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Three Natural Nutrients Send You To Slumber Nirvana

Scientists and healthcare professionals are realizing that it’s abundantly clear that good sleep is connected and imperative to numerous aspects of our overall health. And this one brilliant neuroscientist has figured out that a certain three natural nutrients, when combined, will get you going to sweet slumber nirvana in no time at all.

One of the compounds is Apigenin, which is extracted from chamomile flowers. You may have experienced its calming effects when sipping chamomile tea. What can be more natural than flowers? Anyway, you combine this with the two others compounds, and you get wonderful ZZZZZZZZZZZZs!

I have more detailed info below about all this magic, and other super sleep strategies to use–including tweaking your circadian rhythms and much more. But if you just wanna cut to the chase, here are Amazon links to the ones I’ve used…

Apigenin – 50 mg | Theanine – 200 mg | Magnesium L-Threonate – 140 mg

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My own experience with this great concoction

My own experience with this great concoction has been stupendous. Before this stuff, I used to routinely take melatonin and often add on a Benadryl or two in attempts to get sleepy. And still it’d often take a half hour to an hour to drift off. And then I’d often still wake up in the middle of the night. Not good.

With the stuff: I usually fall asleep in 15 to 30 minutes, tops.

(Note: If you’re taking melatonin—STOP! At the end of this post you can read why)

Also, I’ve always been a lifelong extreme morning zombie–even when I was a kid. Hell, my family members would squabble about who’s turn it was that morning to attempt to wake up the zombie. A most terrible ordeal.

With the stuff: the zombie has miraculously transformed into a chirpy morning person. A miracle indeedy! And I used to require 8.5 to 9 hours of sleep. Usually waking up around 9 AM. Now I only need 7.5 hours sleep and wake up naturally at 7:30 AM. No alarm clock or barking dog needed. What the hell? This stuff ain’t never ever happened to me before!

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My hero Dr. Andrew Huberman

Gotta give it up and tell you all about my good pal Andy. He’s a brilliant neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University’s School of Medicine in the Department of Neurobiology and Ophthalmology. He has received numerous accolades, including the Pew Biomedical Scholar Award.

There you go, Hubie ain’t no slacker. The doc gots tons and tons of great health and wellness tips and tricks at his website Huberman Lab too. He is also the creator of the popular Huberman Lab Podcast that’s regularly ranked as the #1 health podcast in the world where he shares science-based tools to optimize mental and physical health, gaining millions of listeners globally.

And look, Andy even got himself on a bigtime TV show a few weeks ago.

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Better Sleep: Circadian Rhythms, Light Exposure and Effective Napping Strategies

Besides the wonderful sleep concoction he thunk up, Huberman has excellent sleep strategies to share. I’ve used most of these in the past year and have found them to be very effective and I highly recommend you give ‘em a try.

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Timing the Mind | Andrew Huberman On Tuning Into the Circadian Rhythm

Details, details, details. Here’s a good chunk of change below the video. Details that I think would behoove you to check out delve into. Or you can just watch the video. Or do both. Raise  your snooze to the ultimate of snoozyness! Go forth and go for it!

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Huberman Lab: Your Top Questions on Sleep Answered

Our recent guest series with Dr. Matt Walker was a deep dive into the biology of sleep, tools to improve your sleep, and how specific factors (like caffeine, alcohol, and naps) influence sleep quality. The final episode concluded with a Q&A session covering the 10 most popular audience questions about sleep. This newsletter is a summary of these questions and answers.

1. What are the best practices for managing rumination and negative thoughts when trying to fall asleep?
   • If you have racing thoughts or sleep-onset insomnia related to anxiety, use the following strategies:
     • Meditation, either guided breathing or guided relaxation. The Waking Up meditation app offers a free 30-day trial. (Disclosure: Waking Up is a Huberman Lab sponsor.)
     • Body scans – where your focus moves progressively from one part of the body to another. (Non-sleep deep rest, or NSDR, typically includes a body scan and can be very effective in helping you fall asleep. Here are scripts for a 10-minute NSDR and a 20-minute NSDR.)
     • Breathing techniques, especially those emphasizing long-exhale breathing
     • Take a “mental walk” – visualize a familiar route in great detail as though you mentally walk yourself through it

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1. What is the best position to sleep in?
   • Avoid sleeping on your back, as it increases the likelihood of snoring or that your airway could collapse, causing a “hypoxic event.”
   • Dr. Walker suggests being curious and determining whether you snore or not. Use an app like SnoreLab to monitor your breathing throughout the night. In the morning, the app will provide a visual of your snoring distribution. Eight Sleep’s Pod Covers can now detect snoring as well. (Disclosure: Eight Sleep is a Huberman Lab sponsor.)
     • If you get a confirmation of snoring, consult with your doctor; 80% of people who have sleep apnea are undiagnosed. Sleep apnea negatively affects your health and lifespan. When treated, sleeping through the night will be transformational for your mental and physical health.
     • If you consume alcohol, expect snoring to increase.

