Podcast protocol, checked · Sleep stack

The Huberman sleep stack, reviewed

Dr. Andrew Huberman’s sleep toolkit is the most copied supplement routine online. We graded each piece against the published human trials so you know which parts carry the weight and which are optional.

By CalcMyPeptide editorial team · Medical review pending · Last reviewed · Prices checked Oct 7, 2026

Quick answer

  • The behaviors do most of the work: light, wake time, caffeine cutoff, dark and cool room.
  • Best-supported supplement: magnesium (bisglycinate has the best sleep trial; threonate has a smaller one). Evidence grade B.
  • L-theanine: B. A 2025 meta-analysis found modest benefits on self-rated sleep.
  • Glycine: C (small trials). Apigenin: D (no human trial of apigenin itself for sleep). GABA: left out; oral GABA’s sleep data are weak.

Where the stack comes from

In his “Toolkit for Sleep” newsletter, Huberman lists the behaviors first: morning and late-afternoon sunlight, a fixed wake time, no caffeine 8–10 hours before bed, dim lights at night, a cool room, short naps, and NSDR or yoga nidra if you wake at night. Only then does he say you “might consider” supplements 30–60 minutes before bed: 145 mg magnesium threonate or 200 mg magnesium bisglycinate, 50 mg apigenin and 100–400 mg theanine, plus 2 g glycine and 100 mg GABA on 3–4 nights a week.

He also says to start with one supplement, or none, and add one at a time. That is the part most copies leave out. He states that he uses Momentous supplements, a company he partners with; we checked the evidence independently.

Each piece, graded

  • Magnesium threonate 145 mg or bisglycinate 200 mg (elemental): randomized trials for both; bisglycinate is cheaper and has the larger trial. Grade B.
  • L-theanine 100–400 mg: a meta-analysis of randomized trials found small improvements in self-rated sleep. Grade B.
  • Glycine 2 g (trials used 3 g): small Japanese trials found less next-day fatigue after short nights. Grade C.
  • Apigenin 50 mg: no randomized trial of apigenin alone for sleep; one pilot of a chamomile extract was mostly negative. Grade D.
  • GABA 100 mg: oral GABA crosses into the brain poorly; trial results are small and inconsistent. We left it out.

How to try it without wasting money

  1. Two weeks of behaviors only. Morning light, fixed wake time, caffeine cutoff, cool dark room. Log your sleep (a wearable or a simple diary).
  2. Add magnesium. Bisglycinate 200 mg if cost matters; threonate 145 mg if you also care about focus. Two weeks.
  3. Add theanine if your mind races. Start at 100–200 mg. Stop if you get intense dreams or night terrors.
  4. Optional: glycine, then apigenin. Glycine 2–3 g at bedtime a few nights a week. Apigenin last, and only if the rest has not done enough.
  5. Review at 6 weeks. Keep what moved your log. Most people end up with one or two pieces, not five.

The Huberman stack, evidence-ordered

Same ingredients and doses as the toolkit, ordered by strength of evidence. Pick one magnesium, not both.

Stack at a glance. Evidence grade: A strong · B moderate · C limited · D preliminary.
IngredientDoseWhenEvidence
Magnesium L-threonate (Magtein)2 g magnesium L-threonate (~145 mg elemental magnesium)30–60 minutes before bed (or split morning/evening)B · moderate
Magnesium bisglycinate (glycinate)200–400 mg elemental magnesium30–60 minutes before bedB · moderate
L-theanine100–400 mg (start at 200 mg)With the magnesium, 30–60 minutes before bedB · moderate
Glycineoptional2 g (Huberman), up to 3 g (trials)At bedtime, 3–4 nights a week in the Huberman versionC · limited
Apigeninoptional50 mg30–60 minutes before bedD · preliminary
  1. 01

    Magnesium L-threonate (Magtein)

    Evidence B · moderate

    2 g magnesium L-threonate (~145 mg elemental magnesium), 30–60 minutes before bed (or split morning/evening). The “brain magnesium”. Pick it when daytime focus and next-day sharpness matter as much as sleep; it costs about three times more than glycinate.

