Sleep is a Nootropic

Stacking sleep supplements and “sleep tech” for serious slumber

As Biohackers, we are perpetually on the hunt for the "thrust" -- that elusive, boundless well of energy and motivation required to kick ass through the day. We obsess over stimulatory molecules, the latest Racetams, and those "limitless" compounds that promise to keep our cognitive engines revving. But any seasoned practitioner of the art of human optimization knows that this high-octane lifestyle requires a counterbalance.

If you aren't prioritizing the quality of your downtime, you are effectively redlining your engine without ever changing the oil. I’ve recently been experimenting with a specific stack of anxiolytic sleep supplements and biohacking tech that has resulted in some seriously solid, restorative slumber. It’s time we acknowledge a fundamental truth often ignored by the "hustle culture" mainstream: Sleep is, in itself, a potent Nootropic.

The science of the "fresh reset"

I recently did a deep dive into Matthew Walker’s Why We Sleep, and while the book is a bit of a tome, the underlying science is undeniable. The mainstream "normie" approach to health treats sleep as a luxury or a nuisance, but the empirical data suggest otherwise. Sleep isn't just a passive state of unconsciousness; it’s a highly active period of neurological maintenance.

Why We Sleep

 

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When we talk about cognitive enhancement, we usually focus on memory consolidation and verbal horsepower. Well, guess what? Those processes are arguably more dependent on your REM cycles than on your morning caffeine intake. If you’re not hitting those deep, restorative stages of sleep, you’re essentially operating on a "leaky" brain.

I've been getting some seriously solid sleep lately by using anxiolytic stacks with some biohacking tech...

I fall asleep effortlessly, but the way I can tell I'm getting better sleep than ever is that in the first hour of my day upon waking, I don't find myself making little mistakes in my work on the computer. I know I've got some imperfect sleep when, in the early morning, I notice myself missing things; copy-pasting in the wrong place, misplacing meta-tags, leaving my toiletries in the wrong place in the bathroom, losing track of browser tabs, etc. Being cognitively on point by 7:30 AM is obviously great for my productivity!

About stacking sleep supplements with sleep tech, around 40 minutes before bedtime (often while enjoying a documentary), I will attach this PEMF device to the back of my head, entraining my brain with sedating delta waves. If I want to take this to the next level, I'll simultaneously listen to a 0.5-4 Hz binaural beat for auditory-induced entrainment.

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Then I turn off the wifi, undress, get in bed, and for 10-15 minutes shine my red light therapy device on my back while I cuddle with my wife, and we chit-chat about the day.

Red Light Therapy

 

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And I am out like a lark (are larks sleep-hackers?)

Stacking sleep supplements, PEMF, and the red light therapy, I actually managed to get to sleep in about 10 minutes WITHOUT soothing rain noises playing in our bedroom - which, for the longest time, I needed to get to sleep as I have mild tinnitus. Quiet nighttime can be hell for those with tinnitus, as it's when our ears seem to scream at us the loudest, making it hard to get to sleep.

Biohacker Review: This before-bed sleep stack helped me get through a brush with COVID

In January, my wife and I had a (thankfully mild) case of the wu-flu, of the Omicron variety we believe. In addition to feeling a bit oxygen-starved during the day, the illness messed with my sleep; I found myself waking up in the middle of the night. Quality sleep is, of course, crucial to immune function and recovery. I began taking three capsules of Deep Sleep, preceded by Just Relax, which certainly helped me sleep through the nights.

As soon as we suspected we were dealing with COVID, we began an aggressive immune support supplementation regimen of Quercetin, NAC, Zinc, Vitamin C, and higher-dose liposomal Vitamin D3. Melatonin is also a highly efficacious countermeasure against COVID infection that the Deep Sleep stack provides. With the supplements and good sleep, we managed to arrest and kick the COVID in about a week.

Let's look at a few of the stack's ingredients and discuss their synergies...

• Magnesium Glycinate - One of my favorite sleep supplements, Magnesium promotes crucial REM sleep that you need to maintain mental health, consolidate memory, and keep cognitive decline at bay. Deep sleep backs a punch with 450 milligrams of the good stuff, Magnesium Glycinate. Tip: Supplement forms that end with -ate are usually better absorbed.
• Melatonin - This household name hormone underlies the circadian mechanisms that put us to sleep when the time is right. This stack has just three milligrams, which might seem vanishingly small, but actually, that's all the melatonin you would want to supplement unless you were trying to get through an illness.
• Valerian Root Extract - An herbal sleep aid used since time immemorial in traditional Asian and European medicine. There are over 14 published scientific papers on “nature’s Valium” - as it's sometimes called.
• Passion Flower Extract - A German clinical trial concluded that this GABAergic nutriceutical is a full-spectrum mental health and well-being hack, 12 weeks of dosage mitigated disturbed sleep and nervous restlessness while improving stress resistance and general quality of life.
• B-Vitamins - Are not really sedating, but they play important roles in the regulation of healthy sleep cycles, and deficiencies will hurt your sleep quality or can even cause insomnia. It includes Vitamin B3 (Niacin), which is actually super-important; your PARP system needs it to repair while you sleep the damage that EMFs do to your genes (another good reason to turn off the wifi at bedtime).
• Zinc Glycinate- The brain's dark horse, according to a Swiss research paper. There are over 10 clinical trials studying its effects as a natural regulator of sleep. A landmark 2011 clinical trial found it shared synergies with melatonin and Magnesium; together, they're a dream team for insomniacs badly in need of some shut-eye.

About NeuroActive

This was originally a product review of a vendor serving European Biohackers. Unfortunately, they went out of business (like a lot of vendors of quality health products I've seen in my 14 years as a professional Biohacker).

The Discipline of the Descent

It is a fallacy to believe that a night of sleep is a "fresh reset" regardless of how you spent your evening. How you spend the final hour of your waking day directly dictates the quality of your neurochemistry the following morning. If you want to wake up with that "NZT-48" clarity, you must be disciplined about your descent into sleep.

I’ve found that even practicing new vocabulary in bed can quiet the mind, replacing "monkey mind" chatter with structured, useful knowledge. By yielding the right tools—both molecular and technological—you can turn sleep from a biological necessity into a competitive advantage. If you're ready to stop losing out in life due to subpar recovery, it’s time to start treating your bedroom like the high-tech recovery lab it should be.

If you struggle with racing thoughts at night, listen to this song about sleep hacking...