Primeval Labs absolutely crushed the past year with a ton of well-dosed, effective supplements — headlined by their Ape Sh*t Untamed RTD, Ape Sh*t Cutz, and updated branding and logo. They’re re-energizing many of their popular supplements with new labels, and they look as good as they taste. This one is a great way to end your day and keep your muscles fed while you do it:
Need a better night’s sleep with less soreness? Primeval Labs EAA Sleep from has sleep aids and essential amino acids to sleep soundly and recover every night.
EAA Sleep Strikes Back: Recover and Reduce Soreness While you Rest
From the brand that made EAAs great again with EAA Max comes EAA Sleep, a sleep aid / essential amino acid supplement to help you get a better night’s rest while supporting the body’s natural rebuilding and recovery processes that occur throughout the night.
Inside, we have the same essential amino acid profile as EAA Max, but added sleep and relaxation boosters in the form of GABA, L-theanine, 5-HTP, and melatonin. And since we originally published this article, new research has been published showing the synergies between the ingredients!
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EAA Sleep Ingredients
Primeval Labs has included a quartet of effective relaxation/sleep aids to help you race off to dreamland and get a better night’s rest. As you probably figured out, there’s also a full complement of essential amino acids to support muscle and tissue repair while you get some much needed shut eye.
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Sleep Aid
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Gamma Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) – 1g
EAA Sleep contains the same amount of EAAs found in EAA Max along with a quartet of proven supplements to help you sleep peacefully each and every night.
Leading off the sleep aid complex of EAA Sleep is GABA, the primary “downer” neurotransmitter. GABA has been implicated in several sleep mechanisms including dreaming, REM sleep, and waking up.[1,2]
It’s important to note that supplemental GABA cannot cross the blood-brain barrier, yet it does enhance one’s sleep by increasing alpha waves and decreasing beta waves in the brain.[3] This is beneficial for sleep as alpha waves are the deep relaxation waves, whereas beta waves are the “awake” or “conscious” waves.
GABA serves as a natural relaxant, and its effects are felt typically within one hour of consuming it.[4] It also may provide a modicum of pain relief too.[5]
In addition, research has shown that it’s synergistic with L-theanine, the ingredient discussed next:
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L-Theanine (200mg)
L-Theanine is no stranger to relaxation/sleep aids. This amino acid present in tea leaves promotes a sense of calm and induces relaxation in individuals.[6,7] The dose here is strong enough to certainly chill you out and help you brush away the anxiety/stress that can tend to interfere with sleep. However, it alone does not generally sedate you to sleep. Thankfully, it has some help:
Synergy with GABA!
Since originally publishing this article, we’ve now seen research showing that GABA and l-theanine combined decreases sleep latency (the amount of time it takes to fall asleep) and improves non-REM sleep.[8] This combination was formulated into Primeval Labs EAA Sleep even before that study was published.
As we already noted in our updated EAA Max article, this isn’t the first — and certainly won’t be the last — time that Primeval Labs has been ahead of the curve.
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5-HTP (100mg)
5-HTP, short for 5-hydroxytryptophan, is a precursor to serotonin, the neurotransmitter most commonly associated with euphoria that is then the precursor to melatonin. It’s derived from the essential amino acid tryptophan (also included in EAA Sleep), and then converts to serotonin, on its way to melatonin.
The Tryptophan to 5-HTP to Serotonin conversion. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons
Despite this chain of reactions, 5-HTP is commonly used in sleep aids, and we consider the tryptophan + 5-HTP combination to be a kind of “time-released melatonin”.
Studies have commonly combined 5-HTP with GABA or valerian and found subjects experienced better sleep quality and a quicker time to fall asleep.[9] In addition, 5-HTP and GABA improved sleep quality and sleep quantity in caffeine-induced flies and mice,[10] showing promise for our caffeine-induced connoisseurs of Primeval Labs Ape Sh*t Untamed RTD! Finally, some interesting research shows that 5-HTP may reduce night terrors,[11] something quite interesting to note and worth researching for those who suffer from them.
