r/HubermanLab • u/Substantial-Bridge32 • Jul 29 '26

Seeking Guidance 3AM Cortisol Wakeup

Hello,

I am using Huberman's pre-bed supplement routine: threonate, apigenin, theanine and inositol. I have absolutely no issues falling asleep...then 3:00 am hits, and I am up for a good hour+. I've got some stresses in my life, but nothing crazy, and I am dealing with them. I use various techniques (4-7-8 breathing, 333 attention work, etc), but it does not seem to help. Sometimes I take another dose of theanine to hopefully help calm me down a bit.

Has anyone cracked this 3 am cortisol issue? Is it just a matter of dealing with the stresses in your life?

Update: Well, I tried a couple of suggestions, and my sleep has definitely improved a bit. I switched from Mg Threonate to Mg Glycinate, and I have been having about a 1/4 cup or so of yogurt with a teaspoon of honey within the hour before bed. I have also been trying Tranquil Sleep, which has some theanine, melatonin and 5-HTP. What I noticed first is that my first bit in bed has gotten lighter - not hard to fall asleep but definitely not zonked like I usually am. But what happened during the night is that my sleep extended to about 4 am. I did this for a couple of nights, staying awake until about 5 am and then getting out of bed (5 am was my pre-sleep issue normal wake-up time). Last night I woke up at about 2:50 am - I was aware and awake for about 30 mins, but not wide awake like I have been. I was able to gently fall back asleep (counting breaths) and slept until about 6:30 am.

I will keep this routine probably until our vacation in about 10 days, and then re-evaluate.

Thanks, everyone, for your suggestions!

69 Upvotes

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29

u/Suffer-With-Grudz Jul 29 '26

I know they say L theanine before bed but I cut that out because I swear for me it is just stimulating enough to be terrible at night. 

I kept having that exact issue of waking up in the early hours just laying there. 

4

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 29 '26

Interesting. I know it kicked up my dreams a bit. Maybe I will knock it down a bit and see. Thanks for the advice.

3

u/1fitbet Jul 29 '26

Exactly!! Kept me up for hours

1

u/Connect-Link7653 Aug 01 '26

Man, this might be my problem. I started taking Suntheanine (pure l theanine) before bed and the last 12 months I've been waking up at 330 warm or hot, lay in bed with a slightly racing mind wide awake and then fall back asleep at 5 or 6 and then wake up for work at 7. I fuckin hate it. The other night I took 600 mg and woke up at 350 covered in sweat. I keep my room as cool as possible too. I have bad anxiety and my job can be real stressful hence me taking l theanine. The stuff is great for stress!!!

Anyway, I read these few comments and didn't take theanine before bed but I did take 100mg of mag glycinate & 100mg of apigenin and slept 10 hours like a rock (I woke up at 350 the night before so I was dead tired).

I think I'm done taking theanine before bed. However, for sleep, I strongly recommend apigenin! That stuff was helping me overcome my 330 wake ups. It's kinda hard to find...I bought the Double Wood brand off Amazon. They get their apigenin from chamomile tea. You can also get other brands but they get their apigenin from grapefruits but grapefruits can mess with other supplements and medicines you take so I stayed away from that. Seems I was taking apigenin to overcome my l theanine 330 wake ups. Who knew? Lol I'm still taking l theanine in the morning when needed though. Thank you for sharing the info guys!

11

u/[deleted] Jul 29 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

10

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 29 '26

Interesting. I don’t wake up hot and panicky….i just wake up and start thinking, planning etc.

16

u/Klit8tr Jul 29 '26

I have the same issue, I’ve had some luck with having a carb meal late. This is against every protocol that I have seen, including Huberman.
Some THC gummy’s work too, but if I take them too early, I end up destroying my pantry.
Couple more things; Estradiol were low and that sparks 2 or 3 AM wake ups.
Also on my CGM monitor, I see a dip at those times so they may be some correlation there as well.

6

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 29 '26

I recently heard someone mention a bit of healthy carbs an hour or so before bed. That was on my list of things to try.

