Does tart cherry juice actually improve deep sleep or am I just imagining things?

I have been struggling with mid-night wakeups for months, so last week I decided to give tart cherry juice a shot after reading about its natural melatonin content. Honestly, I was skeptical, expecting nothing more than an expensive glass of sour juice, but the last four nights have been surprisingly solid. I felt like my sleep latency dropped significantly, and I didn't wake up at 3 AM staring at the ceiling for once. Is this just a massive placebo effect, or are the anti-inflammatory properties actually doing the heavy lifting here? I am curious if anyone else has experimented with this as a regular nightly ritual or if there are other herbal alternatives that provide a similar boost without the sugar spike. My background is in data analysis, so I am obsessively tracking my Oura ring stats, but I want to hear the human side of your experiences. Has anyone found a specific brand or dosage that works best, or am I just over-optimizing a simple habit?