The New Science of Sleep: Personalized Supplements for Stress, Discomfort and Racing Thoughts

You’re exhausted.

You’ve tried melatonin. You’ve tried magnesium. You’ve even tried cutting off caffeine at 2 PM.

And still, you find yourself staring at the ceiling at 3 AM, wondering what it’s going to take to finally get a good night’s sleep.

You’re not alone.

Roughly one in three American adults reports not getting enough sleep on a regular basis.(1) And here’s the real kicker: most of those people aren’t dealing with the same problem. One person is stressed out and can’t wind down. Another is dealing with physical discomfort. Another is overwhelmed by racing thoughts.

And yet most sleep supplements treat all of them exactly the same.

That’s where BrainMD’s new line of sleep supplements comes in.

Designed by sleep medicine doctor and psychiatrist, Dr. Shane Creado, these three new melatonin-free formulas are built for real people with real sleep issues. They’re science-backed, targeted, and designed to meet your body where it is.*

In this blog, we’ll walk through each one, show you how they fit into the bigger BrainMD sleep ecosystem, and explain why personalized sleep support is the future of sleep upgrades.

And if you’re not sure which one to start with, that’s okay too. We’ll talk about how to find your best match—and why sometimes, it takes a little trial and error to get there.

Why One-Size-Fits-All Sleep Supplements Fall Short

Not all sleep problems are created equal.

Stress-related sleep issues don’t work the same way as physical discomfort-related sleep disruptions. Restlessness from mental hyperactivity is different from jet lag or night-shift circadian chaos.

And yet, most over-the-counter supplements treat all sleep problems with one blanket approach: melatonin.

Melatonin can be helpful for some people, but it isn’t a cure-all. And in certain populations—especially children, teens, and those taking certain medications—melatonin can be problematic. A 2023 review of melatonin safety raised concerns about its widespread use in young people, noting insufficient long-term data and potential hormonal impacts.(2)

That’s one reason BrainMD chose to go melatonin-free with its new line of sleep supplements.

But the real breakthrough isn’t just what they left out. It’s what they put in.

Each of the three new formulas is designed to address a specific type of sleep disturbance:

• Deep Comfort Sleep targets extreme discomfort, gut-related issues, and promotes a healthy inflammatory response.*
• Stress Relief Sleep helps lower cortisol and soothe the wired-tired brain.*
• Quiet My Mind Sleep calms mental overactivity and supports focus-driven brains (think shift workers and frequent flyers).*

These formulas don’t try to knock you out. They try to help you restore balance—physiologically, neurologically, and emotionally.*

That’s what real sleep science is all about.

Three Sleep Formulas. One Groundbreaking Shift in How We Think About Rest.

Instead of offering one all-purpose pill to “knock you out,” BrainMD created three highly targeted, melatonin-free formulas—each one addressing a specific reason people can’t sleep.*

This isn’t marketing fluff. It’s real sleep science in action.

Sleep disruption isn’t just a matter of “I’m not tired.” It can be driven by physical discomfort, high levels of cortisol, or mental hyperactivity—and each of those issues has different root causes, biological pathways, and clinical support options.*

Here’s how the new sleep supplement line breaks down:

Deep Comfort Sleep

For sleep that’s sabotaged by physical discomfort or gut-related issues

What it targets:

• Minor aches or body tension*
• Occasional joint or body discomfort*
• Gut-brain axis disruption(8)*
• Fatigue that isn’t resolved with rest*

What it’s made for:

This formula is built for people who wake up tired, feel stiff or achy at night, or have gut imbalance.* It’s especially relevant for adults over 40 or anyone with autoimmune tendencies, joint stiffness, or digestive struggles.*

Why it works:

Boswellia(7), and other specific agents that help support a healthy inflammatory response(6) help attain and balanced, whole-body calm so your system can finally enter a true rest-and-repair state.*

Stress Relief Sleep

For wired brains, tight chests, and cortisol that won’t quit.*

What it targets:

• High cortisol levels*
• Sleep-onset anxiousness*
• Mid-night wakeups tied to stress*
• Emotional exhaustion*

What it’s made for:

This is the formula for people who can’t shut off their brain—or who wake up at 2 AM feeling like their fight-or-flight system is still in overdrive.* Think: grief, burnout, job loss, divorce, or just life.*

Why it works:

It supports your adrenal rhythm and helps reduce stress hormone output with ingredients like ashwagandha(9), phosphatidylserine(10), and calming adaptogens that have been shown to reduce nighttime cortisol and improve sleep onset latency.*