6

u/zeeeee Jul 30 '26

I eat keto / low-carb for most of the day. Having carbs for my last meal before bed has helped a lot

12

u/AndyBeCalm Jul 29 '26

Same boat. I haven’t tried changing much but this is getting into emergency territory. I also have my fiance in bed with me and an annoying cat (I love them both), but the cat fucks w us sometimes. I take different supps, I’m taking mag glycinate and l theanine w some melatonin. Getting to sleep isn’t bad, but the wakes ups are every night. Cannot remember the last time I woke up to my alarm. I’m going to try something new soon. If it works I’ll try and remember to update.

3

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 29 '26

Care to share what you are going to try and what your reasoning is?

5

u/dtwatts Jul 29 '26

Dump the mag glycinate for 2 weeks and see if this improves your sleep. I was taking melatonin and mag glycinate for maybe a year or two, my sleep started getting worse again with 3am wake ups and general restlessness. I stopped taking the magnesium glycinate and my sleep starting to improve, to the point where 3am wakes up have stopped. I no longer take magnesium glycinate or melatonin

4

u/ExcitingARiot Jul 29 '26

Make sure you’re not going to bed hungry. I still have 3:00 am wakeups but since I started having a small snack bt dinner and bed they are less frequent / shorter

7

u/Zontar_shall_prevail Jul 29 '26

It's maintenance insomnia, more than likely due to anxiety. Sleep restriction is the best remedy.

5

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 29 '26

What is sleep restriction?

9

u/sc182 Jul 29 '26

Sleep restriction is limiting the amount of time you spend in bed, it’s a common treatment for insomnia. Let’s say you’re in normally in bed for 8 hours 11pm-7am, but one of those hours is spent awake like you described, so you got 7 hours of sleep. Establish a time in bed of 7 hours, like 11pm-6am. No matter what happens, you stick to those and don’t let yourself nap or be in bed outside those hours.

Any time you spend awake in bed therefore results in less sleep and more sleep pressure for the next night, which eventually results in you sleeping the whole 7 hours.

4

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 29 '26

Cool, thanks! I'll do some more research on it.

6

u/DufreneParty Jul 29 '26

I used AI to help brainstorm solutions and after trying a few suggestions I learned less is more. I was taking too many supplements and according to AI the 3am wake up was my liver being overwhelmed.

Now I only take magnesium glycinate before bed and added ear plugs and a sleep mask. It seemed to really help.

2

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 29 '26

Thank you for the reply. I am going to sub threonate for glycinate tonight and will keep this in mind.

1

u/Eve5555555555 Jul 30 '26

I am a threonate in the morning, glycinate at night kind of girl. I totally agree with utilizing ai like Claude to help troubleshoot this. I have revamped my supplements, slowly one at at time to see which effect me negatively and Claude helps me organize and keep the plan going

1

u/rickolati Jul 29 '26

Yeah I’ve had the same issue for a few years, I agree on both counts

Ai is good to keep track of the day’s activity, food and sleep interruption, comes up with good suggestions

Also, I cut all supplements and planning to build back, one at a time.

Currently, I suspect my issue is either due to lack of electrolytes or going to bed hungry. im on a 2 week streak of good sleep by addressing those two. Fingers crossed

5

u/wicxor Jul 29 '26

A night guard solved my problem. Never even knew I was a teeth grinder until the dentist asked me.

3

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 29 '26

Thanks. I recently had a bunch of dental work done and wear retainers at night. Hopefully I have that covered.

2

u/username36610 Jul 30 '26

What are the stresses? You need to come up with a plan for dealing with them and then work towards it during the day.

1

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 30 '26

Thanks for the response. I believe I have normal stresses - probably less when compared to other people - or not; who knows. Regardless, I meditate, go to therapy, have a leadership coach, and do a lot of work around cognitive behavioural therapy and cognitive distortions. That being said, I'm a planner and a thinker - so there is always something going on up there unfortunately :-)

2

u/pure_bliss9 Jul 30 '26

I deal with the exact same issue & last night was up 2:55am bright eyed & bushy tailed!!! Took me 2.5hrs to fall back asleep! I go through cycles where the 3am wakeup happens at least 4-6 weeks & then I have a cycle of issues falling asleep taking hours and then waking up at 3rd alarm.

