TORCH FAT WHILE YOU SLEEP! With ThermoHeat® Nighttime: A Scientific Review
By Robert Schinetsky
When it comes to losing weight, building muscle, performing optimally, or just maintaining overall health and wellness, most people understand that it’s important to eat right and exercise regularly.
However, the one glaring error that a significant portion of the population fails to take as seriously as their diet or training is sleep.
Sleep deprivation is known to have a wide-range of unwanted outcomes, including (but not limited to):
- Increased muscle protein breakdown
- Decreased muscle protein synthesis
- Reduced feelings of satiety
- Greater feelings of hunger as well as cravings (particularly for high-calorie fare)
- Reduced motivation to exercise
- Decreases energy expenditure
- Impaired insulin sensitivity
- Disrupted energy metabolism
- Slower recovery
- Decreased physical and mental performance
- Higher cortisol levels
Furthermore, research has shown that sleep-deprived individuals not only have greater concentrations of the “hunger hormone” (ghrelin), but they’re also more likely to crave unhealthy foods.[1,2]
Leptin levels are also typically lower the day after a poor night’s sleep, which creates the dual-pronged problem, especially for those trying to lose weight as they may not only feel hungrier during the day, but they’re also less likely to feel full after eating (even if they’ve technically consumed sufficient calories).
Essentially, not getting enough sleep creates a cascade of events that counters your best efforts and intentions to lose weight, get fit, and live a healthy lifestyle.
Further compounding the problem is that many individuals simply have a hard time getting to sleep or staying asleep each night for a whole host of reasons. This is where good sleep hygiene comes into play.
By implementing some simple daily habits you can help set the stage for a productive night’s rest each and every night.
Some key tips for encouraging better sleep each night:
- Get exposure to sunlight during the morning (this helps set your circadian rhythm)
- Exercise regularly
- Avoid caffeine and alcohol in the hours before bed
- limit/avoid blue light exposure 2-3 hours before bed (TVs, computers, tablets, smartphones, etc.)
- Limit/ avoid sources of stress before bed (social media, news outlets, work emails, etc.)
- Make your room cool and dark
- Wear loose comfortable-fitting clothes to bed
- Have a good, supportive mattress and pillow
- Read before bed
- Journal/meditate/pray
- Have a cup of herbal tea, such as chamomile
In addition to the habits outlined above, you can also use a nighttime relaxation and recovery aid like Thermo Heat Nighttime, which was developed as a dual sleep aid and overnight thermogenic supplement to support weight loss.†
Thermo Heat® Nighttime features a precise blend of ingredients that help facilitate thermogenic fat loss while also encouraging deeper, more restorative sleep.†
Let’s now take a deeper look into the array of research-backed nutrients contained in every serving of Thermo Heat Nighttime.
What’s in Thermo Heat Nighttime?
GABA
Gamma amino butyric acid (GABA) is the body’s primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. which helps slow the firing of neurons. Activation of GABA receptors thus helps “quiet” a busy mind encouraging sleep. In fact, doses as low as 100mg GABA have been found to have beneficial effects on sleep, such as decreased sleep latency (the amount of time it takes to fall asleep.[3]
Additionally, GABA is also known to support the pituitary gland’s release of growth hormone, which promotes lipolysis and fat burning.[4]
Most recently, animal data notes that GABA may play a role in weight loss and cardiometabolic health. Published in Cell Reports, researchers noted that inhibiting GABA-transaminase (the enzyme that breaks down GABA in the body), decreased food intake and induced weight loss without altering energy expenditure in obese mice.[5]
5-HTP
5-HTP is a metabolite of L-Tryptophan that can cross the blood-brain barrier where it is used to produce the neurotransmitter serotonin. Greater production of serotonin encourages feelings of tiredness and fatigue, and serotonin is also used in the production of melatonin.
