Would ZMA truly help you get the best out of sleep?

[NeverKneel]

Next week going forward I am going to be on a project at work that will require me to go in at 3 and 4 AM and have me working anywhere from 10-12 hours a day. Due to the sort of schedule I have, it seems that I will only have at most 6-7 hours of sleep a day. I keep hearing that ZMA helps you get the most out of your sleep. I definitely do need to not feel too tired since I will still be going to the gym.

I hate to sound like a noob but does ZMA or any other supplement really help you get the best of your sleep? I heard from a few people that ZMA and Powerfull, a nat test booster, help you feel rested despite getting less sleep. Can anyone verify this for me? Thanks to all in advance!

 

[Pathogenic]

The test booster won't do anything because test boosters don't work. I've heard anecdotal reports of ZMA helping people fall asleep, but nothing about the actual quality of their sleep.

The best way to ensure sleep quality is to get enough of it. I recently saw a sleep doctor who helped me get my sleep cycle back on track. I had never gone to bed before 2 A.M. before I saw him, and after one week of treatment I've been going to bed at 11 P.M. and have woken up ready to go at 8 A.M. Getting my sleep on track has helped me stay less fatigued and more energetic throughout the day. You should try to adjust your circadian rhythm around your work schedule so that you can get enough sleep.

 

[Cygnus-X]

You will get fucked up dreams.

 

[Long Dark Blues]

ZMA didn't help me fall asleep, it helped me stay asleep.

Not sure if it helped me "get the most out of" my sleep though.

And, yes, the dreams were awesome.

 

[N3ver3nder]

I had similar results. Less waking up in the night, deeper sleep overall. Doesn't seem to really help you get to sleep though.

 

[LUDELOW]

I had similar results. Less waking up in the night, deeper sleep overall. Doesn't seem to really help you get to sleep though.

Victor conte explained it on JRE, you will get deeper sleep, so you can produce your testo and HGH better.

 

[ASEGSEA]

I took the MusclePharm ZMA pills for a while. Zonked me out in about an hour. The first week I woke up feeling a mixture of refreshed and tired. Then it kind of wore off. I still sleep hard, but not necessarily as long.

 

[dropshot001]

i believe so. my sleep quality is significantly better on zma than off it

 

[rms13]

I took ZMA every night for a month and I saw no difference whatsoever. I usually have no problem falling asleep around 11pm but I then wake up once or twice every night usually around 3am and 5am like clockwork. My sleep pattern was exactly the same on zma as it was without it. I would say it's more of a placebo effect than anything legit.

 

[bingowings123]

I slept deeper and got the messed up dreams but always felt groggy the next morning which ruin the point of taking it.

 

[Sinister]

Victor conte explained it on JRE, you will get deeper sleep, so you can produce your testo and HGH better.

Conte wasn't exactly correct in his explanation. Your hormone production depends more than just on quality of sleep, though it does help greatly when you get good quality sleep. However, zinc, in and of itself, has been shown to help preserve the natural testosterone depletion that occurs with strenuous athletics. It also has some results in assisting in immune system function, which if you get too little sleep is going to suffer anyway. Magnesium is essential to muscle relaxation as well as a thousand other things in the body. ZMA has benefits, they're just usually misstated.

 

[theBg]

I noticed better sleep taking Optimum's ZMA but not too much in the area of gains.. however i did notice a bit of a difference. Here's an article about ZMA in general recently posted on Natural News:

http://www.naturalnews.com/037910_zma_testosterone_magnesium.html

 

[snotrag]

Next week going forward I am going to be on a project at work that will require me to go in at 3 and 4 AM and have me working anywhere from 10-12 hours a day. Due to the sort of schedule I have, it seems that I will only have at most 6-7 hours of sleep a day. I keep hearing that ZMA helps you get the most out of your sleep. I definitely do need to not feel too tired since I will still be going to the gym.

