The protocol
6 items, in this order
You feel this one inside a week. Sleep quality moves first, then the afternoon crash, then the resting heart rate on your watch.
Magnesium Glycinate
Brand TBD
- Form
- Capsule, 200–400 mg elemental
- Dose
- 200–400 mg, 60–90 minutes before bed
Involved in hundreds of enzymatic processes, including muscle relaxation and sleep quality. Glycinate is the form that absorbs without sending you to the bathroom.
✦ Oxide is the cheap form. It is a laxative, not a supplement.
Glycine
Brand TBD
- Form
- Unflavored powder that tastes faintly sweet
- Dose
- 3 g in water, 30 minutes before bed
Supports the drop in core body temperature that lets you fall asleep, and the quality of sleep once you're there. Cents per serving.
✦ Stacks cleanly with magnesium. Most underrated item on this page.
L-Theanine
Brand TBD
- Form
- Capsule, 100 to 200 mg
- Dose
- 200 mg, evening for wind down or with morning caffeine
Supports alpha brain wave activity, the state you are after in standing practice. Takes the edge off caffeine without dulling it.
✦ The one supplement that plays two positions well.
Apigenin
Brand TBD
- Form
- Capsule, 50 mg
- Dose
- 50 mg, 30–60 minutes before bed
The compound behind chamomile's reputation. Supports the transition into sleep for men whose minds don't shut off on command.
✦ Third leg of the glycine + magnesium stack.
Vitamin D3 + K2
Brand TBD
- Form
- Softgel, D3 5,000 IU with K2 MK-7
- Dose
- 1 softgel with a meal containing fat
Most men who train indoors are low. Supports bone density, immune function, and normal testosterone production. K2 belongs in the same capsule, because it directs calcium where it should go.
✦ Get a blood panel first. Dose to your labs, not to a bottle.
Ashwagandha (KSM-66)
Brand TBD
- Form
- Standardized root extract, 600 mg
- Dose
- 600 mg daily, evening
The most-studied adaptogen for supporting a healthy cortisol response, sleep, and recovery from training stress.
✦ Some men feel flattened by it after months. If your edge dulls, cycle off.
Add one thing at a time. Start four of these on a Monday, feel different by Friday, and you have
learned nothing about which one did it.