Nootropics, also known as cognitive enhancers, have quickly become of interest in the health and wellness industry. With the rise of adaptogens for stress and superfoods for mind and body health, it was only natural that nootropics came along for the ride.
You’ve likely been consuming nootropics your whole life, in the form of caffeine in coffee and tea. Caffeine isn’t the only nootropic that helps you focus, be productive, and perform at your best, but it’s by far the most familiar. The downside is that caffeine can also interfere with sleep, especially when you rely on it later in the day.
That raises a more useful question: are there other nootropics for sleep that can support relaxation and recovery without giving up the cognitive benefits you want during the day?
Why Is Sleep So Important?
Sleep plays a big role in our mental and physical health. During sleep, your body spends time producing growth hormone and ATP while regulating other chemical processes that repair and restore cell health, DNA, cognitive capabilities, gut health, and much more.
So when you don’t get enough sleep, or the sleep you get is poor, you prevent your body from performing necessary maintenance, creating a cascade effect of some pretty nasty consequences. Every night of poor sleep you get, you wake up with dysregulated chemical processes that control blood sugar, mood, emotional reactivity, stress, immunity, muscle function, and digestion.
Considering it takes more than 2 nights of good sleep to make up for 1 poor one, this constant dysregulation of key chemical interactions results in certain short- and long-term effects.
Short Term
- Increased stress, irritability, and mood disturbances.
- Decreased ability to pay attention and focus.
- Headaches and stomachaches.
- Decreased precision motor control, including basic behaviors.
- Poorer judgment, higher risk-taking behavior.
Long Term
Consider how this state of chemical disrepair just piles and piles up, possibly leading to:
- Chronic lowered mood
- Heart problems
- Obesity and type 2 diabetes
- Lower quality of life
- Cancers
- Death
Nootropic Theory: What Do These “Smart Drugs” Do?
Nootropics are chemical compounds able to pass through the blood-brain barrier, where they support and even improve cognitive processes. They do this by interacting with and modulating neurochemical communication in the brain. That’s why nootropics can enhance mental and physical performance.
Some synthetic nootropics are used in clinical psychiatry to treat chronic mental ailments characterized by chronic low mood or high stress reactivity. And we’ve already talked about how almost all of us use a natural nootropic for focus, energy, and performance every time we reach for a caffeinated drink.
But we haven’t yet talked about how, when you choose the right natural nootropics, you get support for better daytime energy, focus, and capability that also promotes better sleep.
The Argument: Nootropics Can Support Sleep Health
Okay, so let’s unpack how something that can wake you up can also calm you down, because, unlike adaptogens, nootropics’ benefits are more targeted, so their mechanisms are better understood. For instance:
- Nootropics that modulate HPA activity can calm the parasympathetic nervous system, stalling the release of pro-stress chemicals. This results in a clear mind in the moment and prevents stress chemicals from still swimming around in your bloodstream when you’re trying to head to sleep a few hours later.
- Nootropics that interact directly with the main neurotransmitter involved in mood, memory, and learning can elicit a tranquil focus and facilitate improved cognition. Because it regulates this key neurochemical, it encourages the natural cycles of production and distribution that promote healthy sleep.
- Nootropics that protect hippocampal health support long-term cognitive health, which not only protects against the negative effects of sleep deprivation on the hippocampus, but promotes mood health as well. Mood quality, sleep health, and hippocampal plasticity are known to be closely interrelated.
The Evidence: The Science Behind Nootropics for Sleep
There’s no shortage of studies on plant-sourced and naturally occurring nootropic compounds exploring everything from cognition to fitness to libido to sleep. Let’s take a look at some of the most promising studies investigating nootropics’ effects on sleep quality:
- A 2021 meta-analysis of the literature on nootropic benefits for sleep indicated that all relevant studies analyzed found significant improvements in sleep quality with 8 weeks of daily ashwagandha consumption. This was also accompanied by more mental alertness and energy upon waking.
- A 2022 meta-analysis on a range of nootropics found that the body of studies in each one indicated benefits for sleep health, including improved sleep quality and improved resistance to the cognitive effects of sleep deprivation.
- A 2019 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study on ashwagandha’s nootropic properties observed that 8 weeks of treatment reduced perceived stress and morning cortisol levels while significantly improving sleep quality.
How MTE’s Nootropics Support Focus and Rest
As a result of many, many trials, much research, too many tastings, and searching for the highest-quality ingredient sources, we created the MTE nootropic stack. As a result, our formulation combines our stress-reducing, adaptogen stack with an energy- and focus-promoting nootropic stack for well-being support.
Our dual focus and sleep supporters include:
- GABA: An amino acid and neurotransmitter that tells overexcited neurons to calm down, while exciting underactive ones. This serves to balance wakefulness and sleep, not to mention support for mood and stress.
- L-Theanine: A compound found in tea leaves that has stress-reducing, pro-focus effects associated with a clear calm. This nootropic interacts with several key neurochemicals in regulating chemical processes throughout the day and night, supporting sleep by promoting stress resilience.
- Saffron: A superfood and nootropic, saffron offers many health benefits, sleep being among them. Studies show saffron can improve sleep quality ratings as well as mood upon waking up.
- Paraxanthine: Not only have studies shown that paraxanthine doesn’t cause the sleep rebound of caffeine, but it may also have calming properties. Paraxanthine offers a more even, sustained energy than caffeine’s peaks and crashes, and since it’s cleared from the body faster, consuming it in the afternoon won’t ruin your life come bedtime.
Comprised of just 10 adaptogens, nootropics, and superfoods, MTE is a caffeine-free solution to sustainable energy that feels good. Try MTE for jitter-free energy without the crash, better focus without the stress, and energy-boosting nootropics that don’t interfere with sleep.
