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Sleep and stress

The sleep aisle makes big promises. The studies measure the difference in minutes.

The short version

Nothing here knocks you out. Melatonin got people to sleep about 7 minutes faster. Magnesium, ashwagandha and theanine showed small gains in small studies. We found no study showing the famous sleep peptides improve sleep in people.

What has proof

A

Melatonin

A review of 19 trials in 1,683 people with sleep problems: they fell asleep about 7 minutes sooner, slept about 8 minutes longer, and rated their sleep slightly better. The effect did not fade with continued use.

proven, and small: about 7 minutes

B

Magnesium

A 2026 review of 12 trials found the results inconsistent and the certainty low. An older review added together 3 trials in 151 older adults. People fell asleep about 17 minutes sooner. But the trials were weak. One trial of the glycinate form in 155 adults found a small improvement on an insomnia score.

small, and the studies disagree

B

Ashwagandha

One pooled analysis of 9 trials in 558 people found lower stress, anxiety and cortisol. Another found cortisol down but felt stress unchanged. For sleep, 5 trials in 400 people found a small benefit. Doctors have also reported liver injury: 5 cases in Iceland and the US, and 8 in India, where 3 people who already had liver disease died.

rare liver injury is on record

B

L-theanine

A review of 19 trials in 897 people found they rated their sleep slightly better. Few trials tested theanine by itself.

B

Glycine

We found only three small trials, and each found some benefit. One had just 7 men and was run by a single company on its own employees.

B

Chamomile and apigenin

A review of 10 chamomile trials in 772 people found they rated their sleep a little better, but they did not sleep longer. We found no trial of apigenin by itself for sleep in people.

Gym lore, checked

Gym lore is what people say, not what we recommend. Each one is followed by what studies in people show. Stories are real experiences. They are not proof.

"epitalon resets your body clock and adds deep sleep"

Sleep was never measured. We found no human trial that tested whether epitalon improves sleep. Two small studies from one circle of researchers found it raised melatonin, which is not the same as sleeping better. A 2026 outside review found no proper randomized trial.

Sleep never measuredOne research circle

"DSIP is the sleep peptide"

The name promises more than the trials found. DSIP stands for delta sleep-inducing peptide. In tiny trials from the 1980s and 1990s the results conflicted. Two controlled trials found little real benefit. Two smaller ones, of 14 and 7 patients, reported improvement.

Tiny, old trialsResults conflict

"growth hormone peptides give you deeper sleep"

True for a lab drip. Not shown for the peptides. In a sleep lab, 7 young men got the body's own growth hormone signal through a drip. Their deep sleep rose from 14% of the night to about 20%. It was much weaker in older men. A trial of a sermorelin-type drug in 19 people found sleep quality unchanged. We found no sleep study of CJC-1295 or ipamorelin.

Lab drip onlyPeptides not tested for sleep

What we don't know

  • Whether any sleep peptide improves sleep in people.
  • Whether a small gain on a sleep survey means better health.
  • What years of nightly use does, for most of these.

Sources

  1. Melatonin for sleep disorders, review of 19 trials. PLoS One, 2013. Journal page
  2. Magnesium for insomnia, 2026 systematic review. Journal of Dietary Supplements. Journal page
  3. Magnesium in older adults, review of 3 trials. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 2021. Journal page
  4. Magnesium bisglycinate trial in 155 adults. Nature and Science of Sleep, 2025. Journal page
  5. Ashwagandha for stress and anxiety, review of 9 trials. Explore, 2024. Journal page
  6. Ashwagandha, cortisol and stress, pooled analysis. Nutrition and Health, 2025. Journal page
  7. Ashwagandha for sleep, review of 5 trials. PLoS One, 2021. Journal page
  8. Ashwagandha liver injury, Iceland and US cases. Liver International, 2020. Journal page
  9. Ashwagandha liver injury, India cases. Hepatology Communications, 2023. Journal page
  10. L-theanine and sleep, review of 19 trials. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 2025. Journal page
  11. Glycine and sleep, 2026 scoping review. Journal of Dietary Supplements. Journal page
  12. Glycine trial in sleep-restricted men. Frontiers in Neurology, 2012. Journal page
  13. Chamomile and sleep, review of 10 trials. Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 2024. Journal page
  14. Epitalon, 2026 review of the evidence. International Journal of Molecular Sciences. Journal page
  15. DSIP in chronic insomnia, controlled trial. Neuropsychobiology, 1992. Journal page
  16. DSIP in insomnia, 14-patient trial. European Neurology, 1987. Journal page
  17. DSIP in insomnia, 7-patient study. European Neurology, 1984. Journal page
  18. GHRH and deep sleep in young men. Neuroendocrinology, 1992. Journal page
  19. GHRH and sleep in older men. Neurobiology of Aging, 1997. Journal page
  20. GHRH analog and sleep quality, trial in 19 people. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, 1997. Journal page

Studies found on PubMed. Last checked November 12, 2026. Information only. Not medical advice.