Quiet My Mind Sleep

For the racing-thought crowd—think overthinkers and night owls.*

What it targets:

• Overactive thoughts*
• Mental restlessness*
• Shift work, frequent travel, or inconsistent sleep-wake cycles*
• Seasonal sleep disruption*

What it’s made for:

If your brain doesn’t know how to “power down,” this is your formula.* It’s safe for adults and teens 14+, and it’s especially useful for people with hyperactive tendencies, neurodivergent patterns, or chaotic sleep schedules.*

Why it works:

This blend focuses on calming the nervous system with nutrients that promote GABA signaling(11) and serotonin balance—like magnesium, saffron(13), L-theanine(12), and lion’s mane.(14)* These help the brain slow down, reduce mental noise, and support deeper REM cycles.*

Each formula is clean, melatonin-free, and built to be part of a system, not a Band-Aid.* You won’t find mystery blends or pixie-dusted herbs here—just targeted, evidence-based ingredients with a clear purpose.*

Coming up next: how these products fit into the BrainMD sleep ecosystem, and why Dr. Shane Creado might just be your new favorite sleep whisperer.

Designed by a Doctor. Built for Real Life.

What sets these new sleep formulas apart isn’t just what’s in them—or what’s left out.

It’s who created them—and the clinical reality they were designed to serve.

Dr. Shane Creado isn’t your average supplement formulator. He’s a double board-certified sleep medicine doctor and psychiatrist who works with Olympic athletes, professional sports teams, and high-performing professionals who can’t afford to be groggy, foggy, or chemically sedated.

His book Peak Sleep Performance for Athletes has become a modern manual for optimizing rest as a tool for mental sharpness, emotional resilience, and physical regeneration.(15) And now, that same expertise is built into every capsule of this new line of high-quality sleep supplements.

Sleep optimization is the last frontier in peak performance.” – Shane Creado, MD

But Dr. Creado’s approach isn’t just for athletes. It’s for anyone who’s sick of “sleep hygiene” tips that don’t work, tired of melatonin dependence, or stuck cycling through supplements that don’t address why they’re not sleeping in the first place.

These formulas were built to fill the gaps Dr. Creado saw time and again in his clinical practice:

• People with physical discomfort, whose sleep never really restores them.*
• People with feelings of anxiousness or trauma, who dread the moment their head hits the pillow.*
• People with attention issues or stress-fueled busy brains that just…won’t…turn…off.*

And because these formulas are melatonin-free and NSF-certified, they’re appropriate for teens, athletes, and professionals with sensitive systems or drug testing requirements.*

They’re not meant to be addictive. They’re not meant to zonk you out.

They’re meant to reset your system, naturally.*

So… Which One Should I Try First? (And What If I Don’t Know?)

This is the question everyone asks. And the honest answer?

It depends.

Some people know exactly what’s keeping them up at night: a sore shoulder, a racing mind, a life falling apart. Others just know they’re tired of being tired. Either way, choosing the right sleep formula shouldn’t feel like guesswork—but it also doesn’t require perfection.

Here’s the reframe: Not having a single, perfect answer doesn’t mean this approach is vague or unscientific. It means it’s personalized.

In medicine, this is called biochemical individuality—and it’s why even MDs regularly adjust treatments based on how a person responds. It’s not trial-and-error. It’s trial and insight.

We see this all the time:

• Some people respond better to ashwagandha than L-theanine*
• Some sleep deeper on saffron than magnesium*
• Some need nervous system support, while others need their physical discomfort dialed down first*

That’s not a flaw. That’s your body’s way of telling you what works.

Our Advice?

Start with the formula that matches your dominant sleep struggle—aches, stress, or mental overactivity.* Give it a solid two weeks.* If it doesn’t get you where you want to go, try layering in another or switching to a different one.*

Sleep is a system, not a switch that you can turn off and on like a light. And BrainMD’s sleep ecosystem is designed to support that system holistically.*

Also worth noting: some of these products pair beautifully with existing BrainMD formulas like Calm My Brain, NAC, Everyday Stress Relief, or Brain Curcumins. This isn’t a one-and-done approach. It’s a toolkit.

The BrainMD Sleep Lineup at a Glance

Still not sure which sleep formula is right for you?

This quick-reference chart breaks down all five of BrainMD’s core sleep and relaxation products—including the three new melatonin-free formulas, plus the two foundational classics Put Me To Sleep Naturally and Restful Sleep.

