Dream Labs presents

essence

A Melatonin-Free Nighttime Wind-Down Drink

Sleep deeper without melatonin.

Magnesium. L-theanine. Glycine. Apigenin. Tart cherry.
Designed to help you unwind, build a nightly ritual, and wake up clear — not groggy.

Get first access to founding member pricing and the first production batch.

Essence by Dream Labs
No Added Melatonin Magnesium-Based Tart Cherry Lemonade Built for a 30-Night Ritual
Does this sound familiar?

You're exhausted all day.
Wide awake at midnight.

🌙

"I'm exhausted by 9pm but the second my head hits the pillow, my brain just... starts going."

😩

"Melatonin makes me sleep but I wake up feeling foggy. I'd rather be a little tired than feel that groggy."

🔁

"I've tried magnesium pills, melatonin gummies, chamomile tea. Nothing feels like a real routine."

💔

"I stopped drinking wine to wind down. I still haven't found something to replace it with."

The real reason

Most people aren't winding down.
They're just crashing.

Most nighttime supplements hand you one ingredient and call it a solution. Essence is built differently — a five-ingredient stack where each piece has a specific job. Magnesium for physical tension. L-theanine for the mental spiral. Glycine for deeper, more restorative rest. Apigenin for a natural sense of calm. Tart cherry extract for the ritual itself — and the flavor that makes you actually want to do this every night.

No added melatonin. No synthetic sedatives. No single-ingredient shortcuts. Just a drink designed to support every layer of your wind-down — body, mind, and morning.

~50%

of US adults are estimated to consume less than the recommended daily amount of magnesium. (NIH Office of Dietary Supplements)

The inconvenient truth

The sleep aisle got lazy.
And you're the one paying for it.

Melatonin is the dominant ingredient in most sleep gummies — often in doses far above what's found naturally. Essence takes a different approach entirely.

Most sleep gummies

A synthetic hormone in candy form

  • Synthetic hormone, not a mineral
  • Common OTC doses far exceed natural levels
  • Works around your wind-down rhythm, not with it
  • Associated with groggy, foggy mornings for many users
  • Vivid dreams and restless nights are commonly reported
  • Doesn't address why you're struggling to unwind
  • Quality and labeling accuracy vary widely by brand

Essence

A five-ingredient wind-down stack

  • No added melatonin — ever
  • Magnesium, L-theanine, glycine, apigenin + tart cherry
  • Each ingredient chosen for a specific role
  • Designed to support body and mind — not just one or the other
  • Built for cleaner, clearer mornings
  • Tastes like a mocktail, not a medicine cabinet
  • 30 servings — built for a consistent nightly habit

Worth knowing: A 2023 JAMA study analyzed 25 melatonin gummy products and found that the actual melatonin content ranged from 74% to 347% of the labeled amount. 22 of 25 products were inaccurately labeled. That's one more reason we built Essence around a transparent, melatonin-free stack of ingredients your body actually recognizes.

How it works

What happens when you drink Essence every night

01

Mix

A tart cherry magnesium drink for your nightly wind-down. Scoop into cold or sparkling water — a bedtime mocktail that tastes like something you'd actually choose.

02

Unwind

Five ingredients — magnesium, L-theanine, glycine, apigenin, and tart cherry extract — each supporting a different layer of your wind-down. Physical tension. Mental noise. Sleep quality. Morning clarity. All in one drink, without added melatonin.

03

Wake Clear

Built for a cleaner morning routine — not a groggy one. No added melatonin means no heavy eyelids. Just a morning that feels like yours again.

The ritual

Your new "I'm done for the day" drink.

Not another pill you forget to take. A nightly ritual you actually crave — and a morning that makes it worth it.

Step 01

Mix your Essence

Scoop into cold or sparkling water. Tart cherry lemonade that tastes like something you'd actually choose — not chalky, not medicinal.

Step 02

Put the phone down

This is the signal. The moment you pour Essence, the day is over. No more emails. No more scrolling. Just this drink and the transition you've been needing.

Step 03

Wake up clear

Wake up feeling like yourself — not groggy, not slow. The kind of morning that makes everything else run better.

Why people are joining the waitlist

Sound familiar?

