Now, in Part I of the guide you've learned that sleep is not just important — it's essential for muscle growth on cycle. And in case none of the methods from Part II of the guide seem to work for you, you’re still desperate for sleep, there’s only one option left: horse tranquilizers.


Just kidding! Regular human sleeping pills, self-prescribed or prescribed officially by your doc, can do the trick.

These 5 are guaranteed to knock you out in 15-30 minutes, regardless of your environment or how tired you are:

  1. Zolpidem;
  2. Lorazepam;
  3. Zopiclone;
  4. Bromonordiazepam;
  5. 3-hydroxyphenazepam. 

Just as anabolic steroids, sleeping pills require precise dosing and timing. They’re oral and come in tablets that are easy to separate, so you’re unlikely to have any issues with that. 

Zolpidem

Zolpidem works by enhancing certain neurotransmitters in your brain, a non-benzodiazepine option with benzodiazepine benefits [1]:

  • Guaranteed anxiety relief;
  • Drowsiness and easy transition to sleep;
  • Falling asleep in 30 minutes or so. 

You need moderate doses of 2 to 7.5mg 4 times a week, in a 4-week-long “cycle”, to sort your sleep regimen.

Lorazepam

A classic benzodiazepine. If you’re not careful enough, Lorazepam can be addictive [2]. If you are, it will help you get your circadian rhythms back to normal:

  • Doubles as an anti-stress in small doses;
  • Guaranteed to knock you out in 15 minutes;
  • Requires no special preparation and acts fast. 

Highly effective and works in doses as small as 1mg if your insomnia is moderate, not severe. If it is, though, doubling the dose will — most likely — do the trick in improving your sleep on steroid cycle.

Zopiclone 

Another commonly prescribed sedative-hypnotic compound. Just as effective as Zolpidem but has its differences:

  1. Zopiclone acts by enhancing the effects of gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) in the brain;
  2. Zolpidem primarily targets the subunit of the GABA receptor, inducing sleep.

Both are so-called Z-drugs and have similar properties to Lorazepam and other benzos: careful dosing plus short-term treatment result in guaranteed falling asleep.

Bromonordiazepam

Another classic benzodiazepine, with a slightly different focus:

  • Longer half-life;
  • Better for anxiety-induced insomnia;
  • Still kicks in in less than 30 minutes.

If you have any mental side effects from your cycle, Bromonordiazepam is the relief you need. Again: just as a short-term treatment thing.

3-hydroxyphenazepam

Despite having a slightly more complicated name, 3-hydroxyphenazepam is still a classic benzo. It works the same way as Lorazepam or Zolpidem:

  1. The substance enters your bloodstream through the digestive system;
  2. 3-hydroxyphenazepam molecules travel straight to your brain;
  3. They boost the GABA neurotransmitter (the one responsible for calming your CNS);
  4. More activity in GABA = less stress and anxiety, more drowsiness;
  5. The altered activity of neurotransmitters helps you fall asleep faster.

In clinical circumstances, 3-hydroxyphenazepam is more often prescribed as an anxiety relief compound [3], aimed at countering panic attacks and epileptic seizures. It’s a strong thing, reserved for hardcore insomnia issues.

How to Take Sleeping Pills Right

You’ve heard a thousand stories about benzos, this is a hot topic now. We know they’re not perfect and are not meant to solve all your problems once and forever. However, there is way to take them right, and you — as someone who has enough experience with steroids — already know it: just as simple tools to aid in achieving your goals.

No, benzos are not going to work as a magic bullet and magically turn your sleep schedule into a perfect structure. You’ve got to put in some effort as well.

When you take sleeping pills — make sure they’re just ONE OF MANY steps aimed at normalizing your sleep. Not the only one. 

Sleep on Steroid Cycle Checklist

Here’s a simple checklist for you, based on the best practices described in all parts of this guide. 

Go through it, and if you check all the boxes, your chances for growing bigger, getting calmer, and finally getting some proper rest go way higher:

  1. Do you really prioritize sleep and approach it as one of the most important aspects of your cycle?
  2. Do you have a nice sleep routine, waking up and going to bed at about the same time?
  3. Is your night time environment sleep-friendly? Nice and cold, calm, dark enough?
  4. Did you give up the habit of scrolling your phone or watching dramatic flashing stuff on your TV before sleep?
  5. Do you know, before going to sleep each day, how much caffeine you have in your body? And is it low enough?
  6. Do you take adequate doses of gear? Did you try lowering it a bit?
  7. Did you try herbal things, like valerian root or lemon balm?
  8. Did you try melatonin supplements or other similar options?
  9. Finally, did you try sleeping pills, like Lorazepam or Zopiclone?
  10. Are you 100% sure your “insomnia” is not caused by external factors, like having kids that start crying regularly at 3 am, or living right above a dutch rave club with poorly soundproofed windows?

If your answer to every single question here is YES, and you still have trouble falling asleep, your only option is truly horse tranquilizers. However, we don’t sell those, because if you do things from the checklist above right, you’re almost guaranteed to have decent sleep every night.

P.S. Sometimes it’s not steroids that affect your sleep on steroid cycle. Insomnia might be caused by a large spectrum of disorders and syndromes.

Jokes aside, if you really have any issues that you seem to be unable to solve, and — most importantly — that STAY after your cycle is over, consider talking to your doc about it. There might be some underlying condition that ruins your sleep and Tren is not the one to blame.

Sleep on steroid cycle checklist — by Muscle Gear

References

  1. Zolpidem: Efficacy and Side Effects for Insomnia — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8567759/; 
  2. Differential Effects of Lorazepam on Sleep and Activity in C57BL/6J and BALB/cJ Strain Mice — https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2744449/; 
  3. GABAA receptor agonist cinazepam and its active metabolite 3-hydroxyphenazepam act differently at the presynaptic site — https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0924977X2100167X;