Max Sleep is a product developed by Bulk Nutrients to promote relaxation and recovery, to assist with sleep quality and to increase growth hormone levels.
The product was developed over a period of 12 months after extensive research of scientific papers, as well as critical analysis of other sleep supplements available on the market. Then came several months of trials to evaluate effectiveness, taste and potential side effects.
Max Sleep is designed to aid restfulness, help improve sleep quality and increase hormonal actions such as growth hormone production, which occurs during sleeping.
Essentially Max Sleep has been formulated to help you sleep deeper and wake up fresh for the day ahead.
This article details which ingredients we used, the dosages and how this alters the overall effectiveness of the product.
Each 2.7g serve of Max Sleep contains:
- GABA: 1500mg
- Phenibut 500mg
- Mucuna Pruien: 100mg
- L Tryptophan: 50mg
- 5 HTP: 50mg
- Vitamin B6 10mg
Most of the quantities used in Max Sleep are based on clinical research, however, we have generally used lower amounts due to potential side effects. This is for multiple reasons. The first is that when combined, ingredients tend to have compounding effects compared to when used in isolation, and supplements dosing needs to be designed for more sensitive individuals.
Let’s look at which ingredients have been used and why
GABA for it’s growth hormone secreting properties
GABA helps induce relaxation and sleep. In addition, GABA stimulates the anterior pituitary, leading to higher levels of growth hormone (GH). Increased levels of GH can have positive effects on anti-aging, lowering body fat levels and increasing lean muscle levels.
Several studies have documented GABA’s ability to increase GH when taken orally including the work of Cavagnini et al. (1980b), Coiro et al., (1994) and Vescovi et al. (1998). In a recent study, Powers et al. (2008) reported that supplementation with 3000mg GABA at rest illicited a 400 per cent increase in GH concentrations and that 3000mg ingested pre-exercise resulted in 200 per cent greater GH secretion than exercise alone.
On the basis of these studies, GABA supplementation presents the most evidenced and substantial secretion of GH. It is also well established that activation of GABA receptors favours sleep. Three generations of hypnotics are based on GABA receptor mediated inhibitory processes (Gottesmann, 2002). GABA is also reported to decrease sleep latency and the amount of waking (Schneider et al. 1977), and as such serves to fulfill the requirement of a sleep enhancing supplement as well.
Tryptophan and 5 HTP to increase drowsiness
Tryptophan is an amino acid that acts like a natural mood regulator and 5 HTP is a by-product of tryptophan.
Human studies involving tryptophan and GH are limited to relatively old research. However, research regarding tryptophan and sleep is vast. Tryptophan is noted in doses of as little as 1g to decrease sleep latency and increase sleepiness, even in individuals with no previously reported sleep disturbances. Tryptophan supplementation may be considered to have a relaxing and/or calming effect on healthy adults and would be well suited in a sleep promoting product.
Phenibut for its relaxation properties
Phenibut is a psychotropic substance that was introduced in to clinical practice in Russia several decades ago. It possesses anxiolytic and nootropic activity, hence it is used as a mood elevator and tranquilizer (Lapin, 2001). It is structurally related to GABA which is capable of better penetration through the blood-brain barrier. Although phenibut is known as a potent sedative, a number of recent case studies have suggested it may also possess unwanted side effects.
Mucuna Prurien Seed Extract/L-DOPA to increase GH concentrations
Mucuna pruriens is a rich source of L-DOPA, a dopaminergic and GH secreting compound, hence its extensive use in commercial supplements. L-DOPA has been studied extensively for its GH secreting abilities, with nearly all studies utilising the same dose of 500mg L-DOPA and reporting positive results for increased GH (Boyd et al., 1970; Kansal et al., 1972; Podolsky and Leopold, 1974; Lal et al., 1975; Chihara et al., 1986). A more recent study by Muller et al., (2011) reported that 250mg L-DOPA moderately increased the bio-availability of nerve growth factor and growth hormone in patients with Parkinson Disease.
The relatively strong correlation of positive results from past publications suggest that L-DOPA is effective in increasing GH concentrations and as such fits the criteria for the supplement.
What about ingredients such as L Ornitine, Arginine and Lysine?
