Sleep, Snoring, and Supplementation - A Guide To Getting A Good Night’s Sleep

There are a number of useful remedies for getting a good night's rest. Here we explore some of the options available to you.

ZMA supplementation - What is ZMA?

ZMA is a combination supplement consisting of zinc, magnesium and vitamin B6. With the modern diet, studies have regularly shown that most people are deficient in zinc and magnesium. From a fitness angle, zinc is a key component in testosterone production. Combine this with magnesium and you have a formula to help boost testosterone levels and muscle growth. Hence it being a very popular and talked about product in bodybuilding circles.

Benefits of ZMA

Being a combination supplement means that from one dose you get the health benefits of zinc and magnesium. These include:

Zinc

Magnesium

These are just a few of the benefits. We could write an article just on each of these two minerals and there positive effects on the body.

Side effects of ZMA

While ZMA supplements are all natural ingredients, taking more than 350mg of magnesium can lead to diarrhoea. If you are on other medications or supplements there could be complications (especially if you are on heart or bone medications). There is a lot of talk on bodybuilding and fitness forums about those taking ZMA experiencing very vivid dreams, that they can only put down to taking ZMA. However generally ZMA is seen as harmless with very few reported side effects.

ZMA and sleep

On the subject of sleep, some users have reported an interesting side effect of using ZMA - it has helped them sleep. Users report that taking ZMA before bed on an empty stomach has helped them into a deep sleep. Others - who would normally wake up in the night maybe 2 or 3 times – have also reported how ZMA has given them uninterrupted sleep.

So if you're struggling to sleep (potentially because you're feeling stressed), we highly recommend trying ZMA, a sleeping supplement (see our top 3 below) or a supplement that reduces stress such as Rhodiola Rosea.

Supplement companies feel that enough people are seeing the sleep benefits of ZMA that they are adding this as a benefit of using ZMA when writing their product descriptions. I see this as the key reason for why you would want to buy a ZMA supplement because if you are zinc deficient or magnesium deficient, you could just buy a multivitamin such as Bulk Powders Super Vits or Myprotein Alpha Men.

Recommended ZMA supplements

Here are some of the best ZMA supplements online in the UK to choose from before you buy.

 

How to sleep better

If you are looking for something to help you sleep, you could try ZMA as it could help you sleep better. Other ideas to help you get a good night's sleep include:

  • Lay off stimulants later in the day - coffee and alcohol will not help you sleep
  • Turn off the TV early - the bright light of the TV suppresses melatonin which will help you sleep
  • When you go to bed, make sure the room is dark - the darker the better
  • Avoid big meals late at night
  • Try and relax before getting to bed by having a warm bath or a relaxing tea (e.g. Chamomile tea)
  • Remove any electronic items (e.g. your mobile phone, an electric alarm clock etc) from your bedside table. There are some schools of thought that believe that electrical items – even when turned off – can disturb the brain’s electrical impulses, so disturbing your sleep

All these things could help you get a good night sleep.

There are other supplements that can help you get better sleep at night. Chamomile tea for example has been proven to help with sleep, as it can reduce anxiety, relax the digestive systems and relieve muscle tension - all things associated with a bad night’s sleep.

There are other combination products which include substances such as 5-HTP which is a precursor to serotonin. This neurotransmitter is responsible for sleep, so supplements can help you get a good sleep.

The best supplements to help you sleep

Our main choice for recommended supplement to help you get to sleep (if you choose not to use ZMA) is Brain Pharma Happy Dreams available at Bodybuilding Warehouse. Brian Pharma Happy Dreams contains 30 tablets (1 month supply) and are specifically designed to promote peaceful sleep so you wake up feeling fresh. The main ingredients to help you sleep include l-theanine, inositol and mood enhancing antioxidants such as grape seed extract, 5-HTP and vitamin B6.

You can also try Myprotein V-System which includes both morning and evening caps (with the evening supplement targeted at getting good sleep at night).

Myvitamins Complete Sleep is a unique formula sleep supplement which is similarly high in vitamin B6 (268% RDA), zinc, inositol and l-theanine whilst also containing grape seed extract, 5-HTP and biotin. 30 caps costs just £4.49, 60 caps just £9.49 and 90 caps £13.49.

Someone else keeping you up?

SleepPro supplement to help stop snoring

If your partner snores, maybe this could be what is keeping you awake! If this is the case, there are lots of snoring aids you could suggest to your partner such as SleepPro - which claims to have a 98% satisfaction rating and is a mouth guard to help you breathe at night. SleepPro can be bought online.

Products such as SleepPro work by having a mouth guard in place at night that forces your lower jaw to extend slightly which allows more air flow in the mouth and also stops the vibration in the mouth causing the snoring sound. You can also buy a Chin Strap to help stop snoring from SleepPro. Chin straps have been shown to help stop snoring by clinical professionals and they're also comfortable and easy to use.

This stop snoring product could help prevent a lack of sleep. There are also nasal strips you can use to open up the nasal passages to allow more airflow and those can also prevent snoring.

There are other methods and as a last resort surgery can be used to remove the uvula which will prevent snoring but that is a drastic and painful last resort.

SleepPro to help stop snoring

  • Clinically proven and recommended by the NHS, sleep clinics ad healthcare professionals across the world to stop snoring
  • 30 day money back guarantee if you're not satisfied with the results
  • Cheaper than competitors
  • Comfortable and easy to use
  • Registered Class 1 medical device
  • Recommended by physicians to treat mild to moderate sleep apnea
  • Choose from the 'boil and bite' standard SleepPro mouth guard, the self fit adjustable mouth guard, the SleepPro custom or the SleepPro Chin Support Strap

 

 

In summary

We all know that sleep is important for the body and mind to rest and repair itself and get ready for the coming day. Good sleep helps boost the immune system, helps with muscle growth and controls stress levels. So if your sleep is lacking there are options. We hope some of the ideas in this article will allow you to rest easy.