Additionally, serotonin also has been found to potentiate brown fat sympathetic nerve activity and thermogenesis.[6,7]
The versatile neurotransmitter also has been shown to potentially help curb cravings and reduce appetite.[8]
Studies indicate that plasma tryptophan levels can be lower than normal in obese subjects, and they may also decrease during periods dieting, leading to increased feelings of hunger. [9]
Researchers have also identified the serotonin system in the body as an appealing target for anti-obesity therapies. Previous studies have found that suppression of central serotonin signaling leads to hyperphagia as well as weight gain.[10,11]
Newly published research in mice found that activation of serotonin neurons helped inhibit hunger-driven and non-hunger-driven feeding.[12]
L-Theanine
L-Theanine is an amino acid found predominantly in tea leaves that is most frequently supplemented to promote feelings of calm and relaxation. Research has shown that L-Theanine increases the levels, as well as the effectiveness, of GABA -- the body’s main “downer” neurotransmitter.
L-Theanine also enhances alpha brain wave activity, which supports mental relaxation, concentration, and deep REM sleep.[13,14,15]
Sleep studies investigating the effects of L-Theanine have found that when individuals consume L-Theanine daily they experience a higher quality of sleep, higher sleep percentages and better sleep efficiency.[16]
Additionally, L-Theanine also reduces the amount of time the participants were awake during the night after sleep started.
A 2019 animal study published in the journal Pharmaceutical Biology noted that a combination of GABA and L-Theanine (100/20 mg/kg, respectively) had a synergistic effect on sleep quality and duration and was more effective than either GABA or l-theanine alone.[17]
Spicing Things Up
Thermo Heat Nighttime contains a unique blend of common cooking spices to support increased fat burning, thermogenesis, and energy expenditure in Cinnamon, Ginger, Cayenne Pepper, and Black Pepper (as BioPerine).
Each of these spices contains unique bioactives, including capsaicin, gingerol, piperine, and cinnamaldehyde, which stimulate thermogenesis and help the body burn more calories.
For instance, gingerol, capsaicin, and piperine each have been found to stimulate TRPV1 receptors, which triggers thermogenic energy expenditure and increases calorie burning.[18,19]
Additionally, capsaicin also helps improve feelings of satiety via increasing production of the gut-derived hormone GLP-1, which regulates regulates food intake, subsequently leading to reductions hunger.[20]
Cinnamaldehyde (the pungent alkaloid that gives cinnamon its distinct flavor and smell) activates the TRPA1 receptor, which is a member of the TRPV1 family of receptors. Similar to the above mentioned bioactive compounds, cinnamaldehyde also helps support weight loss by decreasing appetite and increasing energy expenditure.[21]
Melatonin
Melatonin, as you are likely aware, is the hormone produced by the pineal gland that regulates the sleep/wake cycle, and it’s production is vital to helping you fall asleep each night.
Melatonin supplementation has been shown to be effective for improving sleep quality and decreasing sleep latency.[28,29]
What you might not realize is that melatonin also plays an important role in energy metabolism and body weight regulation.
In fact, several studies conducted in animals and humans have found that melatonin helps decrease body weight and abdominal fat without reducing calorie intake or increasing physical activity levels. Researchers note that melatonin does this by increasing brown fat mass and enhancing brown adipose tissue (BAT) activity, subsequently increasing fat burning and energy expenditure.[22,23,24,25]
A 12-month placebo-controlled study in postmenopausal women noted that supplementation with melatonin (1 or 3 mg per night) had a beneficial effect on body composition and lipid metabolism. Subjects experienced reduced fat mass and increased lean mass. There was also a trend towards an increase in adiponectin -- a hormone that regulates glucose levels, lipid metabolism, and insulin sensitivity.[30]
Melatonin may also help protect against mitochondrial and adipose tissue dysfunction via its anti-inflammatory/antioxidant actions.[26,27]
In fact, a recently published review of melatonin supplementation appearing in the journal Pharmacological Research observed “that melatonin plays an important role in glycaemic homeostasis, in addition to modulation of white adipose tissue activity and lipid metabolism, and mitochondrial activity. Additionally, melatonin increases brown adipose tissue volume and activity, and its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties have also been demonstrate.”[31]
Takeaway
Getting enough quality sleep each and every night (yes, even on weekends) is essential to health as well as your performance and physique goals.
