Primeval Labs EAA Sleep Review
If you have a fitness goal, chances are there is a supplement on the market that is designed for your goal. Often, many of these products are supposedly designed to help multiple goals but frequently come up short in one or more of those categories. As of right now, we have yet to see the market create many products that help our sleep patterns AND help us recover.
Sure, protein powder before bed helps with our protein intake and mega-dosing melatonin can knock us out for the night and help us recover while were sleeping, but the market is scarce with something that can achieve both in one product. This was until we found a product by Primeval Labs that can take your recovery AND sleep to the next level. Enter EAA Sleep, the post workout/before bed recovery drink that is designed to help us recover from intense training sessions while also improving our sleep quality and sleep patterns!
This is the first product of its kind that we have had the opportunity to review and it just so happens to be the first Primeval Labs product we have been able to review. If you’re anything like us at Modern Athletic Health, chances are you have early mornings and long days that force you to partake in a caffeine fueled evening workout. While some enjoy these workouts, laying in bed for 3 hours waiting for the pre-workout to wear off generally effects our sleeping habits, which can directly impact our recovery and performance. As such, we were so stoked to try EAA Sleep to see how well it helped with recovery AND sleep. We know you’re interested so keep reading below to find out why you NEED to try Primeval Labs EAA Sleep.
Flavors and Mixability:
Being that this is our first Primeval Labs product to review, we had some pretty high expectations going into the product testing. Primeval Labs was nice enough to send us the Tropical Lemonade flavored EAA Sleep, and they do offer a Strawberry Mango flavor as well that many reviewers have fallen in love with! The directions say to mix one scoop in 12-14oz of water and consume 20-30 minutes before bed. Mixability for this product is outstanding, it doesn’t even require a shaker and mixes into a smooth solution with a few swirls of a spoon. There is no chalky taste or gritty remnants; no foam or bitter aftertaste, just a clean and smoothly mixed solution after a few swirls. This product mixed unbelievably well which, if you’ve tried other amino acid products, you know this doesn’t happen very often. Primeval Labs has the mixability aspect down to a T. As far as the flavor goes, Tropical Lemonade has a unique taste, much like a tropical punch. It is slightly sweet and a little sour, but the flavor is one of a kind and certainly delicious. If you enjoy hints of pineapple, orange, mango and other berries, you will absolutely LOVE this flavor. We sure did!
Ingredient Profile: We are going to break down the ingredient label by section, covering each group of ingredients separately rather than bore you with extraneous information about what each amino acid is helpful for. However, if you’re like us and like to learn about those ingredients yourself, head over to https://primevallabs.com/eaa-sleep/ and scroll through the product to see exactly what each amino acid in EAA sleep is helpful for!
Electrolytes- 108mg: EAA Sleep adds in bonus electrolytes as you can see at the top of the supplement label. 17mg of Magnesium, 39mg of Sodium, and 52mg of Potassium round out that section. While this may seem mundane in the grand scheme of things, most of us are deficient in electrolytes or have imbalances. These imbalances can throw off different functions within the body and are most notable for causing cramping. We have all been there at about 3am with an extreme calf or foot cramp that causes us to wake up and move around for 10 minutes until it settles down. The electrolyte blend is just the icing on the cake of this well formulated product.
Sleep Aids- 1302.5 mg:
GABA: Also known as gamma-aminobutyric acid, GABA is an important neurotransmitter in the body that is considered a “downer” for its relaxation effects. Its job is to provide sedative and relaxation effects to encourage sleep and relaxation of the body. While too much GABA can provide a negative side effect to some, individuals who may have trouble sleeping will benefit greatly from this ingredient. Many users of GABA report starting to feel relaxed and sleepy within 30 minutes of dosing which is why it is so important to dose close to bed. Studies have also suggested that GABA can potentially increase the secretion of growth hormone during sleep. While studies are still being conducted to verify the extent of the secretion, studies do show that consuming GABA post exercise before sleep can improve irGH/ifGH (a class of growth hormone) response and further improve resistance training-induced muscular adaptations.
