LONGECITY

Please mention your preferred brand and dosage. 

I take two Natrol Melatonin 5 mg pills  or 10 mg per night. I had been waking up in the middle of the night and having a hard time getting back to sleep. I also had been registering higher fasting blood sugars and this supplements fixes both of those issues. I reordered recently and my prior bottle were 1 mg dissolvable tablets and accidentally took 4 or 5 of these 5 mg pills and was incredibly drowsy and anxious. Thought my body was reacting to a tsp of glycine that night. Scaled back to 2 pills the next night. It took me a few days to compare the bottles and noticed I had ordered higher dose version.

You might find (myo) Inositol interesting.  It's popular with the OCD crowd as it helps quell repetitive thought loops.  Sometimes insomnia occurs due to these same thought loops.  My girlfriend swears by this supp.  Doesn't make you groggy or foggy.  Just clears your head so you don't lie in bed pondering things for hours.  She takes 500mg around an hour before she want's to hit the hay.  

My favorite sleep supplement (and great for overall relaxation as well) is Glycine. It has so many benefits and also helps to increase levels of collagen, for people who are into keeping their skin youthful. I usually take 2000 mg a day. I will take one around 7 or 8pm to just relax and then one around 10 or a  half hour before I go to sleep. I know some people take a lot more than that, but that's all I need. I am currently just using the Now Foods brand of it. But, I am sure anything would be fine. I ran out of it recently and my sleep hasn't been as good. I miss it! If you are a person who gets super stressed out, it can also help with just calming you down.

I used inositol twice for OCD at 18g a day which is the recommended dose.  Gave me chest pains each time, months apart.

Best sleep supplement for me?  Magnesium taurate.  I was using cardiovascular research's version but according to https://labdoor.com/...gnesium-taurate labdoor they failed a heavy metal test so I stopped.

I'm working night shifts and I've been using melatonin or some herbal teas for some time and also experimenting with times of feeding. But sometimes after melatonin (1 to 3 mg) I felt groggy even after 10h of sleep or wake up on the night off at 3am.

The best I found is:

1) A little bit of swimming plus sauna plus cold shower 1 - 2h before sleep. But covidiots have closed all the public saunas in my city. A hot/cold/hot/cold shower is a good substitute, though. Maybe finishing with hot/warm will suit some the best. Hot & cold exposure plus some breath work (under the shower even unintentionally you will do some!) attenuates hormonal levels and brings best sleep quality.

2) Low carb diet / intermittent fasting, no food min 3h before bed.

Therefore, from my experience, before using any supplements, I would recommend fixing diet, hot/cold exposure & breath work.

My sleeping stack is:

Liquid melatonin, Source Naturals

Holy Basil, Gaia

Magnesium L-Threonate, Life Extension

Honokiol, Econugenics

melatonin with ashwagandha and cordyceps

GHB apparently works really well. Sadly, it became victim of the corrupt FDA, like so many other beneficial substances.

GHB apparently works really well. Sadly, it became victim of the corrupt FDA, like so many other beneficial substances.

GHB / GBL can be an addictive drug, not sure if that's the case as a sleep "supplement", but I've heard of terrible withdrawals from those who abused it. GHB is also neurotoxic in low doses. It can promote deep sleep, but I'd rather take Pregabalin or Reishi for that.

Here's my top 5-10 list:

• Magnesium (1 - 1.5 g)
• Tryptophan (only as needed, 500-1000 mg)
• Astragaloside IV^[1][2] (50 mg; 3-5 days per week)
• Saffron (88.5 mg; taken in morning or early afternoon; limit to 4-5 days per week)
• Exercise (15-20 minutes, at least 3-4 hours before bed)
• CBD (10 - 15 mg, inhaled; in the afternoon)
• L-theanine (effective but only marginally; preferred form is Japanese Matcha 2-3 g daily; taken in afternoon, or at least 2 hours before sleep)

Ones I do NOT recommend

• Melatonin (weird feeling in the morning; supraphysiologic & non-natural/non-dietary; no long-term evidence of sleep improvement, despite being widely recommended by doctors)
• 5-HTP (heart valve concerns; weird feeling, but not as bad as Melatonin; just use Tryptophan)
• Fish oil (all around good, but not a sleep miracle imo)
• Vitamin D (may help, but evidence is inconclusive)
• Ashwagandha (lowers cortisol too substantially; body needs some in the morning)
• Kava (reduces sleep latency [fall asleep faster]; no evidence for improved sleep quality; cost-prohibitive)
• Lithium (reduces sleep-deprivation associated impairments [like Nicotine]; reduces REM sleep)
• Glycine (cFos/vascular mechanism is suspicious^[3]; not convinced of its long-term benefits on sleep/anxiety; most research is on longevity)
• Valerian/Passion flower/Lavender (not convinced of its long-term utility or effectiveness in anxiety)
• Ginkgo/Ginseng/Gotu Kola (good anti-stress adaptogens; may aid sleep, but evidence is not conclusive enough to actively recommend; stimulating effect may predominate)

