A solid chunk of the tired posts here seem to come from people sleeping their full 7 hours and still waking up unrefreshed. Which makes me wonder if the 7 hour target does more harm than good, or if the hours were never really the point. So honest question: how many of you hit 7 and still feel like the sleep didn't count?

From what I've seen the answers usually fall into two buckets. Either the sleep itself is the problem even when the clock says enough. Fragmented or shallow sleep, maybe mild apnea, that whole rabbit hole. Or the sleep is fine and something else is running you down, which is where supplements come in. Thyroid, vitamin D, ferritin, B12.

Ferritin is one I keep running into. There's an older trial that claims ferritin and fatigue are linked. Women with normal blood counts took iron or a placebo for a month. Only the group with ferritin at or below 50 actually felt better. Women only, self reported, modest effect, 2003. Take it with a grain of salt, but the trial stuck with me. Curious what else fits here that I'm not thinking about.

So for anyone who got to the bottom of their own tiredness, what was it? A sleep study, a lab value your doctor didn't care about, a supplement that actually did something? And does anyone genuinely wake up rested on 7 hours, or is that number just what we all repeat?

Ref: PMID 12763985

So this is kinda random but I was driving a group of older people recently and they were REALLY interested in saffron.

like way more than I expected lol.

they kept asking about good saffron, where it comes from, how to know if its real etc.

And honestly at the time I was thinking... its saffron??

I knew its EXPENSIVE YES EXPENSIVE and people use it for cooking/tea, but thats pretty much it. I never really understood why some people are obsessed with it.

So later I started searching around and found that "Holy Sh\t Saffron Actually Works*" post on this sub.

The OP was dealing with OCD + anxiety/depression and was already doing ERP therapy. They said after adding saffron they started noticing small changes after a few days, then after some weeks they felt more like their old self again. They also kept saying ERP was a HUGE part of it, which I think is important.

Then I went into the comments and... yeah this got more interesting.

Some people were saying saffron helped them feel calmer, more emotionally stable, sleep better, better mood etc.

One person said they take a pinch in hot water and feel more stable.

Another said 30mg/day made a pretty noticeable difference after about a week.

But then other people were basically like "nah, did nothing for me" lol

And there was a pretty good argument in the comments about the studies too.

Some people were saying saffron has a lot of research behind it, but another commenter pointed out that many of the really impressive studies were done in Iran, and studies outside Iran sometimes found MUCH smaller effects.

Which made me realize the whole "saffron works as well as antidepressants" thing is probably a lot more complicated than TikTok/reddit makes it sound.

Also one thing I didnt notice at first: the supplement the OP was using wasn't ONLY saffron. It had probiotic strains too, so technically you cant say 100% the saffron caused everything.

And the experiences are definitely not all positive.

Some people said it made them tired.

Some said too stimulated / hyper :)

A few mentioned irritability.

There was even a commenter who had a pretty bad reaction while taking saffron together with other supplements, so stacking random things together probably isn't something to play with.

Anyway... I went from thinking saffron is basically just some ridiculously expensive red threads people put in rice :) to finding out theres actually a whole rabbit hole around it.

From what I understand SO FAR, the most interesting areas seem to be:

mood / low mood

anxiety or feeling calmer

sleep

maybe focus / emotional stability for some people

BUT obviously people react completely differently.

I havent taken saffron supplements myself btw, I'm just reading about it now.

Anyone here been taking saffron for like 3-6 months or longer??

Im more curious about LONG TERM experiences because most posts I keep finding are people saying "day 5 this is amazing" lol

Also curious if you use actual saffron threads or an extract.

Most people who take creatine are already mixing it into something. A lot of people who use electrolytes are also using them for workouts, long days, recovery, or just to feel better by the afternoon. So it makes sense to have both in one stick pack, like to see electrolytes with a full 5g creatine dose, low sugar and a taste that works for daily use. Hydration and creatine are both part of the same routine for a lot of people, combining them feels like a simple upgrade to me but I would still love any opinion

I’ve been using ashwaganda for around a 6-8 months and I feel like it’s life changing. I have a job that’s stressful and part of it is interacting with other people. I sometimes feel spaced out, detached, my ears sometimes ring, I constantly sweat even when it’s cold and I feel like I’m going to have a panic attack etc. after using ashwaganda I feel like the symptoms have become milder, though not disappeared.

