Trouble Sleeping with ZMA

[Kevin Perry]

Ok so another supplement Q

Not sure if this has been brought up before but perhaps someone can enlighten me into this annoying issue. I am recycling onto ZMA again and this is the second night in a row that I cannot fall asleep. Exact same issues i've had before with ZMA being unable to sleep. Now I am drinking 1/2 gallon of milk daily but I've been drinking the entire thing before 5 pm and getting my last meal around 7 or 8 to allow time for digestion in order to take the ZMA capsules on an empty stomach but I still cannot fall asleep.

I've read that excessive calcium intake can interfere with the ZMA being absorbed but everything I've found has been very vague on the subject, or is this just a case where my body may not be able to adapt to the ZMA at all?

[Allen Yeh]

Originally Posted by Kevin Perry

Ok so another supplement Q

Not sure if this has been brought up before but perhaps someone can enlighten me into this annoying issue. I am recycling onto ZMA again and this is the second night in a row that I cannot fall asleep. Exact same issues i've had before with ZMA being unable to sleep. Now I am drinking 1/2 gallon of milk daily but I've been drinking the entire thing before 5 pm and getting my last meal around 7 or 8 to allow time for digestion in order to take the ZMA capsules on an empty stomach but I still cannot fall asleep.

I've read that excessive calcium intake can interfere with the ZMA being absorbed but everything I've found has been very vague on the subject, or is this just a case where my body may not be able to adapt to the ZMA at all?

This has been an issue for a few here and there but I know for me the sleeplessness went away after a few days, I was looking like you were into it and by the time I found something it pretty much went away.

RE: the calcium thing I've heard that as well for the reasoning on why ZMA should be taken on an empty stomach optimally.

I'll try to get back to this later today but I recall in the a few of the ZMA threads in the forum that discussed what people did to alleviate the sleeplessness, I recall Shaf recommended ...tyrosine? Not sure.

[John Alston]

Kevin, same thing for me. Any Mg close to bed time keeps me awake. If you're finishing your milk at 5pm the Ca shouldn't be an issue. Some people seem to respond like this.
So Allen, you said after a few days it went away? Hmmm. So maybe one could deal with a couple poor nights sleep in a row as a trade off for better rest down the line? I am curious to see if you start to sleep better on it Kevin.

[Garrett Smith]

If it remains a problem, take it in the morning.

ZMA doesn't have any magical properties other than correcting zinc and magnesium deficiencies (which can negatively affect testosterone production and sleep, among a zillion other things), so there isn't much difference to taking it in the AM versus before bed.

[Steven Low]

Sometimes it makes my sleep better, sometimes worse.

Try taking it in the morning like previously said.

[Garrett Smith]

I don't sleep that great with Mg before bed. I actually drink my Natural Calm during my morning workouts or right afterwards.

[Kevin Perry]

I'll try it in the morning then, going to skip it tonight to see if I can manage a better nights rest. Appetite has been gone today to and I don't even want to look at the milk.

[Aaron Austin]

Same issues with me. Trouble sleeping if I take it before bed. Like Garrett suggests I also take it in the morning.

[George Mounce]

My ZMA has Valerian in it, so it puts me right out. I had a weird ZMA dream the other night of having to fight off the evil twin of one of my dogs with a steak knife...ZMA causes some wacky stuff with me!

[Garrett Smith]

George, FYI, valerian is well-known for causing wacky (typically somewhat violent/evil) dreams all by itself...