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Sleep and bone broth protein
Sleep and bone broth protein

Have you been wondering if bone broth, or protein powder with bone broth, will help with sleep? Many people use a mug of warm bone broth powder as a soothing evening ritual – but what does the science say? Let’s break down the evidence, explain the key nutrients involved, and look at how bone broth can support sleep, relaxation, and recovery. So first of all, does bone broth help with sleep?

Yes! Beef bone broth protein contains glycine, magnesium, and collagen, which can improve sleep quality by promoting relaxation, lowering body temperature, and supporting the nervous system. This makes it a natural, nutrient-rich option for better rest and recovery.

Read on to find out more about how amino acids affect sleep, how sleep affects athletic performance, and bone broth’s role in relaxation, stress, and sleep quality. Plus, get some helpful tips on how to integrate bone broth into our sleep routine!

Article Contents:

Bone broth powder is rich in glycine, which is an inhibitory neurotransmitter that is known to encourage sleep. Human studies have shown that approximately 3g of glycine taken before bed can improve sleep quality and reduce the time it takes to fall asleep. And our HPH Bone Broth Protein Powder contains 4.6g of glycine per serving!

This is because glycine lowers the core body temperature and supports serotonin and melatonin production, aiding both relaxation and sleep onset.

While these studies use isolated glycine supplementation rather than bone broth – it shows that bone broth’s natural glycine content makes it an appealing whole-food source of these benefits.

Can Bone Broth Help Reduce Stress?

Glycine isn’t all about sleep – it can also act as a calming neurotransmitter, helping to modulate stress response and lower cortisol levels. This helps to reduce stress and anxiety, making it a comforting option before bedtime to avoid lying awake with loud thoughts.

How Bone Broth Supports Relaxation

Outside of glycine, protein powder with bone broth also contains minerals like magnesium. This is another calming agent that helps regulate the nervous system and promote muscle relaxation.

Magnesium supports the “rest and digest” response, helping to lower physical tension and mental stress before bed. When taken as part of an evening routine, nutrients like this can create a natural, soothing effect that prepares the body for sleep.

Bone Broth, Gut Health, and Sleep

While many people might think the main sleep benefit of bone broth is it helping you to relax, one of the core benefits comes from its impact on digestive health.

Protein powder with bone broth contains natural collagen and gelatin content that make it a valuable ally for digestive wellness. These proteins supply amino acids like glutamine, which helps maintain the integrity of the gut lining and supports a balanced inflammatory response in the digestive tract.

A healthy gut can have a huge positive impact on sleep quality by reducing discomfort that might otherwise disrupt sleep. It also supports overall nutrient absorption, amplifying the other benefits from other nutrients and minerals. This allows bone broth to offer a comprehensive approach to recovery, resilience, and long-term sleep quality.

Practical Sleep Strategies Using Bone Broth Protein

At Human Performance Hub, we recommend bone broth protein powder to all of our clients, including top athletes. Here are a few of our ideas for how you can integrate protein powder with bone broth into your routine to maximise sleep and recovery:

Strategy Our Tips
Evening Ritual Sip a warm mug of bone broth about 30-60 minutes before bed to harness the glycine and magnesium benefits
Combine with Sleep Hygiene Reduce screens before bed, maintain a consistent schedule, and create a relaxed environment
Optimise Training Recovery Use bone broth powder post-workout or post-dinner to support joint repair, immunity, and sleep simultaneously
Use as a Snack or Shake Blend bone broth protein into a light shake – rich in collagen and amino acids – to support sleep without overloading calories or digestion
Monitor Responses Track sleep onset, waking frequency, and next-day energy. Adjust serving time or portion if needed

Guide to using bone broth protein for sleep

If you find it’s taking you too long to fall asleep after drinking bone broth protein, try having it earlier in the evening – around 60 – 90 minutes before bed. If you’re waking often during the night, a slightly larger serving could sustain its relaxing effects, whereas if you feel full, a smaller portion could be more comfortable.

Sleep Better with HPH PaleoBeef Bone Broth Protein

Ready to put science into action? Our HPH PaleoBeef Bone Broth Protein Powder is naturally rich in glycine, magnesium, and collagen – key nutrients for supporting deep, restorative sleep. Made from grass-fed, hormone-free cattle with no additives, it’s clean, nutrient-dense, and versatile.

Whether you sip it warm before bed or add it to a shake, you’re getting premium nutrition designed to help you relax, repair, and wake up ready to perform. Plus, it contains 22 grams of protein per serving!

This month, we look at some slumber strategies and health-supporting minerals to help you improve your sleep. You probably know how essential sleep is to your health and wellbeing.

As discussed in many articles, sleep is the first one out of the three things I look at to help get faster results with my clients in their health and performance.

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Inositol is one of the most important vitamins you may never have heard of! It is often promoted as a general health supplement for women due to its benefits for fertility and polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), as well as for relieving symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and anxiety. However, inositol benefits a wide array of conditions in both women and men, and has many other health-promoting effects.

In this article, I’ll talk about why inositol is so essential and how you can boost it in your body.

