Thoughts on ZMA?

Jabberwocky

Frumious Bandersnatch
Joined
Nov 3, 1999
Messages
84,998
Your thoughts on supplementing with ZMA before bedtime? I'm looking for a way to improve the quality of my sleep and deepen it to speed up recovery. I heard this stuff was real good for that. My brother is sold on it and a number of friends also use it.

Do you use it? Does it work well for you?
 
explain please! I was subtly trolling for your comment actually ;)

I know you've written a small thing or two here and there...but you mind writing up a more full description of what you like about it so we have a thread where its consolidated.

I'll give my reports when my pills come in.

Anybody else feel free to note how it rocks/sucks.
 
Overpriced magnesium/zinc supplement. Victor Conte (who started the ZMA ball rolling) also started BALCO labs which supplied a # of professional's with "designer" steroids.
 
Anything Victor Conte, BALCO, SNAC, have achieved is BS, IMHO.

Some notes...

"The common criminal Conte sold millions of dollars worth of his products with those buying the products believing the likes of Jones and Christie to have achieved their magnificent results due to the wonders of the products.

In the past this is what Jones had to say about ZMA - "I had a number of tests done on my blood at BALCO Laboratories," says Jones. "I learned that I was really deficient in both zinc and magnesium." ZMA fixed that, and she credits the supplement with helping her to sleep better and making her morning workouts more effective. "ZMA really has helped me," she says.

Yet we all see that things are certainly different and one wonders whether BALCO even wrote the athlete's script to sing the praises of the product while fleecing the general public.

How Conte portrays himself as the redeeming 'messiah of athletics' is plain blasphemous (for better words) to say the least. This is truly one false profit and yet he has the gall to preach to athletic authorities and everyone (who will listen) about forgiveness and the like.

How does this worthless specimen get given the airtime, he denied and lied about everything, he did not come clean until he was squeezed into a corner. He has only given the prosecutors sufficient info to get himself out of the pooh.

Not only has he duped athletics but he has duped baseball and a list of other sports.

He owes us all something for we have all been duped by the very sports stars he helped to cheat.

What forgiveness, how about some true repentness from this deceitful man?"




Scientific studies

A 1999 study was undertaken on NCAA Football players during an 8 week spring training program. Those who took the ZMA tablets showed greater increases in muscle strength, free testosterone levels, and IGF-1 levels. These ZMA study results were presented by Dr. Brilla (a sports performance researcher at Western Washington University) on June 2, 1999, at the 46th Annual Meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine in Seattle, Washington. It is important to note that this study was funded by SNAC Systems Inc. (the patent holders) and that one of the study’s authors (Victor Conte) has equity in this company.

Another study in 2004 found that ZMA has no effect on strength or hormone levels, but did show a lower rate of muscle catabolism and cited further study was recommended.
 
I buy bulk zinc, magnesium, b6, and melatonin so "overpriced" is bullshit. Its about 5$ every 4 months tops.

Here's my experience:
I take all 4 with about 2 glasses of water about 1 hour after eating and 1 hour before bed. Within 45 minutes I feel very tired and I lay down and the second my head hits the pillow I slip into 8 hours of dreamed filled AMAZINGLY deep sleep. There is no comparison to anything I've ever taken before. The sleep quality is absolutely spectacular. It is like I am one with my bed and when morning comes I usually jump out of bed and feel 100% recharged.


My entire life I have had trouble with restlessness and trouble getting to sleep and staying asleep and feeling tired in the morning. I've been taking ZMA and melatonin for a year now and absolutely LOVE its effects and for about 1$ a month you cannot beat it.

Not to mention I had my test levels checked before supplementing with it and after 2 months of using it and they went up 30% in that time period. No other sups were used.



So yeah you guys can quote studies or whatever but all I know is that when I run out I get terrible sleep quality and cannot get that "one with the bed" feeling. When I have it I get the best rest of my life.

/shrug.
 
I buy bulk zinc, magnesium, b6, and melatonin

That would be the way to go. Some places (like f*ckn GNC) sell the stuff for $30+ a bottle with 100 or so caps in them.

Had some fantastic dreams when I tried this stuff, I would not want to wake so I can see how my dreams would end.

/V
 
I also tried adding 5htp/gaba but it gave me headaches and i was somewhat irritable the next morning so I stopped taking those.
 
