Cellucor P6 PM – Nighttime Sleep Supplement

Cellucor P6 PM combines the brand’s testosterone boosting line of products with a whole host of sleep aids to maximize recovery.

Last month, we went in depth on one of Cellucor’s many iterations of their popular anabolic agent and test booster, P6, when we showcased P6 Chrome. As we previewed in that same post, Cellucor had two other options in the works.

Details have emerged on the latest iteration — P6 PM — and we’ve got the full breakdown below.

The quick bullet points:

• The good news is that this has several ingredients that are covered in depth in our best sleep aid guide.

• The bad news is that there isn’t much of anything here to actually boost testosterone levels, except maybe the ZMA for those who are zinc-deficient.

As such, we consider this more of a great sleep aid, but aren’t going to put much credence into any “testosterone support” claims, depending on your diet. Because of that, we’ve put it into our Sleeping Pills category on PricePlow.

Before we get to the ingredients, take a second to check the best deal and sign up for alerts from PricePlow:

P6 PM Ingredients

Rest and recovery are two key ingredients every athlete and bodybuilder needs, but sadly doesn’t get enough. The body secretes its highest levels of anabolic hormones while we sleep^[1].

Testosterone is the body’s primary anabolic hormone essential for muscle-building, strength, and virility. Research has proven that the amount of sleep you get each night is directly correlated to the amount of testosterone you have in your body.^[2,3]

Lack of sleep directly affects your body’s production of testosterone as well as its ability to recover and get stronger. While most test boosters focus solely on performance, P6 PM shifts its focus from training to the oft-neglected recovery time during sleep.

P6 PM utilizes a proprietary blend of ingredients to help you relax and achieve a deeper, more productive night’s rest:

• P6 PM Blend (855mg)

  • Tribulus Terrestris

    

    P6 PM uses a combination of ingredients that’s heavy on proven sleep aids, but may be a little light on test boosters.

    P6 PM gets things rolling with an ingredient commonly seen in many testosterone boosters, Tribulus Terrestris, a.k.a. Devil’s Weed. This herb has long been used in Ayurvedic medicine for improving male virility and vitality.

    The key component to Trib’s effects lie in its saponins. While we don’t know what they’re extracting for, tribulus has been shown to increase male libido and performance^[4,5,6] even though it doesn’t do much for increasing testosterone levels.^[7,8,9]

    Not a good start to a “testosterone booster”

    Note that we normally consider it a red flag when we see a “testosterone booster” that has a proprietary blend that begins with tribulus terrestris. Not only do we know that this doesn’t boost test, but we now also don’t know what doses are to follow here.

    On the other hand, we know that ZMA and the other ingredients are great for sleep, so let’s keep going with that in mind:

  • Suntheanine

    Suntheanine is a patented, ultra-pure form of the amino acid, L-Theanine. So many times, guys have trouble falling asleep because they just can’t let go and relax after a stressful day at work.

    L-Theanine will help individuals relax and mellow out without feeling drowsy. ^[11,12] Additionally, it helps to reduce high blood pressure and anxiety,^[13] which also contributes to many individual’s inability to get a good night’s sleep.

    L-Theanine has also been shown to enhance alpha wave activity in the brain^[21], which will get into more a little further down.

  • Passion Flower Extract

    Passion Flower has traditionally been used throughout North and South America for treating a number of conditions including hysteria and insomnia. Research shows that it’s beneficial in reducing anxiety and stress.^[16] It’s thought to help improve these conditions by stimulating the production of GABA in the body.^[14,15]

  • GABA

    

    GABA counters glutamate, one of your “upper” neurotransmitters.

    GABA is the potent “downer” neurotransmitter in the brain that is involved in many sleep mechanisms including REM sleep, dreaming, and even waking up.^[17,18] Some pretty interesting research has shown that supplemental GABA increases alpha waves in the brain and decreases beta waves.^[19]

    Why is this good?

    Alpha waves are the “deep” relaxation waves in the brain, while beta waves are the “awake/conscious” waves. This has led to the conclusion that GABA is a great natural relaxant for men and best taken within one hour of bed.^[20]

  • Melatonin

    Any sleep formula worth its salt has to have melatonin in it. This is a natural hormone that helps regulate sleep and supplementation with it has actually been shown to improve the overall quality of your sleep.^[22,23,24]

    Doses used in the studies have ranged from 0.5mg to 10mg, all successful, with the best results being between 2-3mg.^[25,26] However, seeing as this is part of the prop blend in P6 PM, we’re not entirely sure how much is actually in here. It could be 1mg or 5mg or 20mg, we just have no clue.

• ZMA

  ZMA is a trademarked blends quite often seen as part of sleep and recovery formulas. It’s composed of Vitamin B6 (10.5mg), Magnesium Aspartate (450mg), and Zinc Methionine and Aspartate (30 mg).

  Vitamin B6 is one of the essential vitamins the body needs for proper energy metabolism and also improves your mood by increasing serotonin production.^[27] It may also lead to some incredibly vivid dreams that are often reported when taking ZMA. (Combine that with the libido boost from the tribulus and you might have some fun dreams, too!)

  Zinc is an essential mineral that can boost T-levels, if you’re deficient in it. Having a zinc deficiency means less active androgen receptors and lower production of testosterone overall.^[28,29] Bodybuilders and athletes are particularly susceptible to this due to the fact that zinc is lost through sweat.

  As far as Magnesium, we’ve explained in great detail about magnesium supplements and sleep aids, and why magnesium is vital for overall health We also cover which is the best form to buy based on your needs

  Read those posts for more information, but know that we’re big “M” fans and most, if not all, don’t get nearly enough in our diets.

Dosing

Many people put in the work in the weight room, but don’t do the “work” required to rest. P6 PM helps take care of the oft-neglected REST aspect to training.

Take one serving (4 capsules) daily, preferably on an empty stomach 30-60 minutes before bedtime. For best results, avoid taking with dairy or other calcium-containing foods or supplements.

Magnesium and calcium are both involved in bone formation and metabolism. These two minerals are absorbed by the same metabolic pathway in the body, and when taken together, their absorption is greatly impaired.^[30]

DO NOT EXCEED 4 CAPSULES PER DAY. USE ONLY AS DIRECTED

Takeaway

Most guys are willing to put the work in through diligent weight training and nutrition, but often slack on the third element in the trifecta of muscle-building, REST. Cellucor’s newest P6 incarnation helps you cover that all important base to make sure no gains are left behind.

P6 PM contains several proven ingredients to help you power down and shut off your ever busy brain at night. Give it a shot tonight and see if you not only sleep deeper and better, but also wake up in a better state of mind! Just don’t expect monstrous rises in testosterone levels.

The rest of the P6 Family:

There are now six versions of P6 out there on the market, but a few have been discontinued or are only at GNC. We break them down below:

• P6 Extreme (the former P6 Red)
• P6 (the new P6 Red, currently at GNC)
• P6 Black (labeled as P6 Extreme Black, adds a nootropic edge)
• P6 Chrome (the latest September 2015 version)
• P6 PM (you are here)
• P6 Xtreme (label looks like P6X, another new one coming soon)