 

So, what are inositol benefits? Inositol is beneficial in balancing neurotransmitters, but has a wide range of other health benefits including:

 

  • Promotes quality sleep
  • Improves PMS and PCOS symptoms
  • Reduces anxiety
  • Reduces depression
  • Aids weight loss

 

Read on to learn more about the health benefits of supplementing with inositol, as well as when and how to take it.

What is Inositol?

Inositol is a vital nutrient produced naturally in the body and found in plants and animals. Inositol plays a part in many bodily processes. However, one of the primary reasons we use inositol here at Human Performance Hub is its vital role in balancing neurotransmitters.

Inositol and Neurotransmitters

Neurotransmitters relay messages between the billions of neurons or nerve cells in your brain and affect many aspects of your life, ranging from moods, productivity, stress management, memory and learning ability, sleep, food cravings, addictions, etc.

 

While all neurotransmitters are essential, the “big four” are:

 

 

All major neurotransmitters rely on inositol to relay the messages between your brain cells. Like your phone needs a signal to work, neurotransmitters can’t do their thing without inositol.

 

Unfortunately, modern living, with high-stress levels, inadequate sleep, and poor nutrition, can rapidly imbalance your neurotransmitters;  to be physically and mentally healthy, you need a good balance of neurotransmitters.

 

Inositol is an excellent balancer because it’s naturally a part of many brain chemical systems. As such, inositol can help a wide array of health conditions as well as boost good health. It is one of the first supplements I recommend to new clients.

 

5 Inositol Benefits Backed by Science

Here are five ways that inositol can improve your health and wellbeing.

1. Inositol Helps to Promote Quality Sleep

The great thing about inositol is that it works as an adaptogen – this means it promotes only what your body needs on an individual basis. For example, GABA, an inhibitory neurotransmitter, slows down brain activity and puts your body in a calmer and more relaxed state. Low GABA activity in your body is linked to insomnia and disrupted sleep. Meanwhile, serotonin is another brain chemical that affects how you sleep. If serotonin is low, it can disrupt sleep.

 

So if you’re low in GABA and serotonin and struggle with sleep, inositol can help bring your levels back up. Alternatively, if you struggle to get out of bed in the morning due to low dopamine levels, inositol can help bring this up instead.

 

Learn more about how neurotransmitters and brain chemicals affect how we sleep in our blogs, The Brain Chemicals that Boost Sleep and Recovery and The Science and Sensibilities of Sleep.

 

2. Inositol Helps to Improve PMS and PCOS Symptoms

Inositol helps diminish the mood swings, depression, and anxiety of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and the more severe premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD). Taking inositol supplements can also positively improve polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) symptoms like menstrual irregularities, infertility, weight gain, high blood sugar, and unhealthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels. 

 

Furthermore, several studies found that daily doses of inositol reduced blood triglyceride levels, improved insulin function, lowered blood pressure, and promoted ovulation in women with polycystic PCOS(3, 4, 5, 6). It supports ovarian function so well that some nutritional supplements specifically designed to encourage fertility contain inositol.

 

Inositol also shows potential in boosting fertility for men. One study of 194 men showed that inositol supplementation improved sperm quality, sperm count, and fertility after three months. 

3. Inositol Helps Lessen Anxiety

Several mental health disorders such as anxiety, panic attacks, OCD, and depression are linked to lower levels of inositol in the brain (8, 9). Inositol affects neurotransmitters and low inositol levels may contribute to decreased serotonin activity in your brain,  impacting behaviour and mood. Research on inositol supplementation showed improved symptoms associated with conditions affecting serotonin and the brain.

In some instances, inositol was more effective than the most commonly prescribed medications. For example, one study found that people taking inositol had fewer panic attacks per week compared to those taking SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) anxiety medication. 

 

4. Inositol Helps Reduce Depression

Like anxiety, inositol has benefits for depression. That’s because inositol levels are lower than average in people with depression, however, inositol increases serotonin and creates SSRI effects, similar to antidepressant drugs like Prozac. In one study of 28 people with depression, high doses of inositol (12 g/day) improved mood and all symptoms after four weeks. 

 

These studies suggest that inositol can be as effective, if not more, when compared to SSRI antidepressant drugs for different conditions.

5. Inositol Helps Weight Loss

Inositol can encourage weight loss by improving how the body responds to insulin. Insulin is a critically important hormone for controlling blood sugar levels, and when your body has a problem responding to insulin, the resulting insulin resistance causes blood sugar fluctuations. This can lead to compulsive overeating and cravings for sugary foods in many people.

 

Inositol helps reduce insulin resistance by improving the body’s sensitivity to insulin. In one study, women supplemented with 4 grams of inositol per day showed improved insulin sensitivity. (14)

 

Recommended supplementation

It’s best if you build up your inositol levels steadily. I recommend taking 900mg – 3,6 grams every night for at least one month.

The product I prefer is our Myo-Inositol. Each cap serving has 900mg of inositol. Most people find this the most convenient and economical way to take Inositol.

Takeaway

Inositol has tremendous health benefits due to its many roles in the body. It can help with stress, anxiety, hormonal issues, PCOS, acne, trouble with focus and sugar cravings, and metabolic conditions such as diabetes, autoimmune disorders, neurodegenerative diseases and more. If you have any of these issues or want to help prevent them, you should add inositol to your health toolkit.

Human Performance Hub MYO Inositol

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