L-Theanine: We’ve reviewed this ingredient so many times we shouldn’t have to explain this again, right? Well, just incase you missed the other reviews, L-theanine is known as the “chill” amino for its ability to enhance the feeling of relaxation without inducing drowsiness. This makes it a great synergist for caffeine to calm jitteriness, but in EAA Sleep, its beneficial to relax the body without making you feel groggy. One scoop of EAA Sleep gives you the clinically tested dose (200mg) of L-Theanine to make you feel relaxed before you fall asleep.
5-HTP: 5-Hydroxytryptophan or 5-HTP as we will call it, is the precursor to the neurotransmitter serotonin. Serotonin is the “feel good” hormone that is responsible for happiness and sense of well-being. When taken with an ingredient such as theanine, it can improve the sense of well-being and euphoria synonymously felt when stacking the two. Another cool benefit of 5-HTP is its ability to increase satiety when taken after a meal. This can prevent you from waking up with those night hungers that cause you to raid the fridge and destroy your diet!
Melatonin: Melatonin is a hormone that while it is secreted by the brain, can be supplemented with in small dosages that help to regulate sleep. Melatonin is non-habit forming and non-addictive. Small doses of melatonin may also provide neuroprotective properties in addition to causing a drowsy effect. It is worth noting that because of the drowsiness effect, taking melatonin at other times of the day besides your regular bed time is not recommended.
BCAA’s-5g: Although we know that BCAA’s aren’t the muscle builders that so many companies claim, when combined with EAA’s they do play an important role in recovery. Supplementing BCAA’s and EAA’s together help to improve recovery and stop the body from entering a catabolic state while sleeping. During sleep your body is working hard to repair the muscle you damaged during a workout and with no food or protein in your system over those 6-8 hours, your body would look elsewhere. This is why the inclusion of BCAA’s into EAA Sleep is so important- to ensure proper recovery without catabolism over night.
EAA’s- 825 mg: Last but not least, the ingredients that put the EAA in EAA Sleep! These bad boys are what will help you to build muscle and recover while sleeping. EAA’s in conjunction to BCAA’s will help you to maximize muscle repair and improve recovery overnight. A dosage of 825mg is a great amount to help start your recovery after your first sip.
Our Thoughts: We will start off by saying, for the sleep aspect alone, this stuff is worth its weight in gold. One scoop mixed in about 12 oz of water WILL get you sleepy fast. Rather than sip it, we slammed it down about 30 minutes before our normal bed time. Within 15 minutes, the sleep aid effects were already prominent. Drowsiness, a relaxed feeling, and reduced stress and anxiety were all very noticeable effects! As far as the recovery aspect, we did notice that when used over the course of a week straight, our level of soreness declined after strenuous workouts. Nothing out of the ordinary was done as far as recovery or nutrition so we feel that EAA Sleep played a bigger role in our recovery. We cannot emphasize enough however, how well this helped us to fall asleep. Even when used roughly 30 minutes post workout or about 2 hours after taking pre-workout, this stuff still got us into a relaxed state and ready for a great night’s sleep. Upon waking there was no grogginess or hangover that some people can experience with sleep aids. It is non-habit forming and will not leave you feeling dependent on it after you have used it a few times (although with how well it works you’ll never want to stop taking it)! This is easily one of the top two sleep products we have ever used and without a doubt the top sleep enhancing powder we have ever used.
Price Point: While you may think $39.99 is considered a little pricey for amino acids and some sleep enhancers, you cannot put a price on quality sleep. Not to mention you only need one scoop (or even a half to start) in order to reap all the benefits from EAA Sleep. Plus, it isn’t just aminos and sleep aids, it is a comprehensive recovery and sleep tool that will help multiple areas of your recovery from training. Of course, we have a discount code for you because really, when do we ever write a review and not have a sweet hook up for our readers?? Throw in the code MA30 at checkout on www.primevallabs.com and get 30% off your whole purchase.
So, what are you waiting for?! We probably say it a lot but EAA Sleep is certainly in a league of its own. Coupling BCAA’s, EAA’s, and a sleep aid, topped off with electrolytes to help muscular functioning is an absolute genius recovery tool. You work too hard IN the gym not to treat your body right AFTER the gym. If you bust your butt every day and just can’t seem to fall asleep at night, then you NEED EAA Sleep. We already have additional tubs on the way and are excited to try out the Strawberry Mango flavor as well! It’s time for you to take your recovery to the next level and get serious about those hard-earned gains with