I hate to sound like a noob but does ZMA or any other supplement really help you get the best of your sleep? I heard from a few people that ZMA and Powerfull, a nat test booster, help you feel rested despite getting less sleep. Can anyone verify this for me? Thanks to all in advance!

get Powerfull by USP labs. Best stuff in the world. I would get about 6 hours of sleep and after about 30 minutes of initial grogginess upon getting up i felt like a million dollars.

 

[KILL KILL]

I enjoy zma. quality sleep. fun dreams. works for me.

 

[hardheart]

Conte wasn't exactly correct in his explanation. Your hormone production depends more than just on quality of sleep, though it does help greatly when you get good quality sleep. However, zinc, in and of itself, has been shown to help preserve the natural testosterone depletion that occurs with strenuous athletics. It also has some results in assisting in immune system function, which if you get too little sleep is going to suffer anyway. Magnesium is essential to muscle relaxation as well as a thousand other things in the body. ZMA has benefits, they're just usually misstated.

This. Over and over again. Zinc, Magnesium, and b6. All of those things are great, and if you understand what they do you don't really question ZMA.

get Powerfull by USP labs. Best stuff in the world. I would get about 6 hours of sleep and after about 30 minutes of initial grogginess upon getting up i felt like a million dollars.

I have tried Powerful. Man, that shit is intense. I have rarely ever had the quality of sleep I got on Powerful. I mean, that shit was fucking wow. The first night I took some, I only got like two or three hours of sleep but I woke up feeling like I had slept for a full eight hours. In other words, I was fully rested. I didn't get groggy when using powerful. Note, after about two weeks powerful seemed like it wore off and was actually seeming to make me more tired and less rested.

 

[Sinister]

Also FWIW, another misunderstanding about sleep is people believe that when they have wicked dreams, that's them sleeping deeply. Not necessarily, the most active state of dreaming is as melatonin production is waning (if any of you have ever noticed if you awaken, then go back to sleep in the morning, you'll have vivid dreams even for even the short amount of time you fall back asleep. So be careful with vivid dreaming, when it comes to interpreting if that's when you're getting "deep" sleep. It might actually be your body trying to awaken.

Just food for thought.

 

[Nozza]

This. Over and over again. Zinc, Magnesium, and b6. All of those things are great, and if you understand what they do you don't really question ZMA.

I have to say that I DO question the need for ZMA

Where is the evidence that normal people with a decent diet need to supplement these nutrients by taking that particular formula? Where is the evidence that it does actually increase T levels or have strength/hypotrophy/endurance gains?

The only study I can find showing it as the benefits they claim was one in 98 which was financed by the firm itself (it's worth looking up Victor Conte on Wikipedia, the guy who ran the firm...). Since then I've seen two others which show no such benefits.

 

[Cr3do]

ZMA gives me lots crazy dreams also, not sure it if gives me a better quality sleep, but defo better dreams!

 

[Dogstarman]

I think ZMA works on people differently. I get good sleep with ZMA. You can also try melatonin. Some people respond to melatonin and some don't. My Dr told me it was about a 50% rate that it worked on. He said I was lucky. When I take that stuff it gets me in the mood for sleep, it does not necessarily make me sleepy. It is like my body tells me to get to sleep.

Try it and see if it works for you.

 

[techninja]

Maybe a few little points that could help you here:-

If you do end up buying ZMA, research the quality of the Zinc and Magnesium that is present in the supplement. Like most other supplements, there are cheaper varieties on the market, but the absorption rate is very poor, therefore you don't really get any benefits. In addition, make sure the amount is sufficient - you want around 30-40mg of Zinc in each serving (suggested by ZMA advocates).

The evidence Conte points to for his study is also very poor. The positive effects that were found in his study, were found on Marines who had very low zinc intake from their diets. When the study has been replicated (even in high end athletes) the blood tests have shown little change in test levels and production.

Personally I find little effects from ZMA. I do like the theory, but feel if you have enough zinc from food, alongside a stable sleeping environment, you will see little difference taking a supplement.

Everyone is different though, and you might take this and see huge improvements in your sleep, but from a personal and researched point of view, there is very little to suggest this would be anything but placebo.