#asks-offers-advice
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Hey crew -- doing a bit of research for my girlfriend who's been challenged with insomnia.
What sleep supplements do you take? What are your favorites without melatonin?
as Ian said, great thoughts here!!
I only take magnesium (60-90min before bed) but I also believe I sleep well because of consistent wake and sleep times (and duration), early morning exercise (60-90min) and reading for 15-20min right before bed.
Hope that helps somewhat @Albe Tremblay
• Deadlift or Squat @ ~80% 1RM or sprint HIIT (at least a few hours before bed)
• Earlier dinner timing
• Temperature therapy (at least a few hours before bed)
• Winddown routine including journaling, meditation, etc.
• Aromatherapy in the bedroom
• Screen time reduction (especially phone)
• CBT-I
• CBD
• THC (as a last resort)
Magnesium and/ or an Epsom salt bath do wonders for me! No phones in the bedroom and also transcendental meditation really helps @Albe Tremblay
I had some luck optimizing my sleep with and Epithalon.
As mentioned above already, and as is the case with fitness / nutrition, with sleep it really boils down to the cornerstone habits that drive 80% of the results.
Focus more effort on building the habits that entrain your circadian rhythm and teaches your body a regular schedule for sleeping and being awake:
• Consistent sleep schedule (keeping your wake up time is the most important)
• Morning sunlight (and ideally exercise alongside it)
• Avoid late caffeine
• Temperature regulation (keeping a cool bedroom, your core body temp needs to drop ~2 degs for you to fall asleep)
• Have a wind-down routine before bed (give yourself 30-60 minutes of downtime where you aren’t stimulating your brain), can be a warm bath, reading, etc. Avoid blue light from screens if possible
And then you can layer in supplements (or other sleep gadgets / tools) to support the remaining 20%. Here’s what I use:
• Zest (shameless plug) to make waking up at the same time way easier, and for adjusting to new sleep schedules more easily when I travel
• Magnesium Glycinate
• Chamomile Tea (Chamomile + L-theanine is a winning combo for relaxation)
• A few other things that I only reach for when I really need it:
◦ Valerian Root
◦ Ashwaghanda
◦ GABA
◦ Reishi (I like Four Sigmatic)
Melatonin gets a bad rap and can help, when its dosed / timed properly. Avoid anything over 3mg, ideally keep it <1mg. I like Ritual’s timed release melatonin when I’m in a pinch (e.g. jetlag).
• eye covers
• mouth tape
• magnesium
• CBN+CBD (n=1, anecdotally the winner)
• white noise
• yoga nidra
Oh for eye covers check out Somo Sleep mask. Met these folks at ATN after my panel and wow it’s a freaking comfortable and effective mask.