When it comes to achieving weight loss goals, many people struggle with finding the right balance between exercise, diet, and sleep. Sleep plays a crucial role in regulating hormones, metabolism, and overall well-being. In recent years, the market has seen the emergence of sleep aid supplements that claim to enhance sleep quality while promoting fat burning. Two popular products in this category are Night Shred and Night Shred Black by Inno Supps.
And to cut the review a little short, neither of these made our best weight loss aids list, and we wouldn't even rate either of these as the best weight loss aid for sleep. And that's not exactly a competitive field seeing as most hybrid supplements like this tend to fall into the camp of trying to do too much at once, underdosing ingredients and thus not doing very much of anything at all.
Generally if you're having trouble with the midnight munchies, you're better off getting your sleep aids and your weight loss supplements seperately. The problem with both Night Shred and Night Shred Black isn't the ingredients persay, it's more a dosing issue. In that whilst the ingredients themselves could work, the ones that are actually well backed are dosed at less than a third of the minimum effective range.
If you're interested in supplements that actually stick to the doses shown to work in clinical trials check out our best sleep aids and best weight loss aids list.
Sleep and Weight Loss Connection
Before diving into the specifics of Night Shred and Night Shred Black, it is important to understand the connection between sleep and weight loss. Numerous studies have shown that inadequate sleep can disrupt hormonal balance, leading to increased appetite, cravings, and weight gain. When we don't get enough sleep, our body produces more of the hunger hormone ghrelin and less of the satiety hormone leptin, making us more prone to overeating and choosing unhealthy food options. Additionally, lack of sleep can negatively impact metabolism and energy expenditure.
Night Shred: The Original Fat-Burning Sleep Aid
Night Shred is the original sleep aid supplement released by Inno Supps. It is specifically formulated to maximize sleep quality and quantity while priming the body for fat burning. The key ingredients in Night Shred include magnesium, GABA, chamomile, passionflower, valerian root powder, KSM-66® ashwagandha, grains of paradise, CLA, L-carnitine, 5-HTP, and melatonin.
- Magnesium: Magnesium is a mineral that plays a vital role in promoting relaxation and improving sleep quality.
- GABA: GABA is a neurotransmitter that helps calm the nervous system and induce relaxation. This is good, and the dosing in Night Shred looks good. At least in terms of it's sleep aid function.
- Chamomile: Chamomile is a herb known for its calming properties and its ability to promote sleep, although it only works when you take an awful lot of it, and in a tea format.
- Passionflower: Passionflower is another herb that aids in relaxation and can help improve sleep quality. Although most studies show it doesn't actually work.
- Valerian Root Powder: Valerian root is a herb commonly used to treat sleep disorders and promote restful sleep.
- KSM-66® Ashwagandha: Ashwagandha is an adaptogenic herb that helps reduce stress and cortisol levels, contributing to better sleep. But, 300mg is the lowest clinically tested dose, and here we only have 200mg.
- Grains of Paradise: Grains of paradise is an ingredient known for its thermogenic properties, which is claimed to support fat burning, but human trials show it to be pretty much bunk.
- CLA: Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a fatty acid that is claimed to help reduce body fat and increase lean muscle mass, but is a relatively ineffective ingredient.
- L-carnitine: L-carnitine is an amino acid that plays a role in energy production and fat metabolism. Generally you need at least a gram of this, meaning the dosage here is nowhere near enough to be effective.
- 5-HTP: 5-HTP is a precursor to serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates mood and sleep, it's also been shown to suppress appetite, which would be great. The problem is we have here is that you need at least 100mg, and night shred contains 35mg in this blend.
- Melatonin: Melatonin is a hormone naturally produced by the body that helps regulate sleep-wake cycles. Melatonin at 3mg is fine, but it is on the lower side of dosing.
Night Shred is designed to promote relaxation, reduce stress, and improve sleep quality, all of which contribute to a healthier weight loss journey, but the dosing is just off.
But, ultimately what we have is a poorly dosed sleep aid, with some ineffective dosages of weight loss aid ingredients. As a result we'd say you'd be better off just getting a decent sleep aid. Generally we recommend RestAgain.
