earlier 15-day open trial of 600 mg a day of another extract had no placebo group.

Amount studied: 400 mg a day of a phospholipid-bound extract for two to three weeks

Both placebo-controlled trials used the same branded extract at 400 mg a day. Neither tested a smaller amount or a different extract, so there is no evidence on whether those would give the same result.^3,4

Lemon balm tea

We found no trial of lemon balm tea on its own, so there is no studied number of cups a day. FDA lists lemon balm as generally recognized as safe as a food flavoring, which covers its use in foods and drinks rather than supplement doses.¹⁰

What's in ours

What’s in ours

Sleep: Lemon Balm Extract, 100 mg per serving, from the label

A two-capsule serving of our Sleep formula has 100 mg of lemon balm extract. That is a quarter of the daily amount in the sleep trials and below the smallest single dose in the mood studies.^1,3

Children

We found no trial that set a dose of lemon balm alone for children. Infants have been given lemon balm only in mixtures with other herbs, which says nothing about a dose of lemon balm by itself. Ask a pediatrician before giving it to a child.¹⁰

How much is safe

No upper limit has been set for lemon balm. Studies have used single doses of up to 1,600 mg, and an extract providing 500 mg of rosmarinic acid a day for 96 weeks.^2,6

A single dose of extract with 500 mg of rosmarinic acid did not change liver, kidney or blood count tests in 11 healthy adults.⁷

In single-dose studies, the highest dose of one extract lowered alertness for several hours, and some doses slowed timed memory tasks.^1,2

If you try a larger single dose, expect that you may feel less alert, and do not drive until you know how it affects you.¹

Questions people ask

How much lemon balm per day is safe?

No upper limit has been set. Studies have used single doses of up to 1,600 mg, and daily extract for up to 96 weeks with vital signs and physical measures no different from placebo. Ask first if you are pregnant, breastfeeding or take thyroid medicine.^2,6

How much lemon balm extract should I take for sleep?

The sleep trials used 400 mg a day of one phospholipid-bound extract. For any other extract, follow its label, since there is no evidence that its amounts match those in the trials.^3,4

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Sources

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

This page is information, not medical advice. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about your own situation.