References

[1] The protective effect of cycloastragenol on aging mouse circadian rhythmic disorder induced by d-galactose - PubMed https://pubmed.ncbi....h.gov/31310357/

[2] The association between sleep quality and telomere length: A systematic literature review - PMC https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC9860369/

[3] The Sleep-Promoting and Hypothermic Effects of Glycine are Mediated by NMDA Receptors in the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus - PMC https://www.ncbi.nlm...les/PMC4397399/

Ones I do NOT recommend

• Melatonin (weird feeling in the morning; supraphysiologic & non-natural/non-dietary; no long-term evidence of sleep improvement, despite being widely recommended by doctors)

Yeah I never liked Melatonin even in low doses, it caused me headache the next morning/day, every time. I've also read it decreases all hormone levels except growth hormone if I remember correctly.

I currently drink some tea of lemon balm, chamomile and lavender before bed. Makes it easier to fall asleep and feel well-rested in the morning. But I don't know how it affects sleep stages, GABAergics tend to decrease slow-wave sleep?

GHB apparently works really well. Sadly, it became victim of the corrupt FDA, like so many other beneficial substances.

Really bad for your brain. Ive tried it.
 

Last week a took sulforaphane quite late, well in the early hours, there were some confounding factors but I noticed significant sleep improvement enough to wonder if it had been the broccoli extract. I found this small study:

:text=Sulforaphane%20increases%20melatonin%20production%2C%20which,increasing%20melatonin%20and%20anti-inflammation' class='bbc_url' title='External link' rel='nofollow external'>https://www.scienced...ti-inflammation.

It appears to significantly increase melatonin levels:

Abs: "The visual analogue scale questionnaire on sleep quality (4.8 ± 1.6 vs. 6.4 ± 1.9) and area under the curve of melatonin concentration (109.7 ± 80.0 pg/mL・h vs. 143.5 ± 79.9 pg/mL・h) were significantly increased and prostaglandin D2 levels at 21:00 (44.2 ± 24.6 pg/mL vs. 20.2 ± 15.5 pg/mL) were significantly decreased in the sulforaphane group, although there were no significant differences between the groups. These suggest that sulforaphane may improve sleep quality by increasing melatonin and anti-inflammatory activity."

Concl: "To explore the effects of sulforaphane on the quality of sleep, we conducted a small, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group trial on healthy subjects. For the first time it was shown that sulforaphane intake for four weeks may increase melatonin production. It was suggested that the increased melatonin production and anti-inflammatory effect of sulforaphane treatment may improve the quality of sleep. No adverse events related to the test food were identified."

A working link:

https://www.scienced...756464621002231

Last week a took sulforaphane quite late, well in the early hours, there were some confounding factors but I noticed significant sleep improvement enough to wonder if it had been the broccoli extract. I found this small study:

 

https://www.scienced...ti-inflammation.

 

It appears to significantly increase melatonin levels:

 

Abs: "The visual analogue scale questionnaire on sleep quality (4.8 ± 1.6 vs. 6.4 ± 1.9) and area under the curve of melatonin concentration (109.7 ± 80.0 pg/mL・h vs. 143.5 ± 79.9 pg/mL・h) were significantly increased and prostaglandin D2 levels at 21:00 (44.2 ± 24.6 pg/mL vs. 20.2 ± 15.5 pg/mL) were significantly decreased in the sulforaphane group, although there were no significant differences between the groups. These suggest that sulforaphane may improve sleep quality by increasing melatonin and anti-inflammatory activity."

 

 

Concl: "To explore the effects of sulforaphane on the quality of sleep, we conducted a small, randomized, double-blind, parallel-group trial on healthy subjects. For the first time it was shown that sulforaphane intake for four weeks may increase melatonin production. It was suggested that the increased melatonin production and anti-inflammatory effect of sulforaphane treatment may improve the quality of sleep. No adverse events related to the test food were identified."

Are you taking precursors or actual sulforaphane? What brand?

Hello Daniel, 

Here's the brand:

https://www.amazon.c...product_details

Sounds like a secondary effect for sulforaphane, not a direct effect on sleep quality. Basically, sulforaphane improved the overall health of some of the trial subjects and thus improved their melatonin levels and sleep as a secondary effect.

Sounds like a secondary effect for sulforaphane, not a direct effect on sleep quality. Basically, sulforaphane improved the overall health of some of the trial subjects and thus improved their melatonin levels and sleep as a secondary effect.

I guess it's hard to know, I don't know how dependent melatonin levels are on inflammation, say - but it is a good study. 

Interestingly, sulforaphane has been linked to improved autism and there appears to be evidence relating low melatonin and poor sleep to severity of symptoms in ASD:

https://pubmed.ncbi....h.gov/24050742/

Two things. Lemon Balm. Tulsi (holy Basil) root tea. Or straight up tincture.