Have any of you with similar issue that have used ashwaganda tried something better than ashwaganda? If so, what?

been reading about body odor​ for like 2 weeks. deodorant swaps, new detergent, even cut dairy which did nothing except make me miss cheese

then sodium copper chlorophyllin started showing up in half the threads. people call it internal deodorant like thats normal. figured it was green juice nonsense until the same ingredient showed up on actual supplement labels next to fiber

ran a bottle about 3 weeks. tongue goes a little green if you open a capsule wrong which is a choice. week 1 nothing. around week 2 the afternoon gym bag situation got less aggressive, only reason i didnt quit

still not sure if it was the chlorophyllin or just more water because the capsules made me paranoid. anyone actually run this long enough to separate real from placebo​

So I took 1200 mg NAC 12pm yesterday and 300 mg synapsa bacopa nootropics depot the day before that. And fish oil both days. Anyway I can tell you friends I’ve never done cocaine but I’d imagine this is close because I AM AWAKE. Last night I nodded off for a few and jerked awake a few times. And after that I was up all night. Maybe 2 hours I was in some in between sleep but awake still state. Had some weird trapped gas and I been horny as hell sorry tmi but I could tear the wife up. The thing is I would expect to be tired rn and I’m not. I’ve tried melatonin but anyway getting worried something has went horribly wrong cause I could sleep perfect before. Any experience with this or help? Thinking to try Benadryl

I mean if it doesn’t have any benefits for me it won’t cause any harm right or side affects ? I’ve tried it maybe five times and honestly haven’t noticed anything but I’m worried that it might cause palpitations or something

Hey guys im totally new to supplements and i also dont have the time to get into it.
But i recently became vegan and what to try supplements because i cant put much into cooking right now.
It doesnt have to be perfect, it just needs to not harm me and help a little.
Im just starting and i feel great so supplements should only inprove it a bit and not… Heal me from any thing😂
Would be great if i could just take a pill or two each day and be done with it
(again, i know a healthy lifestyle contains more, but i already do what i can right now. And taking supplements would be a step in the right direction)

Ah the supplement should be vegan please

Thank you:)

Edit: Would be great to have specific recommendations fpr products:) Because it seems like you can do a lot wrong there.

Ill link what i currently would like to buy, but thad not a mix. Maybe someone can look over it and tell me if that makes sense:)

once a week:
https://amzn.eu/d/03LNKZ4Q

every day:
https://amzn.eu/d/06x0PGYb

https://amzn.eu/d/06yyFg7V

Thinking of adding magnesium to my stack and my friend recommended this to me. It looks good but I’m just a little worried about the dosage and having 3 types all in one.

I’ve experimented with both Tongkat Ali and boron mainly for energy, mood, libido, and a possible testosterone boost, and I’ve noticed a really similar pattern with both.

Tongkat Ali:
For the first week or two, I notice some pretty obvious positives:

• Better mood
• Higher libido
• More confidence
• Better erections

But after about 1-2 weeks, it flips. I start feeling constantly tired and fatigued, to the point where I just feel like shit overall.

Once I stop taking it, I gradually go back to normal.

Boron:
I tried 3 mg boron+riboflavin 25mg. Felt improvements basically from day one, but after around 5 days I started getting the same problem: fatigue, tiredness, and all that kind of things.

So both seem to give me an initial boost followed by a crash/fatigue after several days or weeks.

Has anyone experienced something similar with either Tongkat Ali or boron?

Curious if anyone figured out what was causing the delayed fatigue whether this is hormone changes, sleep, cortisol, estrogen, mineral balance, or something else and whether bloodwork showed anything useful.

I’m not a beginner gym goer but I’ve never taken preworkout nor am I a regular coffee drinker. Recently tried drinking an iced americano before a sesh and it felt so good but i could NOT handle that shit, literally got me breathing heavily in the corner of the gym by the third day.

