Thereās just so many ingredients that can help, it takes experimentation.
You have the āherbsā (valerian, hops, lemon balm, lavender), then you have the āchemical compoundsā (melatonin, phenibut, GABA, 5-HTP, glycine, magnesium).
I think the best stack is some kind of mix there, and itās probably unique to you.
Iām boring and do well enough with a 200mg magnesium citrate tab. Falling asleep definitely not a problem for me lately!
Benadryl works wonders.
Kava and Holy basil tinctures worked great for me. Kava is pretty underrated imo
Personally, Iāve never had any side effects from Phenibut in sleep aids (Hypnos from C&P and Fade Out from RedCon1), my biggest issue with common sleep aid supplements is their large doses of melatonin. Melatonin at high doses makes me so groggy in the AM, itās something I really prefer to microdose.
Iām really interested in trying Legionās sleep aid, Luna or something like that, for its appropriate melatonin dosage (for me). I hesitate though, because reviews on it are very mixed.
Pharmafreak GH Freak is the best I have ever used.
Okay, maybe not. 
@Brawn, my wife swears by benedrylā¦knocks her right the f* out. Doesnāt do crap for me. It does make me more tired, but doesnāt help me sleep; so Iām stuck in some weird state where I feel like I should fall asleep, but canāt.
Iām playing around with 5-HTP, which seems to work okay. 150-200 mg about an hour before bed seems to help. Also found it helps with curbing my desire to drink booze.
However, if I have an intense workout in the afternoon (finishing up about 4 hours before bed time), nothing helps. I just have to ride it out waiting to fall asleep.
Yep. Benadryl works great and its cheap. I donāt use it all the time but when I do need it works.
Also donāt forget about some non-supplemental things (outside of training):
ZMA works well for me. Although being that it gets dark at 5pm here in MN winters, I have zero trouble falling asleep right now. In the summer I take O.N. ZMA pills about 30min before targeted sleep time and conk right out till morning.
Make sure you allow at least 7 hours of sleep though! Otherwise be prepared to be a little out of it in the AM.
Be careful with habitually using anticholinergic drugs like benadryl. Chronic use of benadryl and its ilk have been shown to liken your chances of developing dementia and other cognitive diseases.
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullarticle/2091745 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/common-anticholinergic-drugs-like-benadryl-linked-increased-dementia-risk-201501287667ļ»æ
Have had f.lux on my Macbook for 3 years now and will never go back. Canāt believe itās free, very useful app.
I donāt use it everyday, just those rare days I canāt sleep. But Benadryl is one of the most effective ways to sleep and its definitely the cheapest. You can get hundreds of tablets of these things for just a few bucks!
I started taking Valyrian Root as a stand-alone, about 2 months ago.
My sleep has been incredible - and Iāve had sleep issues since I was 16.
Supp wise here are my current favorites and take it from a guy who suffers from severe sleep apnea. Stupid mask can be annoying but useful. I typically watch out for the dose of melatonin.
I react well to phenibut and GABA. I cycle my sleep aids meaning I only take them night before a workout so I get 2-3 days of normal falling asleep. Works well as I havenāt developed any weird reliance on ingredients.
The 5% sleep aid is one I have on hand when a good nights sleep is an absolute must.
Iām curious as to what you do the other 95% of the time.
āWhatever it takesā¦babeā
I should add that Kodiak Coma works amazingly well too, but holy hell that is a knockout! HUGE dose, so if you are not used to Phenibut not suggested. I dig it but even that is too much for me as a multiple a week use!
Gotta snap up that coma before they reformulate.