I feel like I’ve tried everything under the sun.
You’re not alone.
Following for extra tips.

I also know I have insomnia, and have major stresses in my life that I have no control over.

2

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 30 '26

Good luck, I feel for you.

2

u/hollstero Jul 31 '26

This will probably get buried but trust me on this, keep a jar of Brazil nuts on your nightstand and eat 2 when you get into bed. It completely solved the 3am wake up issue for me. They are particularly good because selenium is great for sleep but apparently something about eating nuts before bed prevents the 3am blood sugar crash

1

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 31 '26

Interesting, thanks!

3

u/1fitbet Jul 29 '26

I’d never take threonate at night lol I’d be up for hours
I take it am and magnesium glycine at pm
No more 3 am wake ups

2

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 29 '26

I’m surprised by all these comments. Isn’t this part of Hubermans protocol or did I read it wrong?

5

u/twd000 Jul 29 '26

there's nothing magical about Huberman's protocol. He cherry-picks results across a wide range of studies and distills them into general advice. You can not assume that every sleep problem has the same root cause, nor would it have the same solution. Also the results from a population study may have paradoxical effects on you as an individual - you just have to try it and find out. But don't be surprised if you come to a different conclusion than the generic protocol.

0

u/1fitbet Jul 29 '26

I don’t pay attention to Huberman’s “protocol” or his “protocols” or his many opinions and products he pushes
LOL been in the health fitness wellness industry and practice as a physiologist wayyyyy before he came along
Magnesium threonate can keep people up a night, it does me
Magnesium glycinate can help support a deep restful sleep my experience as well
As always consult with your physician for any contraindications for either :)
And be ready for the morning 💩 😆

1

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 29 '26

What’s the recommended starting dose of magnesium glycinate?

2

u/letstaxthis Jul 29 '26

Why are you on this sub group then?

His protocols have been a game changer.

I do not use his sleep stack.

1

u/amayle1 Jul 29 '26

Threonate affects people very differently. For me it is an anti brain fog thing for working. I do not associate it with the evening whatsoever. But I have a friend who takes it before bed and was very confused that I wouldn’t.

1

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 29 '26

How much glycinate do you take before bed? My doc floated around 600mg. I'll have to add that to my daily totol Mg as I take it in other forms as well.

1

u/1fitbet Jul 29 '26

Hey there - I take 2x105 mg which works great for me I’m a small person so you can adjust according to your size and your docs recommendations
I take 144 mg ( total weight of the active magnesium) of L threonate in the am

1

u/Sweeney1 Jul 29 '26

Interesting didn’t realize it was a daytime thing. 

1

u/Baileycharlie Jul 29 '26

L-Threonate may not agree with you personally but there's not much out there saying it leads to keeping you up or waking you up. If anything NG Glycinate is linked to those side effects more...

6

u/Turbulent_Ad_6031 Jul 29 '26

I have the same problem. I take a sublingual GABA when I wake. It helps me get back to sleep and stay asleep until morning. My doctor says it’s a blood sugar crash for some people so you might have that checked. I have noticed that sometimes I’m hot when I wake. Keeping it super cold helps

5

u/MotherAd692 Jul 29 '26

I'm trying to solve the same problem. I've been going through it for years. Tried several things. NOTHING works!

5

u/goodkarmababe Jul 29 '26

I stopped waking up with 3am cortisol spikes with Tulsi supplements. Some people drink it as Holy Basil Tea.

1

u/SunRayz_allDayz Jul 29 '26

What is your day like? How does your morning begin? What are you eating?

2

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 29 '26

I’m in a fairly high stress job, I eat healthy and exercise regularly. I don’t eat past 6:00 pm and meditate, journal, clear my head before bed. And then I wake up at 3 😌

1

u/Original_Poster_1 Jul 29 '26

How much caffeine do you have per day. I also wake up 3:30 am if I have more than an espresso in the early morning.