Great sleep begins with lifestyle habits -- going to bed at the same time, watching your stimulant and alcohol intake, limiting blue light exposure, managing stress, etc. Once that’s in place, and you’re looking to further improve your sleep and/or amplify your results from proper diet and training, you can implement supplements, such as Thermo Heat Nighttime.†
As we’ve shown above, Thermo Heat Nighttime isn’t a random combination of ingredients thrown together haphazardly. It contains a precise combination of research-backed ingredients to help promote feelings of calm, accelerate the onset of sleep, and support the body’s inherent fat burning mechanisms.†
† These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
These statements are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
© Published by Advanced Research Media, Inc., 2021
© Reprinted with permission from Advanced Research Media, Inc.
References
- Schmid, S. M., Hallschmid, M., Jauch-Chara, K., Born, J., & Schultes, B. (2008). A single night of sleep deprivation increases ghrelin levels and feelings of hunger in normal-weight healthy men. Journal of Sleep Research, 17(3), 331–334. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2869.2008.00662.x
- Rihm, J. S., Menz, M. M., Schultz, H., Bruder, L., Schilbach, L., Schmid, S. M., & Peters, J. (2018). Sleep deprivation selectively up-regulates an amygdala-hypothalamic circuit involved in food reward. BioRxiv, 245845. https://doi.org/10.1101/245845
- Yamatsu A, Yamashita Y, Maru I, Yang J, Tatsuzaki J, Kim M. The Improvement of Sleep by Oral Intake of GABA and Apocynum venetum Leaf Extract. J Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo). 2015;61(2):182-7. doi: 10.3177/jnsv.61.182. PMID: 26052150.
- Tian J, Middleton B, Kaufman DL. GABA administration prevents severe illness and death following coronavirus infection in mice. Preprint. bioRxiv. 2020;2020.10.04.325423. Published 2020 Oct 4. doi:10.1101/2020.10.04.325423
- Geisler CE, Ghimire S, Bruggink SM, Miller KE, Weninger SN, Kronenfeld JM, Yoshino J, Klein S, Duca FA, Renquist BJ. A critical role of hepatic GABA in the metabolic dysfunction and hyperphagia of obesity. Cell Rep. 2021 Jun 29;35(13):109301. doi: 10.1016/j.celrep.2021.109301. PMID: 34192532.
- Madden, C. J., & Morrison, S. F. (2010). Endogenous activation of spinal 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) receptors contributes to the thermoregulatory activation of brown adipose tissue. American Journal of Physiology-Regulatory, Integrative and Comparative Physiology, 298(3), R776–R783. https://doi.org/10.1152/ajpregu.00614.2009
- Madden CJ, Morrison SF. Brown adipose tissue sympathetic nerve activity is potentiated by activation of 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT)1A/5-HT7 receptors in the rat spinal cord. Neuropharmacology. 2007;54(3):487–496. doi:10.1016/j.neuropharm.2007.10.019
- Serotonin (5-HT) drugs: effects on appetite expression and use for the treatment of obesity, Curr. Drug Targets, 2005.
- Leif Breum, Michael H Rasmussen, Jannik Hilsted, John D Fernstrom, Twenty-four–hour plasma tryptophan concentrations and ratios are below normal in obese subjects and are not normalized by substantial weight reduction, The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Volume 77, Issue 5, May 2003, Pages 1112–1118, https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/77.5.1112
- Ghosh MN, Parvathy S. The effect of cyproheptadine on water and food intake and on body weight in the fasted adult and weanling rats. Br J Pharm. 1973;48:328P–9P.
- Saller CF, Stricker EM. Hyperphagia and increased growth in rats after intraventricular injection of 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine. Science. 1976;192:385–7.
- He, Y., Cai, X., Liu, H. et al. 5-HT recruits distinct neurocircuits to inhibit hunger-driven and non-hunger-driven feeding. Mol Psychiatry (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41380-021-01220-z
- Song, C. H., Jung, J. H., Oh, J. S., & Kim, K. S. (2004). Effects of theanine on the release of brain alpha wave in adult males. FASEB J.(Vol. 36).
- Nobre, A. C., Rao, A., & Owen, G. N. (2008). L-theanine, a natural constituent in tea, and its effect on mental state. Asia Pacific Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 17 Suppl 1, 167–168.