Whether your challenge is falling asleep, staying asleep, or shutting down a racing brain, this guide will help point you in the right direction.*

 

 

Each of these formulas stands on its own. But taken together, they form the foundation of BrainMD’s comprehensive, personalized sleep ecosystem—one that honors the fact that no two brains (or sleep problems) are alike.*

Pro Tip: If you’ve had mixed results with melatonin, focus on the melatonin-free options first.* They offer a completely different approach to sleep support—one that’s often more sustainable for long-term use.*

Final Thoughts: Sleep That Meets You Where You Are

Here’s the truth no one tells you: You’re not broken. You’re just mismatched.

Most people struggling with sleep don’t need another generic sleep aid. They need a protocol that actually understands what they’re going through—and meets them there.

That’s what BrainMD’s new sleep supplement line is about.

It’s not about knocking you out.

It’s about helping your body do what it already wants to do: rest and repair.*

Whether your challenge is stress, physical discomfort, or a mind that just won’t stop running, there’s now a formula built for that exact issue.* One that doesn’t rely on melatonin. One that’s backed by a doctor who’s seen it all.*

And one that plays well with your body—not against it.*

So, if you’ve been burned by sleep supplements in the past—or if you’ve never really found the right fit—this is your invitation to try again.

You deserve sleep that works for you.*

Let BrainMD help you find it.*

 

At BrainMD, we’re dedicated to providing the highest quality supplements to improve your physical health and overall well-being. For more information about our full list of brain healthy supplements, please visit us at BrainMD.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This content is for informational purposes only. It is not meant to substitute for medical or healthcare advice from a physician, nor is it intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult your healthcare provider before beginning a new health regimen.

 

Meet Dr. Shane Creado

Shane Creado, MD is a double board-certified sleep medicine docor and psychiatrist who specializes in optimizing brain performance through better sleep. He’s worked with Olympic athletes, professional sports teams, and elite performers across the world—from the NBA to the PGA to the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Dr. Creado is the author of Peak Sleep Performance for Athletes and serves as the VP for the Americas for the International Society for Sports Psychiatry. He is also the creator of the Overcoming Insomnia course for Amen University and consults with Amen Clinics on clinical strategy and supplement formulation.

His mission: to deliver personalized, non-pharmacological sleep supplements that help real people feel and function better—without dependency, grogginess, or guesswork.

Learn more at shanecreado.com or follow @peaksleepperformance on Instagram.

 

References:

1. CDC. 1 in 3 adults don’t get enough sleep. https://sleepeducation.org/cdc-americans-sleep-deprived/
2. Videnovic A, Zee PC. Melatonin use in children: Safety concerns. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37451058/
3. Xie L, et al. Sleep drives metabolite clearance from the adult brain. Science. 2013. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24136970/
4. Hogenkamp, et al. Acute sleep deprivation increases portion size and affects food choice in young men, Psychoneuroendocrinology, 2013 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23428257/
5. Abbasi B, et al. Magnesium supplementation in insomnia. J Res Med Sci. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23853635/
6. Daily JW, et al. Efficacy of turmeric extracts and curcumin. J Med Food. 2016. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27533649/
7. Ganpeng, et al. Effectiveness of Boswellia and Boswellia extract for osteoarthritis patients: systematic review and meta-analysis. BMC Complementary Medicine and Therapies, 2020 https://bmccomplementmedtherapies.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12906-020-02985-6
8. Mayer, et al. The gut-brain axis, Annual Review of Medicine, Vol 73, 2022. https://tinyurl.com/2b5n2wdy
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10. Starks, et al. The effects of phosphatidylserine on endocrine response…J Int Soc Sports Nutr July, 2008 https://tinyurl.com/hc8he4du
11. Arora, et al. GABAergic implications in anxiety and related disorders, Biochemical and Biophysical Research Communications, Sept 2024. https://tinyurl.com/5rk46hbt
12. Hidese, et al. Effects of L-theanine on Stress-Related Symptoms and Cognitive Functions in Healthy Adults Oct, 2019 https://tinyurl.com/2dnhcj3a
13. Lopresti AL, et al. Effects of saffron on sleep quality in healthy adults with self-reported poor sleep. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32056539/
14. Lee KE, et al. Hericium erinaceus (Lions Mane) improves mood and sleep disorders…. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med, April 2019 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31118969/
15. Creado SA. Peak Sleep Performance for Athletes. 2020. https://tinyurl.com/58prxh3k