"I've tried melatonin, magnesium pills, chamomile tea. Nothing feels sustainable. I want something that actually becomes a habit — not another thing I forget to take."

— What early waitlist members are telling us

"I stopped drinking wine to wind down but I have no idea what to replace it with. I need something that feels like a treat at the end of the day, not another supplement."

— What early waitlist members are telling us

"I already make the sleepy girl mocktail from scratch. I'd love a cleaner, better-tasting version that's already dialed in — without having to guess on the magnesium dose."

— What early waitlist members are telling us

The stack

Five ingredients.
Every layer of your wind-down.

Essence by Dream Labs — Tart Cherry Lemonade
  • Magnesium

    The physical layer. A mineral your body uses daily to support muscle relaxation, nervous system calm, and an easier transition from "on" to "off" at the end of the day. Most adults don't get enough of it consistently.

  • 🧠

    L-Theanine

    The mental layer. Commonly used to support a quieter, less reactive mind — without drowsiness. For the nights when your body is ready but your brain hasn't gotten the memo yet.

  • 🌙

    Glycine

    The recovery layer. An amino acid associated with supporting deeper, more restorative rest — and that refreshed, clear feeling the next morning. The ingredient that makes tomorrow better.

  • 🌼

    Apigenin

    The calm layer. A naturally occurring plant compound found in chamomile, commonly used in wellness routines to support a relaxed, settled feeling before bed — without synthetic sedation.

  • 🍒

    Tart Cherry Extract

    The ritual layer. A popular ingredient in nighttime wellness drinks — and the reason Essence tastes like something you'd actually choose at the end of the day, not something you're forcing yourself to take.

  • 🚫

    What's Not In It

    No added melatonin. No artificial sweeteners. No synthetic sedatives. Designed to support rest, not override it.

  • 🌙

    Designed For

    People who want a consistent nightly ritual — not a groggy morning. Designed for ambitious people who treat sleep as a performance tool, not an afterthought.

  • 📦

    Net Weight

    10.6 oz (300g) — 30 servings of your new nighttime ritual.

Honest answers

The questions worth asking

"I've tried magnesium before. It didn't do anything." +
Two things matter here: form and context. Many standalone magnesium products use a less well-absorbed form. Essence uses a more bioavailable form — and pairs it with L-theanine, glycine, apigenin, and tart cherry extract, so the whole stack is working together rather than one ingredient doing all the heavy lifting. Plus, a pill you forget three nights in a row isn't a ritual. A drink you look forward to is.
"Will I become dependent on it?" +
Magnesium is an essential mineral your body uses and excretes daily — it's not habit-forming in the way synthetic sleep aids can be. Like any good nightly habit, you may simply enjoy how it fits into your routine. That's the goal.
"Is this just another TikTok supplement trend?" +
The sleepy girl mocktail — tart cherry, magnesium, sparkling water — became popular because people enjoyed building a nightly drink ritual around it. Essence is a more convenient, better-tasting version of that same idea: no guesswork, no mess, no added melatonin. Magnesium has been used in wellness routines long before any TikTok trend.
"Will I wake up groggy?" +
Essence contains no added melatonin, no antihistamines, and no synthetic sedatives — the usual culprits behind that heavy, foggy feeling. It's designed to support a natural wind-down, not force one. Waking up clear is the whole point.
"I don't drink alcohol. Is this my wine replacement?" +
A lot of people have described it exactly that way. If you've quit wine or cut back, you probably know the feeling of missing something that signals the day is over. Essence is that signal — something genuinely enjoyable that tells your nervous system it's safe to exhale, without the 3am wakeup, the dehydration, or the next-day anxiety that comes with alcohol.
"Why join a waitlist? Can't I just buy it now?" +
We're releasing the first batch to waitlist members first — with early access pricing and first dibs on limited flavors. If you've read this far, you're the person this was made for. The waitlist takes 20 seconds and guarantees you're not waiting behind thousands of people when we open the doors.

"I just want to wake up and feel like a person
before I've had any caffeine. That's the dream."

Essence is built for that morning.

Founding member access

Join early.
Shape what's next.

Get founding member pricing, first-batch access, and the chance to help shape the final flavor and formula before we go wide.

Founding member pricing First production batch Shape the formula