The sleep-supplement aisle is a minefield: proprietary blends, fairy-dusted doses, and ingredients riding one mouse study. If you train, your standard should be higher — you need to wake up ready to perform, not groggy. After 10+ years of coaching and testing these on myself and my clients, here’s the honest stack: what earns a place, what earns a pass.
The ones that earn a place
1. Magnesium glycinate — the foundation. Training increases magnesium losses, and low status tracks with poor sleep. 200–350 mg elemental, 30–60 minutes before bed.
2. Glycine — the underrated one. 3 grams before bed. Research links glycine to improved subjective sleep quality and reduced next-day fatigue — the outcome athletes actually care about. It’s slightly sweet, dissolves in tea or water, and has an excellent safety profile.
3. L-theanine — the wind-down aid. 100–200 mg. The amino acid from tea that promotes calm without sedation; useful if your brain won’t stop reviewing tomorrow’s session. Pairs well with magnesium and glycine.
4. Tart cherry — the athlete’s pick. Tart cherry juice concentrate is one of the few food-based options with real research in training populations: it’s a natural source of melatonin precursors and has been studied for sleep duration and muscle soreness/recovery. A small serving in the evening, ideally on hard training days.
5. Apigenin — promising, early. The chamomile flavonoid, typically 50 mg. Mechanistically sensible and widely used in performance circles; human sleep data is still thin, so it ranks last in the “use” list — reasonable to trial, judge it on your own data.
The ones to skip (or handle with care)
Melatonin — respect it, don’t live on it. Melatonin is a hormone and a timing tool, not a sleeping pill. It’s most useful for jet lag and schedule shifts, at low doses (0.3–1 mg — most products sell 5–10 mg, far beyond what’s needed) taken at the right time of evening. Nightly high-dose use to “force” sleep is the pattern I coach people out of.
Proprietary “sleep blends” with pixie-dusted labels. If the label won’t tell you how much of each ingredient you’re getting, assume it’s not enough to matter. Buy singles, control doses, know what works for you.
Anything that leaves you hungover. If a product costs you next-morning readiness, it failed its only job, whatever it did to your time asleep.
How to build your stack (the protocol)
Week 1–2: magnesium glycinate only. Track sleep and morning readiness. Week 3–4: add glycine. Keep tracking. Add theanine if the issue is a racing mind; tart cherry on heavy training blocks. Change ONE variable at a time and give each two weeks. Your wearable trends (deep sleep, resting HR, HRV/readiness) are your scoreboard.
Sleep supplements are the last 5%. They sit on top of the real protocol: consistent wake time, morning light, caffeine cut off ~10 hours before bed, a cool dark room. Get those right first — then this stack genuinely moves the needle.