 John Berardi |
Since the late 1990’s Dr. John Berardi has published 8 scientific abstracts; 15 scientific papers and textbook chapters; presented at nearly 50 scientific, exercise, and nutrition related conferences; and published countless articles online.
His first articles at Testosterone Magazine so many years ago, provided me with the basis for everything I know about nutrition today. Now I will turn some of that knowledge over to you in the form of Nutrition Tips written by Dr. Berardi himself.
Today’s Topic – ZMA for Deep Sleep
I once read a study published in 1998 that concluded 70% of NFL players had deficient or depleted levels of both zinc and magnesium. This is unbelievable given the attention professional athletes pay to their nutrition. But yet facts are facts, and already you can understand how easy it is to fall to these low levels.
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Worse yet, the deficiencies we see with zinc and magnesium, are directly related to decreased hormone levels as well as decreased strength and power.
What is ZMA?
ZMA is a zinc/magnesium supplement that replaces deficiencies caused from exercise and stress. It is a supplement that can increase natural levels of anabolic hormones and improve athletic performance. Reportedly, if taken as recommended, ZMA can increase free testosterone by 30% while boosting IGF-1 levels significantly.
The impact of corrected hormone levels and increased IGF-1 means more muscle gained and more fat lost. Typically this is a supplement that can be used by both males and females, as it does not actually contain any hormones or other supplements that are androgynous to women. Incidentally, high testosterone levels are typically linked to increased libido for both sexes.
Better Sleep Patterns
Over the years of using ZMA at various periods, I have noticed that I sleep better at night after taking it. I made a practice out of taking my ZMA a half our before bed, and it seems to help knock me out.
Now Foods ZMA
I found a pretty inexpensive ZMA supplement made by Now Foods, who tends to be a pretty reputable company for pumping out very basic supplements with little filler for cheap money. Here’s the link to get some –> Get Now Foods ZMA.
 Get Precision Nutrition |
Whether you are trying to lose fat or gain weight, it is always good to have proper nutrient levels in your body. ZMA is one of those products that you can take each and every day for the rest of your life.
Supplementing with ZMA will help you:
- Increase muscle gain
- Increase fat loss
- Increase sex drive
- Increase endurance and stamina
- Increase strength and power
- Sleep better
But don’t take my word for it, even though I’ve researched these things for years. Let’s see what JB has to say about it:
Tip: ZMA for Deep Sleep
“ZMA is useful for improving the quality of your sleep.
For me, ZMA tends not to induce sleep as much as deepen it. Expect your dreams to be extremely vivid!
My athletes, when traveling, or when under heavy training loads, usually included 2-3 ZMA capsules before bed.”
See Also
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Stereotypical ZMA-brands does not increase deeper more restful sleep, they only transforms your current sleep into a lighter, less restful sleep with more hence: often with more vivid dreams, thus leading to more awakenings, more bladder activity that might cause you to wake up and last but not least: causes you you to OVERALL sleep more (because you have to, now that you sleep so inefficiently).
I did some thorough research post commencing ZMA usage and experienced the above mentioned. The research indicates that the culprit in the drama is the B6. B6 decreases the restorative sleep. I would walk through my days REALLY zoned out, feeling as if I had not slept enough. Even at some lucky occasions when I managed to sleep 7 hours without any microawakeneings, I would still be tired due to insufficient sleep. Interestingly enough even fanatics of lucid dreaming RECOMMEND you to take more vit B6 in order to sleep lighter with a greater occurance of dreams.
Google “Vit B6 sleep” and be amazed over the fact that it is actually added to a suplement supposedly improving your nocturnal rejuvenation..
Sincere regards from Sweden / V.