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1. Why do I wake up at 3:30 a.m., no matter what time I go to sleep?
   • Waking up at a specific time (like 3:30 a.m.) is likely due to the end of a sleep cycle and/or due to a learned habit.
   • During REM sleep, your body is paralyzed, and upon exiting this phase, the body needs to move and reposition, which often briefly awakens you. Normally, these awakenings are so brief that you don’t remember, but some will wake you up fully.
   • Checking the time when you wake up at night can train your brain to continue waking at that time. This is a form of learning whereby checking the clock strengthens the memory association with that specific time.
     • Remove visible clocks from your bedroom to help disrupt this pattern.

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1. Can we “bank” sleep or catch up on lost sleep?
   • “If you don’t snooze, you lose” – is true for certain activities like learning, meaning that if you don’t get good sleep the first night after learning, you lose much of the chance to consolidate (“save”) the new information in your memory. Naps can help offset that somewhat, but it’s best to sleep as well as possible the night after learning something important to you, in order to maximize your chances of retaining the information.
   • You can’t accumulate a sleep “debt” and then pay it off later, such as on the weekend. The body can only recoup ~25% of the lost hours. Frequently sleeping less than the recommended 7 to 8 hours/night (some may need 6, others 9 or even 10 hours!) means you will always be running a sleep debt – predictive of ill health outcomes and early mortality.
   • However, if you anticipate sleep loss, you can proactively increase (or “bank”) your sleep ahead of time to mitigate the impact of the sleep debt you will incur.
     • This is particularly useful for those professions requiring irregular hours, like doctors or emergency responders. However, it’s important to note that this doesn’t entirely remove the impact of sleep loss.

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1. What are some of the best practices for getting back to sleep after waking up in the middle of the night?
   • Don’t try too hard! Getting back to sleep can be frustrating. Instead of trying hard to fall asleep, which can often be counterproductive, take a more relaxed approach.
   • If you are struggling to fall back asleep, just embrace the concept of rest.
     • This will reduce your stress levels and naturally facilitate getting back to sleep.
     • Again, NSDR scripts can be very helpful for falling asleep initially and falling back asleep after waking up in the middle of the night.

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1. I used to be a great sleeper, but as I’ve gotten older, I wake up much earlier than I did previously and/or difficult for me to get more than six hours of sleep. What do you think is going on, and what are some remedies?
   • In older adults, there is a significant decline in deep sleep and sleep quality. Sleep becomes more fragmented and less efficient with age. Changes in circadian rhythm cause sleep to become more fragile during the second half of the night, leading to a greater probability of waking up early.
     • These sleep changes negatively impact health risks and mortality.
   • Older adults should consider gradually delaying their bedtime to address early waking. If you go to sleep at 10 pm, but your body wakes up naturally at 4 am, try pushing your bedtime to 11 pm to encourage the body to sleep later into the morning.
   • Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBTI) is also effective for older adults dealing with sleep issues.
   • Consider discussing any sleep issues with your physician. Sleep medications, such as doxepin, trazodone, or dual orexin receptor antagonists (DORAs), can be prescribed for older adults who have trouble falling or staying asleep.

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1. Are there any sleep techniques specific to menopause for getting better sleep?
   • Menopause (also premenopause and perimenopause) causes physiological changes that greatly disrupt sleep patterns. Hot flashes are a frequent symptom of menopause and can significantly disrupt sleep, as the body needs to stay cool to stay asleep.
     • To mitigate the effect of hot flashes, keep the bedroom cool and consider using a cooling pad, mattress cover, or mattress. These changes will make the sleep environment more conducive to restful sleep.
   • Changes in hormones during menopause are also problematic for sleep. Various forms of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may provide relief by normalizing some of the hormonal changes that occur during menopause, which in turn can improve sleep quality.

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1. What does it mean if I cannot remember my dreams? Does this have any reflection on my sleep quality?
   • Most people don’t recall most of their dreams. Not remembering dreams does not indicate problems with your sleep quality or REM sleep, nor does it affect the quality of your waking day.
     • ​Lucid dreaming is a unique case; the data suggest this type of dreaming might not be conducive to quality, restorative sleep.
   • Dr. Walker proposed that even if we can’t consciously remember our dreams, they could still implicitly influence our behavior. These forgotten dreams might still exist in our minds, impacting us without our conscious awareness or accessibility.

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1. If you could give just one tip for getting better sleep, what would that be?
   • Pay attention to your sleep regularity and timing.
     • Keep your sleep schedule regular by keeping your sleeping and waking times consistent (even on weekends!). This anchors the body’s internal circadian clock and will improve overall sleep quality.
     • For timing, determine your chronotype and sleep in sync with your natural chronotype as best you can

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Why Melatonin be bad for you

Dr. Andrew Huberman and other experts advise against regular melatonin use for sleep because it can disrupt the body’s natural production of the hormone. Melatonin is a timing signal for sleep, not a sedative. Taking it regularly can reduce your body’s ability to regulate its own melatonin levels, potentially leading to reliance. Additionally, many supplements contain doses far higher than necessary, which may cause grogginess, headaches, or other side effects. Huberman suggests focusing on regulating your circadian rhythm with light exposure, rather than using melatonin as a first line of defense for sleep issues.