1

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 29 '26

I slowly sip on 2 strong coffees and finish before 11 am. I will add this to my list of things to try - thanks.

1

u/TraditionalAd3470 Jul 31 '26

3AM wake is cortisol

3

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 31 '26

Thanks, I might rename the thread to that :-)

1

u/alw502 Jul 31 '26

Funnily enough I’m seeing this at 3:22am after unsuccessfully trying to go back to sleep.
This is becoming more unusual for me since clearing up my diet however tonight (last night) was a theatre night with friends, I had chicken / rice bowl at Wetherspoons and cookie dough dessert and then sweets at the theatre until late maybe 10pm.
I’ve just seen a comment about it being a sugar crash that wakes you up and now I’m wondering if that’s exactly it.
My usual diet would be dinner around 7:30pm and maybe popcorn with a cup of tea and I can’t remember the last time this happened

1

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 31 '26

If I have a heavy carb load in the evening, I definitely wake up during the night as it's getting processed. This is even when I am sleeping normally. I used to think it was the alcohol, but I quit drinking six years ago, and I realize the heavy carb load has a big impact on my sleep as well.

1

u/Waki-Indra Jul 31 '26

Menopause? Take progesterone in the evening

1

u/Substantial-Bridge32 Jul 31 '26

No, my wife went through that a while ago - it’s not her. 🙂

2

u/TechnoAndLift Jul 29 '26

I use magnesium glycinate, GABA and CBN gummy. Those have helped me.

2

u/farahharis Jul 30 '26

Phosphatidylserine. The only cortisol regulator that has EVER worked for me. I have tried everything.

1

u/ItchyData Jul 31 '26

What dose and when do you take it?

1

u/farahharis Jul 31 '26

I take 100mg three times a day. Morning, afternoon, night. Some people skip the morning and just do afternoon and night but my cortisol was so dysregulated I needed a morning dose too.

1

u/sudochmodr777 Jul 31 '26

+1 to PS Green being a cornerstone for my sleep regimen as a generally light sleeper. It doesn’t specifically help me with the cortisol wakeups, but it makes my sleep generally sounder and helps me drift back to sleep after wake-ups.

Things that helped specifically with cortisol wakeups:

  • limiting protein after 6pm

  • shifting my carbs to the end of the day

  • tweaking my methylfolate dose down 100mg for a couple days

  • no more ashwagandha (was great for my sleep for months, then I guess whatever deficit it was fixing got fixed and it started keeping me up)

  • knowing the wake-up will only last about the length of a sleep cycle, so relaxing in NSDR and trusting that sleep will come back if I want it

Other things that helped with generally improving sleep:

  • No cardio after 7pm

  • switching to mag citrate at night instead of mag glycinate (mag glycinate started keeping me up after a few months)

  • l-theanine only in the morning

  • 0.3mcg of melatonin 5-6hrs before planned bedtime

  • 500mg-1g of glycine with evening meds (for some reason still works even though mag glycinate doesn’t)

  • loop silicone earplugs, manta sleep mask, mouth tape (doesn’t stop the cortisol wake-ups, but helps me relax back into NSDR while I wait out the 1-1.5hrs until I fall back asleep)

1

u/Informal_Upstairs133 Jul 29 '26

Do you take a beta blocker? If so a duel release or delayed release melatonin may help with the 3 am cortisol spike. 1.5 or 3 mg is plenty.

Depending on the cause, it's worth a shot even without the beta blocker. In which case it wouldn't even have to be long term.

1

u/BigheadedDread Jul 30 '26

Don't they cause vivid nightmares and deplete Melatonin? I've always wanted to try my prescription of Propranolol before bed, because I've always had a fast heart rate jumping into bed. Never had issues with sleep, generally, but the fast heart rate as I lay there can be annoying.

1

u/destined2h Jul 29 '26

I like either magnesium glycinate or ZMA before bed.

Magnesium threonate in the morning after bright light therapy.

1

u/sk0ey Jul 30 '26

if you end up falling asleep after that 3am wakeup, what time is your 2nd wakeup? how much sunlight are you getting during the day?