    What the research shows: In a 21-day randomized trial of 80 adults aged 35–55 with self-reported sleep problems, 1 g/day of magnesium L-threonate improved Oura-measured deep and REM sleep scores and morning energy versus placebo. Two other randomized trials of Magtein-based products reported cognitive-test improvements in adults. Promising, but all small and short. (PMID 39252819, PMID 26519439, PMID 36558392)

    • Counts toward the 350 mg/day upper limit for supplemental magnesium; do not stack a full dose of threonate and glycinate without a clinician.
    • Kidney disease: ask first.
    • Some people get loose stools or vivid dreams; drop to 2 capsules.

    What to look for on the label

    Magnesium L-threonate sold as Magtein (the form used in the trials), about 2 g of the compound = ~145 mg elemental magnesium per day.

    We only name brands we have vetted and work with; a specific pick will appear here once one is approved.

  2. 02

    Magnesium bisglycinate (glycinate)

    Evidence B · moderate

    200–400 mg elemental magnesium, 30–60 minutes before bed. Supports a calm nervous system and muscle relaxation at night. The foundation: cheap, well studied, gentle on the gut in this form.

    What the research shows: A 2025 randomized trial in 155 adults reporting poor sleep found 250 mg/day of elemental magnesium as bisglycinate lowered insomnia-severity scores a little more than placebo at 4 weeks (−3.9 vs −2.3 points). Older trials in older adults point the same way; effects are modest and largest in people who run low. (PMID 40918053, PMID 33865376, PMID 23853635)

    • Stay at or under 350 mg/day of supplemental magnesium unless a clinician says otherwise (the US upper limit for supplements); food magnesium does not count toward it.
    • Kidney disease: ask first. Magnesium can build up when kidneys clear it poorly.
    • Separate from levothyroxine, tetracycline/quinolone antibiotics and bisphosphonates by at least 2–4 hours.

    What to look for on the label

    Magnesium bisglycinate or glycinate, labelled in mg of elemental magnesium (not compound weight); third-party tested (NSF or USP).

    We only name brands we have vetted and work with; a specific pick will appear here once one is approved.

  3. 03

    L-theanine

    Evidence B · moderate

    100–400 mg (start at 200 mg), with the magnesium, 30–60 minutes before bed. Supports a quieter mind at bedtime without sedation. Useful when the problem is racing thoughts rather than heat.

    What the research shows: A 2025 meta-analysis of randomized trials found L-theanine modestly improved self-rated sleep outcomes. Doses in the trials were mostly 200–400 mg. (PMID 40056718, PMID 31623400)

    • Generally well tolerated. It can add to the effect of blood-pressure medicines and sedatives; check if you take them.
    • Huberman’s own caution: skip theanine if you get overly intense dreams, sleepwalk or have night terrors.

    What to look for on the label

    L-theanine (Suntheanine or plain L-theanine), 100–200 mg per capsule.

    We only name brands we have vetted and work with; a specific pick will appear here once one is approved.

  4. 04

    Glycine

    OptionalEvidence C · limited

    2 g (Huberman), up to 3 g (trials), at bedtime, 3–4 nights a week in the Huberman version. Supports the evening drop in core body temperature that comes before deep sleep, and next-day alertness after short nights.

    What the research shows: Small Japanese trials used 3 g before bed: after three nights of restricted sleep, glycine reduced next-day fatigue and improved a vigilance test. Animal work points to a core-temperature mechanism. Promising, but the human trials are small. (PMID 22529837, PMID 25533534)

    • Well tolerated at 3 g. People taking clozapine should not add glycine without their prescriber.

    What to look for on the label

    Glycine powder or capsules (pure amino acid). Powder is cheaper for a 3 g dose; it tastes slightly sweet.

    We only name brands we have vetted and work with; a specific pick will appear here once one is approved.

  5. 05

    Apigenin

    OptionalEvidence D · preliminary

    50 mg, 30–60 minutes before bed. A chamomile flavonoid popularised by the Huberman protocol for winding down. The weakest-evidence piece of the stack.