Are there any pre workouts or any caffeine product that are designed to just give a mild caffeine kick? Based on my search the coffee i get is estimated like ~150mg so I’m assuming something around 100mg could be good for me long term? All the pre workouts i see look like they’re equivalent to a line if i take it

The only way to find out is to quit it for a while and see if my sleep improves, but holy shit the lack of sleep is killing me! I have maybe 2 okay days where I feel like I have a moderate amount of energy, and I've tried looking at all possibilities, and creatine is the only thing left. I struggle to fall asleep sometimes and I wake up every single night and it takes at least an hour or two to fall asleep again. No apnea recorded, no supplements have helped, the list goes on..

Hey all, thinking of taking this to simplify my sleep stack. My question is if possible for one capsule to have 175mg of magnesium in it? Everything I’ve researched seems to point to 120mg to be the max per capsule. This company is pretty highly rated on suppco. Link below.

https://a.co/d/02lwNevB

I’ve noticed the underside of their caps - where that piece of cardstock/cardboard is - are always kind of filthy looking.

I don’t know what it’s made of or why that would be. Anyone else notice this?

Hi everyone just wondering what brands make good magnesium glycinate that’s 3rd party tested and is a top quality product? Don’t mind the price, Thank you 🙏

those organ ads had me cornered for weeks and i finally caved around january. first bottle sat on my counter 4 days because the capsules smell like a pet store aisle if you crack the lid wrong

almost bailed after week 1 just from the smell. week 4 the 2pm crash got less brutal which is the only reason i reordered primal queen instead of eating the rest and calling it a sunk cost. still open it under the sink like a weirdo

packaging showed up crushed both times, tape everywhere. multis never did anything so this felt different but im not doing a victory lap

anyone else push past the first weird weeks or did you quit. also curious if the smell ever stops​

I'm curious as to know what the long-term health effects are of consuming two full scoops of mass gainer every 5 days of the week. As an ectomorphic 2nd year university student trying to bulk on a limited budget/time, a mass gainer has been the most convenient supplement for my gains, but I'm a little worried if I'm putting myself at risk of developing high cholesterol, diabetes, etc as I have been consuming it consistently for the past 3 years.

Used AI for the call outs so its visually appealing, at night i only take 360-480mg magnesium glycinate before bed.

I have pretty bad brain fog of that type and would like to hear people's experiences to have an idea where to start.

Currently typing this at 4am
I want to start this by saying that its not just magnesium supplements, but magnesium overall.

Magnesium has been causing me reverse symptoms, at the first week i was supplementing, i felt the benefits, but as i kept going, it started getting worse and worse.
I stopped supplementing and the symptoms went away, and then i thought that maybe the glycine was the problem, so that day i bought magnesium rich water, and holy shit did the symptoms return again.

The symptoms are:
Insomnia/ waking up midnight
Heart palpitations that get worse after magnesium
Muscle twitching
Depression/Anhedonia/Irritability
Frequent clear urination
Increased thirst
Loss of appetite
Anxiety
Feeling hot/cold

It’s like my body wants to get rid of something by making me pee frequently and with the thirst.
At first I was supplementing it due to a deficiency, now It just causes me reverse symptoms, any advice?

What i think it is:
Electrolyte imbalance (potassium, calcium)
B1 Insufficiency

ANY advice I would be very grateful 🙏

so i have ibs-d. i need to bulk things up and make things firmer.

i've tried so many supplements and digestive aids and diets and fodmaps and etc.

seems like the best reaction i've had to food is from homemade seitan fried chicken using Bob's Red Mill Egg Replacer as part of the frying wet batter.

the egg replacer is basically mostly psyllium husk. so i went out and bought the powder, mixed it with water, and drank it. a tablespoon or two a day for awhile. didn't give me the same reaction as the vegan chicken. made me go more often actually.

so i'm trying to figure out the difference. i'm guessing maybe it has something to do with letting it sit in the wet mix for awhile before i put everything together and make the food? do i need to mix the powder with a glass of water and let it sit for like 5mins before i drink it? or is the difference something about being cooked?

So I recently bought from the Nutricost two supplements called Alpha GPC along with a supplement called NALT powder.

They're supposed to be a replacement to caffeine that I take after my initial caffeine dosage goes down. I'm very strict with no more than 200 milligrams of caffeine a day.

Has anybody tried premier research labs? Any thoughts??