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Sleep supplement that work for us ...

xchocoholic

Senior Member
Messages
2,947
Location
Florida
Hi ALL,

I thought it might be interesting to see what supplements we're taking for sleep. I normally sleep without taking anything at this point but noticed that I get better quality sleep and will definitely sleep through the night if I take 3 mg melatonin, 100 mg theanine and 100 mg 5HTP. At this point, I'm waking up feeling rested and refreshed on these supplements. :cool:

I did some reading on neurotransmitters and saw that lack of GABA was found in 30% of those with insomnia.

http://www.prohealth.com//library/showArticle.cfm?libid=14614

"Results indicate that gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), the most common inhibitory transmitter in the brain, is reduced by nearly 30 percent in individuals who suffer from primary insomnia for more than six months."

And eating certain foods will increase our GABA as well as taking L-Theanine.

http://naturalmedicine.suite101.com/article.cfm/natural_anxiety_relief_ltheanine_vs_gaba

And here's a good article on 5 HTP (tryptophan) vs melatonin. I'm still taking both of these + L-Theanine for now.

http://www.holisticonline.com/Remedies/Sleep/sleep_ins_melatonin-and-5HTP.htm

This website does a good job of explaining glutamates and GABA. And it goes on to mention how GABA or L-Theanine can help with seizures ... FYI. GABA doesn't work for me but theanine does ...

http://www.naturalstresscare.org/GABA.aspx

Doctor J says that gluten, dairy, soy and corn are glutamates and affect our GABA receptors ... Incidently, I gave up all of these when I went GF.

http://dogtorj.net/id16.html

You have to play with the doses our bodies are all different and because too much of any of these will leave you sleepy during the day but too little won't work.

I had to take 100 mg of theanine every 3 - 4 hours the first day in order to stop feeling so jittery. I was only sleeping 4 hours and night and felt horrible / seizure like all day ... I was being glutenned constantly by a houseguest everyday though. I was able to back off of this dosage and just take it for sleep within a few days while still being glutenned.

A word of caution on the 5HTP ...

The first time I took 5HTP it felt like my brain froze up so I was afraid to take it again but it turned out that I just took too much to start with. I'd only taken 50 mg but cutting back to 25 worked ... Also, brand name made a difference for me too. Only Natural Factors worked ... the others didn't do anything for me.

I'm currently taking 3 mg of Source Naturals melatonin, 100 mg sun theanine and 100 mg Natural Factors 5HTP every night because I'm experimenting with B6.

If I've been glutenned, jerking, under extreme stess, or experimenting with a new supplement that increases energy levels and show no signs of sleepiness at my regular bedtime, I increase the melatonin to 9 mg, the theanine to 300 mg and the 5HTP to 300 mg. Again, I had to play with these dosages to get find the right one for me. ...

So what supplements are you taking for sleep ?

tc ... x
 

Sallysblooms

P.O.T.S. now SO MUCH BETTER!
Messages
1,768
Location
Southern USA
Having balanced compounded bioidentical hormones is great. 5HTP is fabulous for me as well as magnesium.

You can get your n.transmitters tested.
 

heapsreal

iherb 10% discount code OPA989,
Messages
10,089
Location
australia (brisbane)
zizyphus, kava, tryptpohan on empty stomache or 2 hours after eating i find better then 5ht also good for early awkenings. phosphatidyleserine-helps lower night time cortisol levels, Withania also helps lower night time cortisol levels and has a sedative effect, I still need medication but adding these help.