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Melatonin (2.5mg)
Melatonin supplementation improves QOS (quality of sleep) and has a relatively high response rate, even at low doses.
No stranger to sleep formulas, we have a solid 2.5 milligram dose of melatonin — not too much, not too little!
Melatonin is a naturally-occurring hormone generated during various times of the day that helps to normalize sleep patterns. It’s been shown numerous times to help individuals fall asleep and improve sleep quality.[12-14]
The “trick” with melatonin is the dosing, more isn’t always better, as studies have shown supplemental melatonin can be successful from 0.5mg up to 10mg.[15,16] 2.5mg is right in the sweet spot for most people, and the best part of having a powdered sleep aid is that you can titrate it to your liking.
It goes without saying that practicing good sleep hygiene will help as well — too much blue light before bed (a la your cell phone or TV) will tell your brain not to produce its own melatonin, which will hamper sleep. Do yourself a favor and don’t fight this supplement!
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BCAAs 2:1:1 (5g)
For the amino acid portion of EAA Sleep, Primeval Labs leads it off with a stout 5g dose of 2:1:1 BCAAs, supplying your body with 2.5g of leucine, 1.25g of isoleucine, and 1.25g of valine.
Leucine is the primary catalyst that activates the mTOR pathway in the body,[17] keeping muscle growth and repair running while you get some much needed shut eye. Additionally, BCAA consumption enhances recovery and may prevent excessive muscle soreness.[18,19] This is exactly what athletes can use while they sleep.
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EAAs (820mg)
Primeval Labs was one of the first companies to make EAAs taste great with EAA Max, and now they’ve updated the labels for a bold new look
Primeval Labs has carried over the exact same essential amino acid profile covered in our EAA Max article, so pop on over there if you want the full rundown of what each individual amino acid does. For reference, here’s the list of each EAA amount should you be interested:
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L-Lysine HCl (300mg)
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L-Threonine (225mg)
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L-Phenylalanine (200mg)
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L-Tryptophan (50mg)
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L-Histidine (25mg)
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L-Methionine (20mg)
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As we mentioned up top, including all the EAAs provides the essential building blocks your body needs for muscle and tissue repair during the night, which is when the body does the vast majority of its recovery.
In addition, it’s worth noting once again that the combination of L-Tryptophan + 5-HTP makes for a type of “timed release melatonin”, as they’ll both help generate serotonin and then melatonin downstream. Adding GABA to this mix is the perfect way to bring yourself down after a powerful pre-workout fueled day!
Flavors Available
Most users seem to go for Strawberry Mango, but don’t sleep on Tropical Lemonade!
Primeval Labs is known for its uncanny ability to flavor EAAs and other ingredients that are often difficult to flavor. Since launching in late 2017, they’ve only gotten better — here’s the full list of flavors:
Takeaway: EAAs come to Sleep Aids
Sleep is one of the most underappreciated/underemphasized facets of health, cognitive function, and muscle growth. Far too often, it’s brushed aside as something only fitting for infants and elderly folks. Well, that’s just not the case. Everyone needs sleep, and if you’re struggling to get quality sleep each night, EAA Sleep can help!
But on top of that, it can do more, by giving your body one last blast of essential amino acids for repair and recovery before you’re done “eating” for the day.
Loving this new Primeval Labs logo!
In 2017, Primeval Labs brought EAAs into the fold in a big way, and it was only a matter of time before more sleep and recovery aids used it. They use more of a sleep “compound” route, using trusted and tested single-ingredient compounds (a la GABA, 5-HTP, and Melatonin), but not going with any herbs that are tough to get consistent.
So unless you like feeling miserable all the time, don’t brush off sleep anymore. With the mix of mood- and sleep-enhancers, Team Primeval‘s got you covered.
Primeval Labs EAA Sleep – Deals and Price Drop Alerts
Get Price Alerts
No spam, no scams.
Disclosure: PricePlow relies on pricing from stores with which we have a business relationship. We work hard to keep pricing current, but you may find a better offer.
Posts are sponsored in part by the retailers and/or brands listed on this page.
Note: This article was originally published on December 18, 2017 and updated October 27, 2021 with the new labels.
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