Skip To Content

The Ultimate Guide To Sleep Supplements

sleep supplements

Most of us don’t sleep enough.

These days, less than 40% of Americans get the recommended 7 hours of sleep per night – a number that has been declining over the last century.

And this isn’t at all surprising…

We’re busier than ever, have more distractions than ever – so sleep will often take a backseat to all of the other things that we need to do each day.

However, make no mistake about it: getting enough sleep is important.

It impacts your general health, your sense of wellbeing, and also how effectively you are able to recover from your workouts.

And in addition to the quantity of sleep, the quality of your sleep matters a lot as well.

You can sleep in a way that leaves you refreshed and recovered – or that has you tossing and turning all night.

And while sometimes it can be difficult to control the amount of sleep that we get, there are things that we can do to ensure that the quality of sleep that we’re getting is as good as possible.

In this article, I’m going to go over some supplements that you can use to improve the quality of your sleep, allowing you to recover from your workouts more effectively and make even better progress.

Magnesium

If you want to radically improve the quality of your sleep, one of the first things that I’d recommend is magnesium supplementation.

Most of us don’t get nearly enough magnesium in our diets, and it often isn’t included in sufficient quantities in most multivitamins.

Why does this matter?

Well, magnesium plays a crucial role in allowing you to get a restful night of sleep.

It helps to shift your brain into a mode where you are able to relax, reducing racing thoughts, and allowing you to fall asleep faster.

What’s more, research has indicated that magnesium not only lets you fall asleep more quickly, but also stay asleep with fewer periods of waking up, and spend more of the night in deeper stages of sleep.

As a result, you’ll sleep better, recover more effectively from your workouts, and improve the quality of your life.

Not all magnesium is equal, so I suggest taking magnesium aspartate, since the absorption rate is better.

The easiest way to do this is to start taking ZMA – which contains zinc, magnesium, and vitamin B in the appropriate quantities.

This has long been sold as a testosterone booster, and while the research doesn’t really substantiate that claim, it is a great way to get enough quality magnesium in your diet – and the added vitamin B6 allows for even better absorption.

In terms of brands, I recommend Optimum Nutrition ZMA, which you can order a bottle of directly from Amazon here.

GABA

GABA is short for ‘gamma-aminobutyric acid’, and is a type of amino acid that can aid in relaxation and help you sleep better.

There have been a variety of studies that have confirmed that low levels of GABA can impair sleep, and cause people to wake up more frequently during the night.

GABA supplementation has been shown to help increase the quality of sleep and make you feel more relaxed in general.

In fact, some people even take GABA supplements to help deal with stresses during the day.

In terms of brands, I recommend NOW Foods GABA, which you can order directly from Amazon here.

Melatonin

Melatonin is a hormone that plays a crucial role in sleep.

More specifically, it helps to determine when you feel tired, since it is produced by your body when it gets dark.

It has been shown that supplementing with melatonin can help improve the quality of sleep, and allow people to fall asleep faster.

That being said, melatonin supplementation has been shown to have diminished effectiveness overtime, and can potentially limit the natural production of melatonin, so I’d advise not taking this all the time.

In terms of brands, I recommend NOW Foods Melatonin, which you can order a bottle of directly from Amazon here.

We don't support Internet Explorer

Please use Chrome, Safari, Firefox, or Edge to view this site.