ZMA- really do anything?

IHI

Elite
Joined
Mar 3, 2015
Messages
1,677
Reaction score
1,350
Points
113
See folks say it “helps them sleep” or “helps them sleep better”. Ever since i can remember, even as a kid, sleep for me never comes easy, and i cannot remember but twice in my adult life ever waking up feeling “refreshed” like i slept well. Many years ago doc set me up for a sleep study. Told techs dont expect much, you have about a 3-4hr window once i knock out before im up, and once im up, im up, there is no falling back asleep because my brain just goes a million miles a minute thinking about stuff.

test went as i expected, laid there 2hrs before knocking out, then 3.5hrs later im asking to be unhooked so i can leave. They made me lay there 2 more hours thinking id crash again, but never happened and no data could be gathered to say anything definitive, so ended up with a CPAP just to cover that base. Tried to use it for 3months and never helped, hose made it worse jerking me awake actually. Docs tried 5 different sleeping pills/aids and i do not like the side effects so those were all short lived.

anyhow, yeah i should just buy the ZMA and try it, but wanted real world feedback if y’all had experience with it.

exhausted and crashed at 9pm last night, 1:34am eyes wide open :( so laid there till 2am this a.m. and said fug it, went down and hit elliptical and did some stretching and core stuff to pass the time before i head to work in a lil bit- gets frustrating but its my normal, and I think being on gym supps ;) aggrivates it obviously, so it is what it is.
 

PillarofBalance

Elite
SI Founding Member
Joined
Feb 6, 2012
Messages
20,402
Reaction score
18,204
Points
0
Probably not but **** it. Even if it's placebo it still does the job.

But you should explore other possibilities. You mentioned your mind racing. That's typically a measure or expression of anxiety. Deal with that and see what happens.
 

BigSwolePump

Elite
Joined
Apr 1, 2017
Messages
4,012
Reaction score
4,833
Points
193
I tried it a few years back and didn't notice anything different. Bricks hit a good point above. I actually had to cut caffeine completely out in order to get myself to have a decent nights sleep. Maybe this could help you too.
 
  • Like
Reactions: IHI

IHI

Elite
Joined
Mar 3, 2015
Messages
1,677
Reaction score
1,350
Points
113
Always had anxiety issues, real bad all the years i owned my business- i lay awake planning the next days work by the minute, then the next day based on what my mind figured out just prior, etc....until i fell asleep, wake up and it was immediately back to planning/troubleshooting lol.

last night went to a BBQ joint for dinner, had a crown and Dr Pepper after work, then 3 beers at restaurant. Was in bed about 2 hrs after last beer so that prolly didnt aid last night.

may explore the caffine thing, coffee at wake up pre workout then thru mid morning at latest, then just water the rest of the day or milk with supper or shake before bed.
 

Jin

Retired UG Staff
Joined
Jan 20, 2017
Messages
13,853
Reaction score
22,715
Points
441
I tried it a few years back and didn't notice anything different. Bricks hit a good point above. I actually had to cut caffeine completely out in order to get myself to have a decent nights sleep. Maybe this could help you too.

6 months of ZMA pre-TRT in hopes of getting my test levels up naturally and helping with recovery. No noticeable effects, no increased test levels.
 

MrRippedZilla

Retired
Joined
Mar 3, 2014
Messages
1,706
Reaction score
3,522
Points
153
Always had anxiety issues, real bad all the years i owned my business- i lay awake planning the next days work by the minute, then the next day based on what my mind figured out just prior, etc....until i fell asleep, wake up and it was immediately back to planning/troubleshooting lol.
I have a similar mindset when I'm all tunnel vision on a goal and have found practicing mindfulness to be hugely beneficial. You acknowledge the thoughts that occur in your mind, accept them with no further analysis, then push them away. Repeat.
Meditation and cognitive behavioral therapy strategies also help by making you focus on something else (not anxiety provoking).

Zinc and Magnesium are beneficial if you have a deficiency, otherwise both would be useless. A zinc deficiency in our community is rare, a magnesium one is possible (second most likely deficiency after vit D) so that may be worth experimenting with if more direct measures are difficult to run with.
 
  • Like
Reactions: IHI

stonetag

Elite
Joined
Dec 2, 2013
Messages
7,405
Reaction score
6,283
Points
283
It seems I was always jacked on caffeine, whether coffee, or five hour energy, or the like. I was having some issues falling asleep so I decided to cut all caffeine sources out except my trusty coffee, and turns out my woman was brewing decaf 50% of the time, we had a little discussion about that! My point is that cutting all the other shit out did help my sleep, that and a cpap and I sleep like a rock.
 

Seeker

Veteran
SI Founding Member
Joined
Jan 16, 2013
Messages
8,859
Reaction score
10,718
Points
333
A lot of folks have jobs that having THC in your system would mean kicking cans down the road with no job.

Yeah I'm unfortunately one of them. I get randomly tested and I just recently had to update my background check
 

snake

Veteran
Joined
Jan 29, 2014
Messages
12,338
Reaction score
19,819
Points
383
Been there and done that. It did zero for me, and a friend of mine had the same results.

Zolpidem is my go to knock out drug. Doesn't keep me out but gets me asleep. Age+children+stress= fuuked up sleep.
 

IHI

Elite
Joined
Mar 3, 2015
Messages
1,677
Reaction score
1,350
Points
113
Age+children+stress= fuuked up sleep.

Literally lol’d :)

Got Trazodone and it took a bit to dial in (pill pre stress relieved for full dose 150mg, 1/2 dose 75mg, or other side 3- 50mg) but 1/2 pill seems to work for me without bad grogginess the next morning. Bad side is you wont bust a nut, so you need to relieve the stress before taking, then for me anyways, 30minutes after taking im out. Half pill wont float me lights out all night, but better than nothing.

Been using nyquill or nyquill zzz and they help put me down, but the groggy is what turns me off of this kinda stuff, especially with a.m. workouts.
 

bvs

Elite
Joined
Mar 10, 2014
Messages
2,362
Reaction score
1,741
Points
113
Not necessarily suggesting this but it might be something to look into. Seroquel XR 100mg gives me great sleep and I've safely taken it for years without having to increase the dose to get the same effect
 

Jin

Retired UG Staff
Joined
Jan 20, 2017
Messages
13,853
Reaction score
22,715
Points
441
Not necessarily suggesting this but it might be something to look into. Seroquel XR 100mg gives me great sleep and I've safely taken it for years without having to increase the dose to get the same effect

You're not taking Seroquel for insomnia:)
 

John Ziegler

Elite
Joined
Jul 13, 2015
Messages
8,444
Reaction score
5,657
Points
283
Back when I was pill ng it up with the xanex regularly

ran out of them and took a seroquel because it was all that was available

that shit made me feel awful
 

bvs

Elite
Joined
Mar 10, 2014
Messages
2,362
Reaction score
1,741
Points
113
You're not taking Seroquel for insomnia:)

I'm taking it for depression and insomnia. It was prescribed by a psychiatrist. It's also more widely prescribed as an anti phsychotic but dosing for that starts at 700mg
 

New Threads

Top