Transparent Labs Sleep Aid Review

Transparent Labs Sleep Aid Ingredients

Vitamin B6 10mg

Vitamin B6 is an essential micronutrient we need in order for our body to function properly. It's found in many foods but mainly in salmon, milk, sweet potato, and eggs.

There has been a lot of anecdotal evidence swimming around on the internet that advocates for vitamin b6 supplements helping with sleep problems, but we're more interested in the more scientifically proven ingredients and as such searched the web for clinical trials that support these claims.

We did find some supporting evidence for its use but only in a mixed blend. For example we found a trial that observed a significant increase of quality sleep with an increased score of 1.9 after two weeks supplementation [2]. The blend used in this trial was called Novanuit which, on top of the vitamin B6, included melatonin, poppy extract, passionflower extract, and lemon balm extract.

This makes it difficult to really find much of a scientific consensus on how much vitamin B6 actually contributed to this increase, or whether it had any effects to begin with.

Magnesium Citrate 200mg

It's safe to say that the majority of people are aware that magnesium is simply a part of a healthy diet, but what's lesser known is just how essential it really is, as it plays a vital role in many of our daily processes such as sleep health, weight management and even hormone balance.

Deficiency of Magnesium is very rare however, as it is very abundant in many of your daily foods so usually people are getting enough without having to really put any thought into it. To put it into perspective, magnesium is found within everything from rice and potatoes to kidney beans, banana's and fish (namely salmon and halibut).

Magnesium citrate is notable as it is magnesium in it's most bioavailable form, which simply means that magnesium citrate is the easiest form of magnesium for our bodies to absorb.

There does need to be more testing to observe the effects magnesium supplements have on sleep as there is some contradicting results, but there's some supporting evidence out there.

For example we found an observational trial that stated magnesium intake was borderline associated with an improvement of quality sleep but suggested for more randomised control trials to establish causal inference [3].

Zinc Picolinate 3mg

Similar to magnesium Zinc is something the majority of us are aware that we consume but aren't really quite as clued in as to why Zinc is an important part of a healthy diet.

zinc is specifically involved in many aspects of cellular metabolism, plays a role in enhancing immune function, wound healing and is even involved in developing our sense of taste.

Once again transparent labs sleep aid have opted to include the most bioavailable minerals with Zinc Picolinate, showing their commitment to the highest quality ingredients.

Zinc has been found to act as a sleep modulator in the body, being observed in clinical trials to affect sleep regulation. There was a trial done on 877 infants that found when they received zinc supplements they would stay asleep for an average of 1.3 hours per night and 1.9 hour per day (naps etc.) [4].

The clinical doses weren't reported in the clinical trial we found this information from, but it suggest via reporting these infants were subject to malnutrition that tackling the deficiency was what was effective here.

Glycine 1,000mg

L-Glycine is an amino acid that earns the title of simplest stable amino acid, being categorised as a proteinogenic amino acid. It acts as a neurotransmitter in the central nervous system and has many roles such as being an antioxidant and in peripheral and nervous tissues.

It's been found to objectively improve sleep quality in people who specifically have issues falling asleep.

We found a clinical trial that tested this by restricting sleep to about 25% less than usual for three consecutive nights and, before bedtime, subjects were provided either 3g of Glycine of placebo.

In the subjects given glycine the visual analogue scale (VAS) used to record results showed a significant reduction in fatigue, and a tendency towards reduced daytime sleepiness was found via the questionnaire filled out by the subjects [5].

This suggests glycine supplements can help towards sleep recovery and help to get people feeling refreshed after even reduced sleep. Seems a great inclusion for transparent labs sleep aids formula but unfortunately it is a third of the clinical doses that observed these results so we're unsure the 1g included here would replicate those effects.

VitaCherry (Tart Cherry Powder) 500mg

The deep red colour of cherries results from flavonoids called anthocyanins, and studies of cherries suggest these may protect the body against free radicals and the damaging effects they're known to have, as well as being seen to promote cardiovascular health.

There's research that indicates VitaCherry can improve recovery after strenuous exercise by limiting inflammation levels in the body, but why is it in a sleep aid?

Well we found a pilot study that provided eleven subjects with 240ml of cherry juice twice a day and then measured their quality of sleep with a number of different factors. There was an increase of sleep time by an average of 84 minutes, with a significant increase to sleep efficiency measured on the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index [6].

This shows a lot of promise and is a good natural ingredient for transparent labs sleep aid to include.

L-Theanine 200mg

An amino acid that is most commonly found within green tea and mushrooms, L-theanine has been a popular supplement for a long time now.

It's said that it helps to ease anxiety, stress and reduce insomnia, as well as having a number of benefits to general personal health including increased focus and immunity.

We found a clinical review that concluded over various studies that administration of 200mg of L-theanine improved the quality of sleep not through sedation but through anxiolysis, which is required for the initiation of high quality sleep [7]. Think when you're sat on the sofa and start to feel ready to go to bed.

This leave L-theanine in a really good spot and is a great inclusion for transparent labs sleep aid. Helps you to fall asleep and helps you with staying asleep without drowsiness, helping to avoid feeling groggy in the morning like some other sleep aids.

Rutaecarpine 125mg

Known in China as Wu-Chu-Yu, evodia rutaecarpa remains the most popular and traditionally used multi-purpose herb over there. It's used for everything from the treatment of headaches, to abdominal pain.

Interestingly during our research we couldn't find any studies specifically linking this herb to aiding in sleep, at least not without including caffeine in the mix. See it's often sold as a supplement that allows us to drink caffeine later in the day without having to worry about it affecting our sleep.

For example there was a study on mice that we found, that observed Rutaecarpine induced a particular enzyme that actively works to remove caffeine from the blood.

They tested and observed this in rats and found that a minimum of 100mg/kg when supplemented up to three hours before the ingestion of caffeine significantly lowered the bioavailability of the caffeine by 75%.

Though this does have interesting implications the dosage here would be too low for humans, as the average American would typically weigh 80kg. This means the relative dose would need to be at around 8,ooomg, so we're not sure this inclusion is really going to help transparent labs sleep aid very much.

Melatonin 3mg

This hormone is essentially responsible for indicating to our bodies that it's time to go to bed. There's a small gland in the centre of our brains that secretes this chemical in response to darkness, contributing to the timing of your circadian rhythms.

This is the reason why screens late at night are generally considered poor sleep hygiene, as it actively serves to block our bodies ability to detect its nighttime by blocking melatonin production.

It makes sense then that sleep aid supplements often contain the literal chemical that indicates it's time to go to sleep works tremendously as a sleep aid by improving the amount of restful sleep/ reducing the time it takes to fall asleep.

We found a systematic review of 35 randomised controlled trials that found the use of melatonin in healthy adults showed improvements on insomnia whilst displaying a very low side effect profile [8].

3mg is on the low side but it's difficult to really rule it out as being too low a dosage to be beneficial. Just be aware that there are many sleep aid supplements that tend to dose melatonin at between 5mg and 10mg, so this is a relatively small amount.