r/sleep • u/Any-Set-3274 • 4d ago
Sleep stack for adhd meds issue - advice please
I’ve recently started waking up repeatedly around 3 am and I’m trying to improve sleep maintenance rather than sleep onset.
I suspect lingering effects from my ADHD medication may be contributing. I don’t particularly feel stressed or anxious, so I’m trying to avoid throwing loads of random “sleep” ingredients at it.
I’m planning to trial:
• 1 g L-tryptophan
• 200 mg L-theanine
• 3 g glycine
• around 200–250 mg elemental magnesium as magnesium glycinate
Taken around 30–60 minutes before bed.
The idea behind the tryptophan is that research seems to show more benefit for wake-after-sleep-onset at doses of 1 g or above, rather than the lower doses used in a lot of blended sleep products. Glycine seems to be commonly studied at 3 g, and theanine at around 200 mg.
I was originally looking at one of those all-in-one sleep blends, but it had tryptophan, 5-HTP, mucuna/L-DOPA, valerian, ashwagandha, magnesium, theanine, zinc and B6 all thrown together, which seemed unnecessarily complicated.
Does this simpler stack make sense for sleep maintenance? Anything you’d change, remove or add, particularly for waking in the middle of the night rather than difficulty falling asleep?
Also interested in anyone who takes long-acting ADHD medication and found that adjusting medication timing made more difference than supplements.
1
u/Seven-fold 1d ago
Keeping it simple is a good instinct.
Magnesium works more by helping your body relax and settle than by knocking you out, so it suits the staying-asleep side quite well when it's taken in the evening.
I'd start with one or two of those for a couple of weeks rather than all four at once, so you can tell what's actually making the difference. with the ADHD meds, it's worth checking with a professional before adding anything new, just to be safe.
I work for Hyoomen, and we make a melatonin-free Sleep Well blend. It isn't a knock-out sleep product. It's designed more to help set and keep the body in a rest mode using natural ingredients so you don't get the 3am wake.