I got a couple of bottles of zma, I'm gonna wait till the end of my anavar cycle to try it out tho. Does the zma actually help you fall asleep? Or are you getting that effect from the melatonin? I've taken melatonin before, it's some weird shit. Gives you the most fucked up dreams. I went way over the recommended dose with that stuff, and tried to stay awake, then I started seeing trails and felt kind of fucked up.
 
I got a couple of bottles of zma, I'm gonna wait till the end of my anavar cycle to try it out tho. Does the zma actually help you fall asleep? Or are you getting that effect from the melatonin? I've taken melatonin before, it's some weird shit. Gives you the most fucked up dreams. I went way over the recommended dose with that stuff, and tried to stay awake, then I started seeing trails and felt kind of fucked up.

More notes...


MELATONIN AND CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS
Melatonin is one of the main chemicals the body produces which is used in dream . It is produced by the Pineal gland. It is important not to have too much of this chemical as too much can lead to manic depression and too little can lead to withdrawal. So in some ways we suffer from withdrawal symptoms if we produce too much. So in this way levels of Melatonin are extremely important in helping us regulate our own bodies.

One feature to note is that the bodies production of Melatonin is quite strongly connected with the time of year. Melatonin is know as the vampire drug as it only comes out at nighttime. And during the winter months it can be overproduced and in the summer months it can be under produced.

The main function of Melatonin is to make us feel sleepy. So in winter our body is over producing because of the longer hours of nighttime. This leaves us in an almost drugged up state. That can leave us tired and withdrawn. In areas near the north and south Poles this can be an extreme problem and is linked with SAD (Seasonal Affected Disorder).

So during the winter are brains are switching off and we are really attempting to hibernate.

MELATONIN AND DREAMS
Melatonin then is also said to enhance the vividness of dream . So what can you do to enhance the bodies production of Melatonin?

Diet is an obvious start. Several foods are associated with Melatonin production. They include oats, rice, milk, seafoods, Soya, sweet corn, bananas, and tomatoes. Some people take Melatonin supplements but no studies have been done on the safety of this.

However Melatonin is quickly flushed out of the body within an hour of production so it is better to take the food last thing at night otherwise it will have no effect.

You can also enhance Melatonin levels with actions. As discussed earlier it is associated with the rhythms of the body. And meditation is said to enhance production along with Yoga. Dimmed lights can also encourage Melatonin. After all Melatonin only comes out at night after 9PM. It does not come out during the day at all. It is associated with daylight so a darkened room will enhance its production.

SERATONIN and HALLUCINATIONS
Melatonin is associated with the production of some of the strongest hallucinogens known to man. Seratonin is also made in the Pineal gland. Seratonin though has similarities with smoked drugs such as DMT. It is therefor associated with the hallucinogenic aspects of dreamming. It can produce extremely vivid dream . It can make you feel extreme levels of love and can enhance the sense that everything is connected. It can also enhance noises and colors.

Many people have associated seratonin - along with other drugs as of beneficial effect. A low seratonin metabolism is connected with depression, crime, drug abuse, reckless behavior and suicides.

Clearly the body cannot do without seratonin. It is essential. And low levels seem to be connected with bad and poor behavior. It leads to poor judgment. And it is clear the brain craves DMT and seratonin. It stimulates the mind. But perhaps over stimulation can lead to a different set of problems. High levels can be associated with schizophrenia, psychosis, mania, mood disorders, brain disease, autism , Alzheimers disease as well as blood disorders. So it is clear that too much can lead to people being more withdrawn.
 
interesting. I find melatonin very useful for putting me to sleep but the next morning I end up being groggy for 2-4 hours. So, its a no go (since I do most of my work in the morning).

I'll report back how I find the ZMA, I got it incredibly cheaply.
 
interesting. I find melatonin very useful for putting me to sleep but the next morning I end up being groggy for 2-4 hours. So, its a no go (since I do most of my work in the morning).

I'll report back how I find the ZMA, I got it incredibly cheaply.

Ditto on melatonin. Instead of supplementing I've been dimming the lights hours before bed, and its helped sleep much better without side effects.

I already take a chelated multimineral with 63% of both zinc and magnesium, plus a B- Vitamin with it...I also eat a lot of vegetable and almonds so I'm getting probably more then enough, but does anyone know a good reccomended level to shoot for? I don't fully trust DV reccomendations for low toxicity minerals.:\
 
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