Sleep has always been a problem for me; since childhood I typically take an hour or more to fall asleep, and it has worsened with aging, so I experiment with anything that might improve it. Lately strategies that have been working for years have become unreliable. New research has revealed something that works well, and I’m passing it on.

Poor sleep is the fastest path to metabolic syndrome; considerably faster than eating badly, and that leads to type 2 diabetes and a cascade of chronic conditions that shorten life and make it far less fun or productive. Also, deep sleep is required to allow the Glymphatic System to clean the brain of metabolic waste and remove the protein tangles that lead to various forms of dementia. Excellent sleep might delay dementia onset by decades, but that’s not yet proven.

The optical processing parts of the brain, together with the cycle from light to darkness, control production of neurotransmitters that turn off the Awake center of the brain, also referred to as the Orexin System, and that puts us to sleep. My approach to improving sleep over the years has been to supplement neurotransmitters that are supposed to do that.

Recently, three very expensive drugs have come on the market that directly shutdown the awake function and enable all the beneficial functions of great sleep with a single pill; I tried the one with the fastest onset and quickest clearance (Quviviq) to see if it would get me through the night. I took it intermittently for 13 days and it worked beautifully; non-habit-forming, no rebound effect and only a mere $191/month on Medicare. I investigated what might be less expensive natural substitutes!

I found two inexpensive supplements that land on the same receptors and, so far, have comparable results with one capsule each taken half an hour before bed:

Poria Cocos extract: https://www.amazon.com/AMPEXT-Poria-Cocos-Mushroom-Extract/dp/B0D9PFV6PQ/
Holy Basil Extract: https://www.amazon.com/Zazzee-Extra-Strength-Organic-Basil/dp/B09GNPGCNN/

I combine those with a form of magnesium that is rapidly taken up by the brain; Magnesium L-Threonate: https://www.amazon.com/ZEBORA-Magnesium-L-Threonate-Absorption-Relaxation/dp/B0GHYHKHD5/  It is relaxing and you can feel it in 20 minutes. It’s respected as protective of brain health and cognition.

Lastly, I’ve been reviewing a well-known longevity supplement, alpha-ketoglutarate, which, when I researched it for sleep purposes, confirmed that is helpful in aiding deap, restorative sleep if taken at night. I was cautioned that taking Calcium while on a calcium channel blocker like Diltiazem would be unwise, and found Ornithine alpha-ketoglutarate at $26 for a 250g bag (looks to be enough for a year or so). I mix 1/2 tsp in 3 0z of water and use it to wash down the capsules a half hour before bed.

I have been taking Repair PM, a sublingual gel with melatonin, 5-htp and GABA, because it is very fast to knock me out; 20 minutes to brain-off but often waking up an hour later. I’ll see if I can reduce the dose and still get a benefit. My ongoing problem has been waking during the night and being unable to go back to sleep; this new strategy has solved that issue, at least for the last 4 nights in a row.

The two new supplements cost about $50 for 4 months if they keep working as they do so far.

To Your Greater Health and Fitness – and longevity,

Frank