Back to articles

The guide to dietary supplements for sleep

According to INSERM, sleep disorders affect 15 to 20% of the French population. This may be due to chronic stress, a precipitating or predisposing factor. Dietary supplements can help restore a good sleep cycle without being addictive. Nutrimuscle explains everything you need to know about sleep supplements.
Le guide des compléments alimentaires pour le sommeil

According to INSERM, sleep disorders affect 15 to 20% of the French population. This may be due to chronic stress, a precipitating or predisposing factor. Dietary supplements can help restore a good sleep cycle without being addictive. Nutrimuscle explains everything you need to know about sleep supplements.

Contents

  • The importance of sleep
  • Sleep needs in adults
  • Food supplements for sleep

The importance of sleep

Sleep plays a fundamental role in well-being, both for health and for sport.

sleep for health

Sleep helps lower blood pressure and regulate heart rate. In addition, it contributes to the regulation of mood and maintains a stable emotional balance. It consolidates memory, improves concentration, creativity and problem solving. A lack of sleep promotes the onset of depression, anxiety but also cardiovascular and cerebral accidents.

sleep for sports

Physical activity is inseparable from good sleep: a complete sleep cycle is essential for sports performance. Indeed, during sleep, the body repairs and regenerates itself. It promotes tissue healing, muscle growth and allows the body to recover well.

In addition, good sleep maintains metabolic balance and regulates appetite. It therefore has an impact on weight regulation and the fight against obesity. A lack of sleep leads to an overproduction of hormones that increase appetite and create food cravings.

As mentioned above, sleep contributes to cognitive health and improves concentration. This is essential in the realization of the various physical movements, for the coordination and the precision of the gestures in bodybuilding.

Sleep needs of the average adult

An average adult needs 7 to 9 hours of sleep. Studies have shown the importance of sleep for hormonal regulation in women, so they need a longer sleep cycle than men.

With age, sleep needs decrease. An elderly person stays on average 6 hours in bed and rarely enters deep sleep. Sleep quality deteriorates over time, which is why dietary supplements can help restore a quality sleep cycle.

Food supplements for sleep

There are many food supplements for better sleep, all with valid properties and suitable for all profiles. They are not to be confused with sleeping pills which are drugs with an addictive tendency. Dietary supplements act at the root of the problem to relax the body and dissolve anxieties.

herbal supplements

Plants have many virtues: they can boost sports performance or help recovery, fight against stress or speed up falling asleep. There are several herbal food supplements that promote the arrival of sleep and contribute to the quality of it in the long term.

Ashwagandha : Ashwagandha is an adaptogenic herb, native to India and used for millennia. It adapts to any form of stress and targets the sources at the origin of the lack of sleep. A long-term intake significantly improves sleep quality and concentration.

Organic yerba mate : yerba mate is a plant rich in beneficial effects on the body: it contributes to muscle relaxation and a return to calm after a workout. It is for this reason that it allows you to fall asleep more quickly, to benefit from a shorter, but more regenerative sleep. Its contribution also makes it easier to wake up and quickly feel fit.

Amino acids

There are two major types of amino acids: essential (provided by an external source) and non-essential (synthesized by the body). They constitute proteins, an essential macronutrient for the proper functioning of the body.

Lactium : Lactium is a filtered milk protein hydrolyzate, in other words, a natural molecule derived from milk. Its proteins have relaxing properties, thanks to their action which consists in reducing the level of cortisol, the stress hormone. This soothing action on the body helps both to fall asleep, but also to improve the quality of sleep.

Choline L-Bitartrate : Choline is an alcohol molecule, belonging to group B vitamins. It is an essential neurotransmitter for our body: it participates in good muscle function and muscle contraction. Choline taken in the evening allows you to benefit from the benefits on nerve recovery at night.

Glycine : Glycine is a non-essential amino acid found in the body's collagen. Glycine acts as a cerebral inhibitory neurotransmitter: this is how it helps to facilitate fatigue and drowsiness. Its intake also improves the quality of sleep, which is why, thanks to glycine supplementation, our need for sleep decreases.

Taurine : Taurine is an essential amino acid, present mainly in the muscles. Its action acts on GABA receptors, the main neurotransmitter that inhibits nervous activity, and then provides relaxing benefits. Taurine also helps reduce the secretion of norepinephrine, a stress hormone. It is by promoting relaxation and a return to calm that taurine facilitates falling asleep, allows good sleep and good recovery.

Vitamins and minerals

Magnesium Citrate : Magnesium has relaxing properties on the nervous system and stress. This is why its contribution makes it possible to relax the body and facilitate falling asleep. It also plays an important role in the production of melatonin, the hormone responsible for sleep.

ZMB Pidolates : ZMB contains Pido-Magnesium and Pido-Zinc, two ingredients with synergistic properties that improve sleep. The Pidolates form promotes the secretion of GABA, a molecule responsible for nerve relaxation. Magnesium helps muscle relaxation and lowers stress levels by 30%. Zinc promotes good recovery during the night.

ZMP : ZMP is an alternative version of ZMB, without vitamin B6. The latter can indeed cause restless sleep in some people (5% of consumers). The combined effects of the ingredients in the product help to relax the body and improve the quality of sleep.

Sleep is an essential step in improving physical performance but also for health in general. Indeed, it is during the night, in a state of deep relaxation, that muscles and tissues repair themselves. Poor sleep is likely to lead to a lack of energy, concentration, poor physical condition, and sometimes even a risk of injury.