Best Nootropics for Sleep

Following is a well put together buying guide to help you familiarize with nootropics but also help you decide what ingredients and what brand is ideal and well suited to your demands.

So, without further ado, let’s get started. 

Why Sleep is Important

Sleep is a very natural process and a requirement of the needs of a human being. About 1/3 of the US population is genuinely sleep-deprived and sleeps less than 09 hours of sleep daily. This coincides with the study that shows that an average young American is more stressed than an average individual is in the ’70s. 

Sleep has a link to almost all other bodily functions and plays a vital role in the normal functioning of the body. Sleep deprivation can lead to several mental problems such as anxiety, depression, and even intestinal and sexual problems.

One of the many functions sleeping performs is memory solidification. All the memories and experiences that a person goes through the day need to be added to long term memory. A proper 08 to 09-hour sleep can help to enhance your memory and help you develop stronger memory cell power. 

Overall the nootropics for sleep will improve your overall wakefulness throughout the day which will help you to rely less on coffee. Sleep also helps you to maintain a good focus. Losing focus or getting distracted usually is very common, especially among youngsters. 

This is directly related to a decline in a healthy amount of sleep. Not only does sleep help you to solidify your memory but also helps to generate more memory cells. The overall wakefulness will provide fewer chances of getting distracted and will help you to stay motivated throughout the day. This will have positive effects on the individual's productivity as well.

Sleep also has positive effects on the skin. A good night's sleep will help to fight wrinkles and aging, reduce pores, and get rid of dark circles. Not only that, studies have shown that people who sleep more weightless as sleep regulates hormones that trigger hunger. 

Studies have also shown that reduced sleep is directly related to obesity and feeling of lousiness and demotivation. In both men and women, less amount of sleep can lead to reduced sex drive. Lack of sleep and overall constant exhaustion can also lead to sexual frustration and fewer chances of sexual satisfaction. 

A less amount of sleep is also seen to cause a rise in the level of cortisol. Cortisol is a stress-inducing hormone. With the rise in the stress-causing hormone, you are more likely to feel depressed, agitated, and even suicidal.  

Although there are a lot of brain boosters available in the market, they don’t really serve the purpose of sleeping aids. Sleep specific nootropics are ideal for relaxing the mind and soothing you till you drift into sleep. 

Sleep Deprivation and Effects

As mentioned above, sleep regulates and controls several physiological processes and is the determining factor of our overall health. Digging a little bit deeper to know the extent of the adverse effects of sleep deprivation.

• Cortisol

Cortisol is a stress hormone. It is triggered when the body senses tension or any situation that requires a quiet response. In response to all stressful situations, cortisol is released into the bloodstream. Lack of sleep is one of the triggers of cortisol release. 

What this hormone then does is that it helps in the repairing of cells as it is a defense mechanism. But, a high level of cortisol in the blood will lead to a constant feeling of stress, fatigue, exhaustion, agitation, low sex drive, and even triggers anxiety and depression. So, the production of excess cortisol needs to be stopped to give you a good night's sleep.

• Dopamine

These chemicals are happy chemicals. It promotes the feeling of happiness and wakefulness. Whilst essential, this hormone in a greater quantity is not ideal during sleeping hours. Dopamine has the tendency to hinder the working of adenosine which is an essential chemical that promotes sleep and drowsiness. 

This chemical needs to be suppressed for a good sleep. Constant sleep deprivation can lead to low dopamine which will ultimately lead to clinical depression and other similar medical conditions. 

• Melatonin

Sleep deprivation vastly affects the release of melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone that is released from the pineal gland and helps to regulate the sleep cycle. The highs and the lows of the melatonin in the body need to coincide with the up and downs of the circadian rhythm. 

This will help individuals who suffer from sleep-onset insomnia. People who suffer from sleep-onset insomnia have a difficult time falling asleep and the lack of melatonin just makes it harder to fall asleep. The constant tossing and turning throughout the night will only reduce the actual sleeping hours you'll end up getting.

How Nootropics Affect Sleep

Now that we know how important sleep is, we need to know if nootropics can actually help, and if so, how? Starting off with the normal sleeping mechanism. Sleep state has 2 stages. Namely, NREM and REM cycle.

