Dear Friends,
For a long time, sleep supplements were built around one main idea: Make people sleepy. If that happened, the product was considered a success.
But sleep science has evolved, and sleep quality is as important as the quantity of hours we sleep.
And today, we understand that poor sleep is often not just a bedtime problem. It’s a brain overstimulation problem. It’s a stress and cortisol problem. And it’s often a circadian rhythm problem too.
What’s more, the factor that most contributes to subpar sleep tonight may be different from tomorrow night. It’s not always the same.
That’s why a lot of old-school sleep supplements fall short — especially in the modern world. Because even if they make you drowsy, they may not support the body’s actual sleep biology in a way that leads to deeper, more restorative sleep and a better next day.
The good news is I think the sleep category is changing in a very important way.
The goal is no longer just to help you fall asleep faster. The goal is to help you sleep better consistently.
That means better sleep quality. More restorative sleep. Fewer disruptions. And waking up feeling more refreshed and clear-headed.
This new approach is needed because modern life works against sleep in several ways.
3 Lifestyle Challenges That Work Against Sleep
The first is overstimulation of the brain.
We spend our days surrounded by constant stimulation — screens, notifications, work demands, information overload, bright light exposure, and not much real downshifting.
So by the time bedtime arrives, the brain may still be too activated to settle naturally.
Second, there’s stress. And this is where the story gets really important.
Sleep and stress are tightly interconnected. Stress disrupts sleep, and poor sleep makes it harder for the body to respond to stress the next day.
If cortisol isn’t in a healthy range — especially in the evening — it can interfere with restorative sleep, even if you don’t have trouble falling asleep initially.
And third, there’s circadian rhythm disruption. Artificial light exposure, travel schedules, irregular routines, staying up too late, and inconsistent bedtimes can all interfere with the body’s internal clock.
So the issue is no longer just, “Why can’t I fall asleep?” The better question is:
“What is preventing my body from moving naturally into healthy, restorative sleep?”
And that’s where sleep science has changed. We now understand that sleep is the result of multiple systems working together. It’s not just one switch.
It involves the nervous system, stress hormones, circadian timing, neurotransmitters, and sleep architecture — meaning not just how long you sleep, but how well you sleep.
That’s why I believe better sleep support today should do more than just make you sleepy. It should help support the body’s underlying sleep biology.
Sleep Support Should Target These Areas
In my view, there are three big things that your sleep support product should do.
First, it should help the brain unwind naturally. Second, it should help support a healthy stress response and encourage more restorative sleep.
And third, it should help support the body’s own circadian rhythm and evening melatonin biology.
Let’s go through those one at a time.
The first need is helping the brain relax naturally. A lot of people don’t need to be forced to sleep. They need help letting go of the day. That’s where L-theanine can be so helpful.
L-theanine is an amino acid found in green tea, and it’s known for promoting relaxation without acting like a sedative.
It works in part by supporting calming neurotransmitter activity, including GABA, and promoting more relaxed alpha brain wave activity.
That matters because if your brain is overstimulated, you may not feel ready for sleep even when you’re tired.
So rather than trying to “knock you out,” L-theanine helps support the brain’s transition into a calmer state.
That’s a much more natural place to start.
Now, the second piece is the one I think is the most powerful part of the story. And that’s stress support.
Because there’s a good chance your sleep is being affected by stress biology whether you realize it or not.
You may fall asleep fine, but still not get the kind of restorative sleep that leaves you refreshed in the morning.
That’s where Shoden ashwagandha becomes especially interesting.
Round The Clock Support
Shoden is the form of ashwagandha we use in TrueZs, and I think it’s one of the strongest parts of the formula because it supports something many sleep products ignore: the body’s stress response.
Even better, unlike many other ashwagandha ingredients, the key compounds in Shoden can stay in your bloodstream for nearly 24 hours, essentially offering round the clock support with one daily dose.
This matters because cortisol is supposed to rise in the morning to help you wake up and be alert. Then it should gradually come down so that by evening, your body is better positioned to rest and recover.
But when stress disrupts the normal cortisol rhythm, especially into the evening, sleep quality can suffer.
And not just your ability to fall asleep — your actual restorative sleep. That’s the key.
A placebo-controlled study found that 120 mg of Shoden taken daily for six weeks helped improve total sleep time, promote sleep efficiency, and increase deeper, restorative sleep by 42% on average.
That’s a very meaningful result, because deeper restorative sleep is where people often start to notice the real payoff: waking up more refreshed, in a better mood, and more ready for the day.
To me, this is where newer sleep science really separates itself from the old “sleepy now” model.
Support Natural Melatonin Production
The third piece is circadian rhythm support. Your body has an internal clock that helps regulate when you should feel alert and when you should begin winding down.
As the sun sets and day turns to night, the body senses it’s time to prepare for sleep.
But modern life disrupts that too. Artificial light at night, irregular bedtimes, late-night screen use, travel, and inconsistent routines can all throw off that signaling.
So instead of supporting the body’s own transition into sleep mode, a lot of people try to override the system. Taking synthetic melatonin supplements is an example of this.
We believe a more practical approach is to help support the body’s own natural evening sleep signals.
That’s where the Affron brand of saffron extract comes in.
Rather than simply forcing drowsiness, Affron helps support the enzymes involved in the pathway that converts tryptophan into melatonin, helping support the body’s own evening melatonin production.
That’s a very different idea from just taking synthetic melatonin and hoping for the best.
Research found that 14 mg of Affron taken daily for four weeks supported healthy evening melatonin levels, improved sleep quality, and helped users feel more alert and energized upon awakening.
That matters because better sleep should not leave you feeling foggy the next morning. It should do the opposite.
So when you step back, the better model for sleep support today looks like this:
Help the brain unwind. Help support the body’s stress response. Help the body’s internal clock transition naturally into sleep mode. That is a much better model than simply trying to make yourself sleepy.
And I think that is where the category is headed — away from simple sedation attempts and toward more comprehensive sleep-cycle support.
Better Nights Can Lead to Better Days
When sleep quality improves, people often notice benefits that go far beyond bedtime: a better mood, better mental clarity, better focus, better cognitive performance, and often a better response to stress the next day.
That doesn’t mean sleep supplements solve everything. But it does mean that sleep support has to be smarter than it used to be.
And that’s exactly how we think about TrueZs.
TrueZs was built around this newer understanding of sleep. It’s not just a product to make you drowsy.
That’s why it includes: Suntheanine L-theanine to help the brain relax naturally, Shoden ashwagandha to help support the body’s stress response and encourage more restorative sleep and Affron saffron extract to help support your body’s natural evening melatonin biology and circadian rhythm.
We think this is a much more complete approach.
Now, everyone’s experience is a little different, but here’s what you can expect when you start TrueZs:
- In the first, 1 to 2 weeks, you should find it easier to fall asleep once in bed.
- After 3 to 4 weeks, you may notice your sleep time increases and you’re spending more time in the deeper sleep cycle. A sleep tracker can help measure this, whether that’s a watch or a smart ring.
- After 5 to 6 weeks, the increase in restorative sleep typically takes hold, and you should wake-up feeling more refreshed, in a better mood and more ready to take on the day.
So to summarize, the main point today is this: old-school sleep supplements treated sleep like a simple bedtime problem.
But in the modern world, poor sleep is often driven by overstimulation, stress, and circadian disruption.
Sleep science has evolved, and sleep support should do more than make you sleepy. It should help your body unwind naturally, move into deeper restorative sleep, and help you wake up refreshed. That is the real goal.
Yours for Good Health,
Carl Pradelli
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