Maybe you're a gym rat looking to lower your anxiety at night. Maybe you’re a health-conscious parent looking to maximize your (precious) sleep. You’ve heard GABA supplements are the new hot ticket, and suspect you have a GABA deficiency. BUT...did you know most people with sleep troubles actually have a different, very common problem? Luckily, it’s easy to fix. Let’s learn how you can get amazing sleep — and how to increase GABA function in healthy, natural ways.

How to Increase GABA Function

Here's something most people don't know:

One of the most common causes of GABA dysfunction is a magnesium deficiency.

Researchers have known for nearly 20 years that GABA receptors are regulated by the amount of serum magnesium present. Magnesium acts as an agonist for these receptors — they don’t seem to operate well without it! One study performed on mice revealed that magnesium concentrations directly impacted GABA responses on GABAA receptors, while another review (this time for humans) discovered magnesium has a beneficial effect on the alleviation of anxiety — a direct effect of GABA dysfunction.

Why is this something you should be concerned about? Because up to 50% of the U.S. population is magnesium deficient!

For this half of the population, GABA supplements are largely futile — they don’t address the true underlying problem. There’s also evidence that GABA supplements don’t cross the blood-brain barrier very well, which could prevent them from taking effect entirely.

This means that no matter how much GABA you stuff into your brain, if you're not getting enough magnesium, the GABA isn’t going to work very well. And that means more stressful, sleepless nights.

But don't worry — there are plenty of other strategies for learning how to increase GABA function naturally and get the healthy, peaceful nights you want.

How Much Magnesium Do You Need for Healthy GABA Function?

Start with 400mg per day.

You might need to add some pumpkin seeds, fish, and almonds to your diet. Or you might want to take an easy sleep supplement that includes a healthy daily dosage. Either way, this handy guide will teach you how to optimize your magnesium so that not just GABA, but all your sleep-related neurotransmitters can function the way Mother Nature intended.

Trust us: fixing your magnesium levels is the smart (and safe) first step toward ensuring that your brain is working the way you want it to. You’ve already got plenty of GABA in your brain. Let’s make sure it’s working properly.

By The Way: What is GABA Exactly?

GABA is a neurotransmitter — a chemical your brain uses to communicate with itself. There are around 30 types of neurotransmitters, but GABA is one of the MVPs. It's found in many parts of your brain and is released by neurons when they're activated. This causes another set of cells to become excited (or inhibited), causing a chain reaction that sends signals throughout your nervous system.

The acronym GABA is short for “gamma-aminobutyric acid,” and its primary responsibility is reducing neuronal “excitability” throughout your entire nervous system. It’s what helps you stay calm and relaxed. It also controls how much dopamine you release — so when GABA is low, it might contribute to problems with depression and anxiety.

How to Increase GABA Naturally Without Drugs

Like most other neurotransmitters, GABA is largely dependent on your lifestyle and how well you treat your body. Pay attention to the following factors, and you'll be able to increase the quality of all this neurotransmitter activity without drugs.

• Exercise and physical activity: Exercise is always great for your body, but it also has a big impact on your brain. Studies show that regular physical activity helps with anxiety, depression, and insomnia —all symptoms of low GABA function. So, if you're having trouble sleeping or feeling calm, try hitting the gym more often. (We recommend Easy Strength.)
• Limit alcohol and drugs: Curiously, some alcohol and drug use can actually boost GABA levels — in the short term. Unfortunately, they also cause long-term deficiencies, while simultaneously disrupting the balance of other neurotransmitters in your brain and body. This inevitably leads to shallow sleep (and hangovers). So, it’s a wise idea to limit your usage — and make sure you know how to sleep better after drinking when you do partake.
• Try out yoga: Yoga can help you relax and — you guessed it — sleep better. It also increases GABA levels in the brain, which may explain its positive effects on anxiety and depression.
• De-stress with a proper sleep-hygiene routine: It's not just what you do when you're awake that affects your GABA, but also how well you prepare for sleep. Increasing your neurotransmitter function could be as simple as learning how to create a stress-free sleep-hygiene routine.
• Avoid junk foods: Junk food is loaded with chemicals that can cause mood swings and anxiety. It's also high in sugar, which can disrupt your sleep schedule. Cut it out of your diet as much as possible. As legendary strength coach, Dan John, says: “Eat like an adult.”

• Eat clean, healthy GABA-rich foods: Finally, it shouldn't be a surprise that what you eat has a huge impact on how well you sleep. Your diet is one of the most important factors in determining your GABA levels, so try to incorporate foods that create a positive effect on the balance of chemicals in your brain. Spinach, cabbage, whole eggs, and grass-fed meats are a great place to start!

Why You Shouldn't Take GABA Supplements

Though it might sound like a quick fix, taking GABA supplements isn’t always the most effective way to avoid a GABA deficiency — for all the reasons we’ve stated above.

Instead, most people get better benefits from supplementing with magnesium instead. It makes your natural levels of GABA work more effectively, which means they can achieve an equivalent effect without the need for extra synthetic neurotransmitters floating around in your system.

Furthermore, taking too much GABA can cause side effects like:

• Headache
• Upset stomach
• Muscle fatigue
• Nausea
• Shortness of breath

Even if you try counting sheep, headaches, nausea, and noxious farts don’t sound like the start of great sleep to us!

A Superior Alternative to GABA Supplements

With a man-sized dose of magnesium that negates the need for synthetic neurotransmitters and other calming agents, our Hibernate Sleep Formula is a superior alternative to GABA supplements.

Even better, with a melatonin micro-dose added to the mix, Hibernate provides a long-term sleep solution that enhances your body’s natural hormonal function without overwhelming it with drugs.

The goal is simple: work with nature, not against it. By giving your brain the ingredients it needs to manufacture healthy sleep, you’ll make full use of your natural GABA levels — and relaxing at night will be a breeze.

Conclusion

Though it may seem counterintuitive, GABA supplements are rarely the best option for obtaining the effects of healthy GABA levels in your brain — a calm, relaxed nervous system. Instead, we recommend you try these simpler options:

1. Increase your daily magnesium consumption to 400mg
2. Get plenty of exercise, limit the booze, and eat clean

With the addition of a magnesium-based sleep supplement like Hibernate, we’re pretty certain you’ll be sleeping like a baby in no time.

Work with your brain, not against it. It’s just too stressful to do otherwise, and that’s no way to fall asleep at night.