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Needto's post about Dermacrine reminded me I should share this with our posters. DHEA suppresses the bejesus out of cortisol, and cortisol is a one of the prime culprits behind chronic insomnia.
I did some research on this a while back and found studies on pubmed confirming the efficacy of DHEA for suppressing bedtime cortisol levels. The protocol involved twice daily dosing, with doses about 5-6 hours apart. The study involved only men, so the doses were higher than most women would be interested in taking, but I found a similar effect with 50mgs total when I tried it myself.
As for bioavailability, oral DHEA is not methylated so most of it will not survive the liver, meaning very modest amounts will ever get to your bloodstream. IME though it doesn't seem to take much DHEA to effectively reduce cortisol to healthy levels. I experimented with two 25mg tabs daily, one about 3 hours after rising and the second about 4 hours before bedtime. I began to sleep better in about two days.
In my own personal research I have not found any peer reviewed research to confirm that any single supplement suppresses cortisol better than DHEA. Makes sense to me this might be the case, as DHEA is a naturally occurring hormone, and as such could be part of nature's checks and balances in the body. In this case one of DHEA's functions could be as a check to cortisol levels.
And to tie this back into fitness, a lady that sleeps better, recovers faster. Deeper, more restful sleep means far less disturbance to the natural growth hormone pulse and nocturnal testosterone release.
I did some research on this a while back and found studies on pubmed confirming the efficacy of DHEA for suppressing bedtime cortisol levels. The protocol involved twice daily dosing, with doses about 5-6 hours apart. The study involved only men, so the doses were higher than most women would be interested in taking, but I found a similar effect with 50mgs total when I tried it myself.
As for bioavailability, oral DHEA is not methylated so most of it will not survive the liver, meaning very modest amounts will ever get to your bloodstream. IME though it doesn't seem to take much DHEA to effectively reduce cortisol to healthy levels. I experimented with two 25mg tabs daily, one about 3 hours after rising and the second about 4 hours before bedtime. I began to sleep better in about two days.
In my own personal research I have not found any peer reviewed research to confirm that any single supplement suppresses cortisol better than DHEA. Makes sense to me this might be the case, as DHEA is a naturally occurring hormone, and as such could be part of nature's checks and balances in the body. In this case one of DHEA's functions could be as a check to cortisol levels.
And to tie this back into fitness, a lady that sleeps better, recovers faster. Deeper, more restful sleep means far less disturbance to the natural growth hormone pulse and nocturnal testosterone release.
