This Dietary Supplement is Making its Rounds as a Sleep Aid. Here's How it Works - CNET

Sleep supplements are a viable solution to help promote better rest, but some prescribed sleep aids can cause drowsiness the morning after and people claim sleep supplements like melatonin make them groggy.

It only affects the early sleep stages, and leaves you feeling more awake in the morning as a result.

Here's what we know about GABA, tips on taking it and why it might be viable sleep aid to consider if you have trouble falling asleep. .

For more help getting quality rest, try these seven natural sleep aids for insomnia and how to create the perfect environment for sleep.

Taken alone or with other natural sleep aids, GABA supplements help address anxiety, stress and an overactive brain, three main offenders that make it difficult to fall asleep.

Low GABA levels have actually been linked to sleep deprivation, as one study found participants with insomnia had 30% lower levels of GABA in their systems.

Another small-scale study by Frontiers in Neuroscience involving middle-aged adults found that taking 300 mg of GABA before bed for at least a week can reduce sleep latency (the amount of time it takes to fall asleep). .

There's no solid research showing GABA helps sleep efficiency (quality of sleep and slow wave sleep), but the study's results showed it may promote sleepiness as it affects early sleep stages.

4. Use a sleep journal to document your sleep quality so you can identify patterns, possible side effects and the efficiency of GABA

According to the Sleep Foundation, there are no serious side effects when taking GABA in small doses from sleep or dietary supplements

High levels of GABA in the brain is linked to daytime drowsiness, and a small number of people report drowsiness after taking GABA.