“Hearst Magazines and AOL may earn commission or revenue on some items through these links.”
TROUBLE SLEEPING? YEAH,join the rest of us. Science has long known the energy-stoking, productivity-powering, total-body-restorative power of sleep. But how the heck are you supposed to actually get enough? Some people believe the answer resides in peptides
Peptides are short strands of amino acids that help cells communicate with each other. There are over a million natural peptides, but the ones we’re talking about are the synthetic versions people are using to build muscle, lose weight, and even think better. Even neuroscientist and health influencer Andrew Huberman dabbled in the peptide space with a 4- to 6-month self-experiment with pinealon—a peptide that allegedly helps you sleep better—and glycine. His results showed his REM sleep time doubled. For a refresher, REM sleep is found in the later stages of sleep and is involved in processing memories and overall brain development.
“Goodness gracious…never before have I found something that can improve the amount of rapid eye movement sleep that I get,” said Huberman in the episode. “From an hour to two hours or from an hour and thirty to nearly three hours.”
In today’s day and age, it’s hard to get good-quality rest. About 37 percent of guys are not getting enough sleep every night. So if you’re tired of tossing and turning in the night or simply want to optimize your sleep health, you may consider pinealon. Before you do, read this first
A PINECONE-SHAPED AREA sits in the middle of the brain called the pineal gland. The job of this tiny gland is to produce and release the sleep hormone melatonin. Pinealon, also known as the EDR peptide, allegedly works by changing up the gene expression of pineal gland cells to secrete more melatonin and better stabilize the circadian rhythm
Now despite Huberman’s impressive sleep stats, there’s really not a lot of research on pinealon and better sleep. The most well-cited example is a 2012 study on old rats that found a pinealon injection could increase the length of sleep
Beyond sleep, a large chunk of pinealon research is focused on the peptide’s potential to increase cognition. That’s because the peptide comes from a polypeptide complex called Cortexin, which is used as a neuroprotective drug in Russia
One Russian study gave pinealon injections to two monkeys for 10 days. Their cognitive abilities were tested in a visual stimuli test given before and after injections. The researchers found improvements in learning time, selective attention, and motor reactions, which they attributed to “an increase in the level of energy supply to muscle tissue.” A separate study in young and old rats found that those given pinealon had greater learning potential than those given Cortexin.
There have been two small clinical trials of pinealon in people with some type of traumatic brain injury. Both showed improved memory after a pinealon injection. One trial in particular measured a 59.4 percent improvement in working memory
A number of studies have also explored pinealon’s potential in helping with longevity. Some studies have pointed to increased antioxidant activity and preserving telomere length (the end caps on DNA that protect it against damage) by increasing the gene expression for a hormone called irisin
In recent years, Alzheimer’s researchers have pointed to pinealon as a potential treatment against age-related cognitive decline. In cell and animal studies, the peptide has shown evidence of binding to certain protein receptors that are involved in the development of amyloid beta plaques—a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease. Another explanation is that the peptide could help with restoring dendritic spines. These are thin, stubby, or mushroom-shaped protrusions on the surface of neurons that help in learning and memory formation by increasing the number of possible connections between brain cells. To date, there are no human clinical trials showing pinealon helps to treat or prevent Alzheimer’s.
PINEALON HAS SOME promise, but the most glaring issue is that no one really knows if it’s safe. There is currently no available research looking at the safety of a pinealon injection. Most likely, any safety data related to pinealon is based on Cortexin or anecdotal experiences. Regarding the former, one small human trialon cortexin found no adverse events and no one in the study discontinued the drug. However, further analysis of the trial warned of a high risk of attrition bias from missing data in groups.
All in all, while you may hear of people like Huberman with a positive experience using pinealon, there’s no way to know if you’ll have the same outcome
You Might Also Like
