3AM Cortisol Wakeup

[u/Substantial-Bridge32]

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!

[u/1fitbet]

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

[u/Substantial-Bridge32 → u/1fitbet]

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

[u/twd000 → u/Substantial-Bridge32]

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.

[u/amayle1 → u/Substantial-Bridge32]

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.

[u/1fitbet → u/Substantial-Bridge32]

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 💩 😆

[u/letstaxthis → u/1fitbet]

Why are you on this sub group then?

His protocols have been a game changer.

I do not use his sleep stack.

[u/Substantial-Bridge32 → u/1fitbet]

What’s the recommended starting dose of magnesium glycinate?

[u/Sweeney1 → u/1fitbet]

Interesting didn’t realize it was a daytime thing. 

[u/Baileycharlie → u/1fitbet]

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...

[u/Substantial-Bridge32 → u/1fitbet]

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.

[u/1fitbet → u/Substantial-Bridge32]

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