Night Shred Black: The Enhanced Formula
Night Shred Black is the revamped version of Night Shred, offering an enhanced formula with some key ingredient changes. While it contains many of the same ingredients as the original Night Shred, Night Shred Black replaces ashwagandha with an ingredient called Zylaria™, a rare fungus known for its sleep-inducing properties.
Night-Time Recovery Complex: The Night-Time Recovery Complex in Night Shred Black includes GABA, chamomile, passionflower, and valerian root powder, which work together to promote relaxation and improve sleep quality. And exactly as in Night Shred classic, GABA is likely dosed correctly, chamomile and passionflower are ineffective and Valerian needs to be dosed at 200mg, and as it's the smallest of the 4 ingredients in a 500mg blend, it will be underdosed.
Deep Relaxation Compound: The Deep Relaxation Compound in Night Shred Black features Zylaria™, a cutting-edge ingredient that helps calm the mind and body, facilitating a faster and easier transition into sleep. Not enough is really known about this to cite whether or not the dosing is correct.
PM Fat Burning Complex: The PM Fat Burning Complex in Night Shred Black contains grains of paradise, CLA, and L-carnitine, which support fat burning and metabolism. This entire blend is 81mg, L carnatine requires more than 10 times what's in the entire blend, CLA is ineffective, grains of paradise has similar issues, and needs to be dosed higher to be in line with the few positive studies that there are. All in all this is poor.
Mood Enhancement Complex: The Mood Enhancement Complex in Night Shred Black includes 5-HTP and L-tryptophan, which have mood-stabilizing effects and can contribute to better sleep. And at only 35mg it will be entirely ineffective as L Tryptophan needs a gram, and 5htp needs 3 times what's in the whole blend.
Melatonin: Similar to Night Shred, Night Shred Black also contains melatonin, a hormone that regulates sleep-wake cycles. Again 3mg is fine, although it's at the lower end.
Night Shred Black aims to provide users with a deeper, more restful sleep while simultaneously promoting fat burning during the night, aiding in weight loss efforts.
But, it suffers from even worse underdosing than Night Shred.
Night Shred vs. Night Shred Black: The Comparison
Now that we have examined the key ingredients and benefits of both Night Shred and Night Shred Black, let's compare these two supplements side by side to determine which one is the superior option.
Sleep-Inducing Properties: Both Night Shred and Night Shred Black contain ingredients that promote relaxation and improve sleep quality. The inclusion of GABA, chamomile, passionflower, and valerian root powder in both supplements supports their sleep-enhancing effects. But, it's only GABA and Melatonin that's going to do a great deal here. As they're the only bits that are effectively dosed.
Fat-Burning Properties: Both Night Shred and Night Shred Black contain ingredients that support fat burning and metabolism. Grains of paradise, CLA, and L-carnitine in both supplements contribute to enhancing fat burning during sleep. However, these ingredients are either ineffective or underdosed in both.
The 200mg of Ashwagandha in Night Shred may be effective for some people, although generally only smaller individuals.
Price and Value: When it comes to the price point, Night Shred Black is generally more expensive than Night Shred. However, the value of the supplements is going to come down to the unproven ingredient Zylaria™. As a result we can't recomend Black over the original night shred.
Also the 200mg of magnesium in Night Shred (even if it's the less bioavailable form magnesium oxide) means that we're getting more for our money from Night Shred.
Is Night Shred or Night Shred Black Better?
In this case the original is slightly better, but as we've said neither is great. If you're looking for a sleep aid, we generally recommend RestAgain, which doesn't hide poor dosages behind blends and just lists it's ingredients straight up. You get more: magnesium, vitamins, GABA, Melatonin, Valerian, 5htp and you also get L Theanine, which is properly dosed and a well known weight loss aid for both burning fat and reducing cravings. There's also the fact it contains vitamin D which not only helps sleep, but reduces ghrelin production making you less hungry.
As a result even though it's not designed to be a night time fat burner it would still do more to aid weight loss than either of these and be a much better sleep aid. Oh and it's $10 cheaper than Inno Supps Night Shred as well.
And if you're focused on a weight loss aid and are looking for one without caffeine, we would once again point you in the direction of our best weight loss aids list.