    What the research shows: There is no published randomized trial of isolated apigenin for sleep in people. The closest is a 28-day pilot of a standardized chamomile extract (which contains apigenin) in 34 adults with chronic insomnia: it did not significantly improve total sleep time or sleep efficiency, with small, non-significant gains in daytime function. Most of the rationale comes from animal and receptor studies. (PMID 21939549)

    • Can add to the effect of sedatives and alcohol.
    • Not enough safety data for pregnancy or breastfeeding; skip it then.
    • Ragweed or chamomile allergy: avoid chamomile-derived products.

    What to look for on the label

    Apigenin (often chamomile-derived), 50 mg per serving.

    We only name brands we have vetted and work with; a specific pick will appear here once one is approved.

What we left out, and why

GABA 100 mg

Oral GABA has weak, inconsistent sleep data and probably reaches the brain poorly. Low risk, low value.

Melatonin

Huberman does not recommend nightly melatonin, and we agree: it is a timing signal for jet lag and shift work, not a nightly sleep aid.

Taking everything at once

You will not know what helped, and you may stack magnesium above 350 mg/day. Add one piece at a time.

Safety and interactions

  • Not medical advice. Check with a pharmacist if you take sedatives, blood-pressure medicines or antidepressants.
  • Pick one magnesium; keep supplemental magnesium at or under 350 mg/day. Kidney disease: ask first.
  • Pregnancy or breastfeeding: skip apigenin and ask before the rest.
  • Supplements are not evaluated by the FDA to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.

FAQ

What is in the Huberman sleep stack?

Taken 30–60 minutes before bed: 145 mg magnesium threonate or 200 mg magnesium bisglycinate, 50 mg apigenin and 100–400 mg L-theanine, with 2 g glycine and 100 mg GABA on 3–4 nights a week, according to his Toolkit for Sleep newsletter.

Does the Huberman sleep cocktail work?

The combination has never been tested as a whole. Magnesium and L-theanine have randomized-trial support for modest improvements; glycine has small trials; apigenin and oral GABA have little human evidence for sleep.

Magnesium threonate or glycinate for the Huberman stack?

Either. Bisglycinate is cheaper and has the larger sleep trial; threonate (Magtein) has a smaller sleep trial plus cognitive data and costs about three times more. Do not take full doses of both.

What brand does Huberman use?

He states he uses Momentous for all of the supplements in the toolkit; Momentous is a company he partners with. Any product with the same form and dose, third-party tested, is a reasonable choice.

Is apigenin safe to take every night?

At 50 mg it appears well tolerated in healthy adults, but long-term human safety data are limited. Avoid it in pregnancy and breastfeeding and if you take sedatives.

Related

Magnesium for sleep: which form? →Glycinate vs threonate vs citrate.The sleep stack, minus the hype →Our own evidence-ordered routine, with saffron.All stacks →

Sources

Studies were checked on PubMed on Oct 7, 2026. Product prices come from each brand's own site on the same date.

  1. Huberman Lab: Toolkit for Sleep (newsletter)
  2. Schuster J et al. Magnesium bisglycinate in healthy adults reporting poor sleep: randomized, placebo-controlled trial. Nat Sci Sleep 2025 · PMID 40918053
  3. Hausenblas HA et al. Magnesium-L-threonate improves sleep quality and daytime functioning: RCT. Sleep Med X 2024 · PMID 39252819
  4. Bulman A et al. L-theanine and sleep outcomes: systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev 2025 · PMID 40056718
  5. Hidese S et al. L-theanine, stress-related symptoms and cognition in healthy adults: RCT. Nutrients 2019 · PMID 31623400
  6. Bannai M et al. Glycine and subjective daytime performance in partially sleep-restricted volunteers. Front Neurol 2012 · PMID 22529837
  7. Kawai N et al. Sleep-promoting and hypothermic effects of glycine via NMDA receptors in the SCN. Neuropsychopharmacology 2015 · PMID 25533534
  8. Zick SM et al. Standardized chamomile extract for chronic primary insomnia: pilot RCT. BMC Complement Altern Med 2011 · PMID 21939549
  9. NIH Office of Dietary Supplements: Magnesium fact sheet