NREM or non-rapid eye movement is the first stage of the sleep cycle and is divided into 3 further stages. Stage 1 is considered when the body just drifts into sleep and the breathing, heartbeat slows down. This is the stage where the body just relaxes.

Stage 2 is when we drift further into sleep. This is when the temperature of our body starts to rise and the body slips into a deeper sleep and the eyes stop moving. Stage 3 is the stage of deep sleep. This is when delta waves are being produced by the brain that calms the brain and prepares the body and energizes the body. 

REM cycle or rapid eye movement cycle is the stage at which our eyes start moving underneath our lids, the brain is actively dreaming, our heartbeat and blood pressure rises, all this happens while we’re still sleeping. Essentially, all these physical functions help create the realness of a dream. 

All these stages are an essential part of an ideal sleep. All these stages will ensure that your body and mind are healthy and have had a good amount of rest. Most people don't undergo the REM cycle due to less amount of sleep and this is quite harmful as even though you are "resting", the body is unable to perform all its functions and pass through all the stages of sleep resulting in poor health.

Ingredients in Nootropics that help with Sleep

There are a few important and active ingredients in nootropics for sleep and 2 of the main ones are L-tryptophan and Magnesium. Let’s take a closer look as to what these ingredients do and what their significance is.

• L-tryptophan

Sleep deprivation can have several triggers but, most commonly, it is stress. Insomnia due to stress is a repeated cycle, stress causes a lack of sleep and lack of sleep causes even more sleep deprivation. In this case, L-tryptophan, an amino acid, can help. 

What L-tryptophan does is that it helps in the breakdown of the 5-hydroxytryptophan which is then converted into serotonin. Serotonin is a happy hormone that helps to generate drowsiness and promotes regular and healthy sleeping.  

L-tryptophan has another working mechanism. They also help to promote healthy sleep by working in the GI tract and converting into the hormone, melatonin. Melatonin is a very important hormone for maintaining a healthy sleeping cycle. 

When the body senses melatonin in the tract, it triggers the production of even more melatonin which in turn helps in having a good, sound sleep overnight.

• Magnesium

Magnesium deficiency has been recorded as the cause of sleep deprivation in around 60% of adults. Extreme magnesium deficiency leads to several other issues as well such as bone weakness, muscle weakness, constant headaches, and even convulsions. 

In short, it is necessary to keep the magnesium level maintained within the body. How magnesium helps is by relaxing the smooth muscles to prepare the body and ease the body into sleep. This muscle-relaxing coincides with the slow and steady drop in the blood pressure which gently encourages the body to loosen up and drift into sleep.

Reducing the involuntary muscle spasms and twitches for a comfortable and long sleep. Magnesium does this by supporting and loosening the muscles gently and letting the body go into a place of calmness to promote sleep. 

Calming the nerves by controlling and managing the nerves across the body. magnesium helps to manage and reduce the excitable nerves and let the body relax without the interferences of any triggering synapses.  

Safety of the Product 

The next thing you need to check is the safety of the product. Not only do you need to make sure that the product is not overall safe to consume and legal but you also need to take a look at the individual ingredients to make sure that you are not allergic to them. 

You need to make sure the product is 100% organic and GMO-free. You need to check this box to make sure that there are no chances of mutation in the product or mutation once it enters the body. Preservatives and additives are other commonly present ingredients. 

Whilst seemingly harmless, these additives can be potential allergens, especially among sensitive people. Although it is ideal to look for a product that is preservative and additive-free if you are unable to get your hands on such a product, make sure to contact the company and list down the preservatives and additives to make sure they are safe for consumptions and you're not allergic to them.

Colorants, flavors, and gluten are best avoided as they can be potential allergens as well.

Brand

Our brand pick is none other than Performance Lab® sleep nootropics. Performance Lab® has a clean formula which means that it is GMO-free, gluten-free, additive and preservative-free and soy and flavor-free. This brand is essentially tolerable and completely safe to use.  

The active ingredients of the products are magnesium, cherry pure, and L-tryptophan. All of these ingredients are necessary for the efficient working of the nootropics and help you maintain a good sleeping schedule.