- Gomez-Ramirez, M., Higgins, B. A., Rycroft, J. A., Owen, G. N., Mahoney, J., Shpaner, M., & Foxe, J. J. (2007). The deployment of intersensory selective attention: a high-density electrical mapping study of the effects of theanine. Clinical
- Hidese S, Ogawa S, Ota M, et al. Effects of L-Theanine Administration on Stress-Related Symptoms and Cognitive Functions in Healthy Adults: A Randomized Controlled Trial. Nutrients. 2019;11(10):2362. Published 2019 Oct 3. doi:10.3390/nu11102362
- Kim S, Jo K, Hong KB, Han SH, Suh HJ. GABA and l-theanine mixture decreases sleep latency and improves NREM sleep. Pharm Biol. 2019;57(1):65-73. doi:10.1080/13880209.2018.1557698
- Yoneshiro T and Saito M. Transient receptor potential activated brown fat thermogenesis as a target of food ingredients for obesity management. Curr Opin Clin Nutr Metab Care 2013; 16, 625-631.
- McNamara FN, Randall A and Gunthorpe MJ. Effects of piperine, the pungent component of black pepper, at the human vanilloid receptor (TRPV1). Br J Pharmacol 2005; 144, 781-790.
- Smeets AJ and Westerterp-Plantenga MS. The acute effects of a lunch containing capsaicin on energy and substrate utilisation, hormones, and satiety. Eur J Nutr 2009; 48, 229-234.
- Kim MJ, Son HJ, et al. The TRPA1 agonist, methyl syringate suppresses food intake and gastric emptying. PLoS One 2012; 8, e71603.
- Halpern, B., Mancini, M. C., Bueno, C., Barcelos, I. P., Edna de Melo, M., Lima, M. S., Cipolla-Neto, J. (2019). Melatonin Increases Brown Adipose Tissue Volume and Activity in Melatonin Deficient Patients: a Proof-of-Concept Study. Diabetes, db180956. https://doi.org/10.2337/db18-0956
- Wolden-Hanson T, Mitton DR, et al. Daily melatonin administration to middle-aged male rats suppresses body weight, intra abdominal adiposity, and plasma leptin and insulin independent of food intake and total body fat. Endocrinology 2000; 141, 487-497.
- Tan DX, Manchester LC, et al. Significance and application of melatonin in the regulation of brown adipose tissue metabolism: relation to human obesity. Obes Rev 2011; 12, 167-188.
- Fernandez Vazquez, G., Reiter, R. J., & Agil, A. (2018). Melatonin increases brown adipose tissue mass and function in Zucker diabetic fatty rats: implications for obesity control. Journal of Pineal Research, 64(4), e12472. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpi.12472
- Karamitri, A., & Jockers, R. (2019). Melatonin in type 2 diabetes mellitus and obesity. Nature Reviews. Endocrinology, 15(2), 105–125. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41574-018-0130-1
- Prado, N. J., Ferder, L., Manucha, W., & Diez, E. R. (2018). Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Melatonin in Obesity and Hypertension. Current Hypertension Reports, 20(5), 45. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11906-018-0842-6
- lomski A. Melatonin Improves Sleep in Patients With Circadian Disruption. JAMA. 2018;320(8):749. doi:10.1001/jama.2018.10903
- Sletten TL, Magee M et al. Efficacy of melatonin with behavioral sleep-wake scheduling for delayed sleep-wake phase disorder: A double blind, randomized clinical trial (2018). Efficacy of melatonin with behavioral sleep-wake scheduling for delayed sleep-wake phase disorder: A double blind, randomized clinical trial. PLOS Medicine 15(6): e1002587. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1002587
- Amstrup AK, Sikjaer T, Pedersen SB, Heickendorff L, Mosekilde L, Rejnmark L. Reduced fat mass and increased lean mass in response to 1 year of melatonin treatment in postmenopausal women: A randomized placebo-controlled trial. Clin Endocrinol (Oxf). 2016 Mar;84(3):342-7. doi: 10.1111/cen.12942. Epub 2015 Oct 8. PMID: 26352863.
- Genario R, Cipolla-Neto J, Bueno AA, Santos HO. Melatonin supplementation in the management of obesity and obesity-associated disorders: A review of physiological mechanisms and clinical applications. Pharmacol Res. 2021 Jan;163:105254. doi: 10.1016/j.phrs.2020.105254. Epub 2020 Oct 17. PMID: 33080320.