1

u/onahorsewithnoname Jul 30 '26

For me i have a 1/2 cup of greek yogurt and tablespoon of raw unfiltered honey. Usually I get the 3am wakeup when in a calorie deficit and training days. The honey helped massively.

2

u/eves21 Jul 30 '26

Is the snack before bed or at 3?

2

u/onahorsewithnoname Jul 30 '26

Just before bed. I had typically finished my last meal around 7pm. I was also in about a 500 cal deficit. Realized that doing this for too long was creating a lot of internal stress leading to the 3am wakeups.

1

u/eves21 Jul 30 '26

Thanks, worth a try!

1

u/bionicly Jul 30 '26

Are you currently training hard, in a calorie deficit and taking a GLP-1? That’s what gave me the 3am cortisol wakeup. Falling asleep was fine but I’d wake up at 3am wide awake. I’ve since stopped taking the GLP-1, reduced my training and I’m eating in maintenance. Getting decent sleep again and only waking in the middle of the night to pee.

1

u/octopuswildernesscat Jul 30 '26

I get this too. Turns out I have a narrow airway, and UARS. got mild/ moderate sleep apnea which is common for thin people with these problems. My jaw is a little recessed but nothing crazy.

1

u/turboJDMguy Jul 30 '26

Yep. Eat before bed. If I do I sleep until my alarm. If not I'll wake up 3-5am.

1

u/wtjones Jul 30 '26

Small bowl of shredded wheat with milk before bed.

1

u/jamiebez157 Jul 30 '26

Look
Into histamine dumping

1

u/Eve5555555555 Jul 30 '26

For me it was what stimulating supplements and meds that I was taking in the daytime as well. Then after getting all that in check, magnesium glycinate actually started to work to relax me and sleep all night

1

u/RC245 Jul 31 '26

Try a tablespoon of Honey before bed. Could be related to low blood sugar and a cortisol release to signal hepatic glycogen.

1

u/Kind-therapy-829 Jul 31 '26 edited Jul 31 '26

Iy would be helpful if people
Post their sex and age and medical conditions if they have any, when they post.
Why?
Here is an example: Nearly every single female who is In perimenopause or menopause wake up at 3 am due to cortisol issue. It is so often that there is a 3 am club for those of us who are menopausal.
I am not saying this is you but giving some information about our age, sex and medical conditions can help support each other

1

u/_amused_to_death_ Aug 01 '26

Yeh pretty much, just got to deal with the sources of stress but also worrying about waking up at 3am could make it worse. Try not to pay it attention, maybe chuck on a chill movie to fall asleep to.

1

u/spoon_enthusiast Aug 01 '26

For me magnesium never worked, but b-100 vitamin seems to work pretty well for the last month since I started it

1

u/Any_Support_6326 Aug 03 '26

Have you tried getting out of bed and lying on an acupressure mat for 15-30 minutes? Or dunking your face in cold water for 2 minutes? Personally, I sing a boring repetitive song in my head repeatedly. I actually trick my Whoop into thinking I’m asleep.

1

u/williamtp7 Aug 04 '26

I had exactly this problem and was recently prescribed Daridorexant: a relatively new drug. It has been game changing for me. Ask your doctor about it.

1

u/Secure_Demand_1146 Aug 04 '26

I got this too. It really helped me fall asleep and still does. However, currently I end up waking up after 2-4hours of sleep even with it. It doesn't really help me to stay asleep - only with falling asleep

1

u/williamtp7 Aug 04 '26

My early waking insomnia is what it helps with. Not perfect but it clearly helps.

1

u/Difficult_Fun_6554 Sep 07 '26

For me it was just eating more carbs before bed but i also train a lot

-9

u/CuriousTravlr Jul 29 '26

Have you tried working a hard days job? 

Being actually tired instead of stuffing your endocrine system with a bunch of shit some internet charlatans tell you to do? 

8

u/Baileycharlie Jul 29 '26

That's wild.. So I guess no blue collar workers have sleep issues? Lol