While these amino acids have various uses and benefits, the evidence of them assisting GH production and sleep quality is very limited. We spent many hours critically looking at research and where the results of trials had never been replicated (such as the Isidori study) we have not included them in the product. In trials it was also noticed that these ingredients had little effect.
Can I have a larger dose of Max Sleep?
If you find a single dose not effective enough, you certainly can take a larger dose of Max Sleep. The most potent products on the market tend to dose ingredients equivalent to a “double dose” of Max Sleep, however continual larger dosing will more quickly lead to side effects.
Are there any side effects of using Max Sleep?
Initially some people can suffer some mild discomfort from the GABA in Max Sleep. The feeling is somewhat similar to the “prickly” feeling some people get from Beta Alanine, which is a tingly sensation on the skin. This usually passes quite quickly, and is far less intense than the reaction from Beta Alanine. As a supplement commonly used to combat anxiety, Phenibut is the ingredient in Max Sleep most likely to cause side effects.
Phenibut is much like GABA as it binds to its receptors in the brain, however, a tolerance can build up quite quickly and withdrawal symptoms are possible. Some people are not affected by this, however we do recommend that most people cycle the product, limiting use to four or five days in succession before having a “wash out” period, meaning two or three days of no use.
References
Please refer to these articles for further reading. As some of these articles work on a subscription basis we are unable to hyperlink them. Article appear in order of reference in this post.
Cavagnini, F., Benettie, G., Invitti, C., Ramella, G., Pinto, M., Lazza, M., Dubini, A., Marelli, A. and
Muller, E. E. (1980a) Effect of gamma-aminobutyric acid on growth hormone and prolactin secretion
in man: Influence of pimozide and domperidone. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and
Metabolism, 51(4), 789.
Coiro, V., Volpi, R., Maffei, M. L., Caiazza, A., Caffarri, G., Capretti, L., Colla, R. and Chiodera, P. (1994)
Opiod modulation of the gamma-aminobutyric acid controlled inhibition of exercise stimulated
growth hormone and prolactin secretion in normal men. European Journal of Endocrinoligy, 131(1),
50-55.
Vescovi, P. P., Volpi, R. and Coiro, V. (1998) Alcoholism abolishes the gamma-aminobutyric acid
(GABA)ergic control of GH secretion in humans. Alcohol, 16(4), 325-328.
Powers, M. E., Yarrow, J. F., Mccoy, S. C. and Borst, S. E. (2008) Growth hormone isoform responses
to GABA ingestion at rest and after exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 40(10),
104-110.
Gottesmann, C. (2002) GABA mechanisms and sleep. Nueroscience, 111(2), 231-239.
Schneider, E., Ziegler, B. and Maxion, H. (1977) The influence of di-n-propylacetate acid on sleep in
man. European Journal of Pharmocology, 15, 146-152.
Lapin, I. (2001) Phenibut (beta-phenyl-GABA): a tranquilizer and nootropic drug. CNS Drug Reviews,
7, 471-481.
Boyd, A. E., Lebovits, H. E. And Pfeiffer, J. B (1970) Stimulation of human growth hormone secretion
by L-DOPA. The New England Journal of Medicine, 283, 1425-1429.
Kansal, P. C., Buse, J., Talbert, O. R. And Buse, M. G. (1972) The effect of L-DOPA on plasma growth
hormone, insulin and thyroxine. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 34(1), 99.
Podolsky, S. And Leopold, N. A. (1974) Growth hormone abnormalities in huntingtons chorea: effect
of L-DOPA administration. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 39(1), 36.
Lal, S., Martin, J. B., De La Vega, C. E. and Friesen, H. G. (1975) Comparison of the effect of
apomorphine and L-DOPA on serum growth hormone levels in normal men. Clinical Endocrinology,
4(3), 277-285.
Chihara, K., Kashio, Y., Kita, T., Okimura, Y., Kaji, H., Abe, H. and Fujita, T. (1986) L-DOPA stimulates
release of hypothalam,ic growth hormone releasing hormone in humans. The Journal of Clinical
Endocrinology and Metabolism, 62(3), 466.
LTryptophan
On growth hormone release in normal human subjects. The Journal Of Clinical Endocrinology And Metabolism, 39(1), 1-5.