If you’re like me and have trouble sleeping on flights, but don’t want to resort to pharmaceutical drugs like Ambien, try Montmorency tart cherries!

Montmorency tart cherries are on of few natural sources of melatonin, which helps restore a normal sleep cycle. That extra melatonin may help your body fight jet lag and regulate its natural sleep cycle when arriving in a different time zone.

According to Russel J. Reiter, Ph.D, one of the world’s leading authorities on melatonin, “Travelers will often consume melatonin supplements to help regulate their sleep-wake cycle during long-haul flights, but choosing cherries may be a natural alternative.”

You can find tart cherries dried, to eat as a snack, or in the form of juice. I like to either drink a glass of tart cherry juice before my flight, or pack a bag of homemade, dried, tart cherry trail mix in my carry-on.

I make my own trail mix with dried tart cherries, walnuts (another melatonin-rich food) and organic dark chocolate for a delicious and healthy in flight snack that’s high in antioxidants!

Along with packing some tart cherries, don’t forget to drink lots of water before, during and after your flight. I bring an empty, reusable water bottle for every flight and fill it up once I get past security.

Have you tried tart cherries to fight jet lag?

This article was written in partnership with the Cherry Marketing Institute. For more information on the research and science supporting the health benefits of tart cherries and delicious cherry recipes, visit the Choose Cherries website. As always, opinions expressed here are entirely my own.