Tests, Fixes, and Ideas That Are Shaping My Longevity Strategy

Does Your Body Divert Tryptophan From Melatonin to Make NAD+?

Metabolic Sleep, Sleep & 3AM Wakeups /

Yes. About 95% of the tryptophan you consume goes to the kynurenine pathway, which produces NAD+ and other metabolites. Only 1-2% reaches the serotonin-to-melatonin route. During inflammation, an enzyme called IDO (indoleamine 2,3-dioxygenase) diverts even more tryptophan away from melatonin production. Your body’s demand for NAD+ — especially during immune activation — reduces the raw […]

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Why Are You Sleeping 12 Hours and Still Exhausted? The Dorsal Vagal Shutdown Explained

Autonomic Sleep, Sleep & 3AM Wakeups /

Sleeping excessive hours without feeling rested can be an autonomic conservation response — what polyvagal theory calls the dorsal vagal state. The autonomic nervous branch responsible for immobilization reduces metabolic output and promotes stillness, producing sleep that is long but impaired in restorative quality. A polysomnographic study found that parasympathetic activity was reduced during deeper

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How Your Gut Talks to Your Brain Through the Vagus Nerve — and Why It Matters for Sleep

Autonomic Sleep, Sleep & 3AM Wakeups /

Gut bacteria produce gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) — the brain’s primary inhibitory neurotransmitter — through glutamate decarboxylase enzymes. The vagus nerve carries this input from the gut to the brain. A 2011 study demonstrated the vagus as the required pathway: when researchers severed the vagus nerve, the effects of a GABA-producing gut bacterium on brain GABA

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Does Apigenin Protect Your NAD+ and Improve Sleep Through CD38 Inhibition?

Metabolic Sleep, Sleep & 3AM Wakeups /

Apigenin is the only widely available compound that both inhibits CD38 — a primary driver of age-related NAD+ depletion — and modulates GABA-A receptors to promote sleep. In mice, apigenin raises intracellular NAD+ by blocking CD38’s enzymatic activity. In a large human epidemiological study (n=8,216), higher dietary intake of flavones — the subclass containing apigenin

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Why Does Trauma Cause Insomnia? How Your Nervous System Stays on Guard at Night

Autonomic Sleep, Sleep & 3AM Wakeups /

Trauma-related insomnia is driven by autonomic nervous system sensitization, not poor sleep habits. A meta-analysis (75 studies total; prevalence analysis: 33 studies, n=573,665) found that 63% of people with PTSD experience insomnia (Ahmadi et al., 2022). The mechanism: trauma sensitizes the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and the sympathetic nervous system, producing elevated heart rate and altered HPA

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What Your Overnight Heart Rate Variability (HRV) Is Telling You About Your Sleep: The Vagal Tone Connection

Autonomic Sleep, Sleep & 3AM Wakeups /

Heart rate variability during sleep reflects the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system activity. Lower overnight HRV — particularly reduced high-frequency HRV — indicates insufficient parasympathetic (vagal) engagement during rest. A 2024 study of 328 people found that higher heart rate, lower overall HRV, and reduced beat-to-beat parasympathetic variation at sleep onset distinguished people

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Why Will Your Nervous System Not Let You Sleep? Polyvagal Theory and Insomnia

Autonomic Sleep, Sleep & 3AM Wakeups /

Polyvagal theory describes three autonomic states that shape whether sleep is possible. The ventral vagal state — associated with safety and social engagement — supports the parasympathetic activation sleep requires. Sympathetic activation produces hyperarousal: elevated heart rate, cortisol, and alertness that prevent sleep onset. The dorsal vagal state produces a collapse response — extended sleep

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Does Benadryl Degrade Your Sleep? How Anticholinergic Drugs Suppress Rapid Eye Movement Sleep

Autonomic Sleep, Sleep & 3AM Wakeups /

Diphenhydramine (Benadryl) promotes sleep onset by blocking histamine H1 receptors, but its anticholinergic activity suppresses REM sleep and prolongs REM latency. Muscarinic acetylcholine receptors are required for REM generation – a 2018 genetic study found that eliminating two muscarinic receptor subtypes virtually abolished REM in mice. Bladder antimuscarinics and tricyclic antidepressants produce the same effect

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Which Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Precursor Improves Sleep — Nicotinamide Mononucleotide or Nicotinamide Riboside?

Metabolic Sleep, Sleep & 3AM Wakeups /

Based on current controlled trial evidence, NMN has stronger direct support for sleep improvement. Two randomized controlled trials show NMN at 250 mg/day reduces daytime drowsiness and improves Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index scores in older adults, with afternoon dosing producing the largest effects. NR reliably raises NAD+ levels — by approximately 40% at standard dose

Which Nicotinamide Adenine Dinucleotide Precursor Improves Sleep — Nicotinamide Mononucleotide or Nicotinamide Riboside? Read Post »

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