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The public health burden associated with sleep disturbances in the elderly is considerable. Much research investigating sleep duration requirements has examined reduced sleep duration because, as evidenced above, chronic or long-standing sleep restriction is increasingly pervasive in the community. Studies of short sleep duration have shown that this “restricted” sleep can be associated with increased sleepiness, poor performance, and increased health risks or mortality.

Sermorelin, a growth hormone secretagogue, may affect sleep. It purports to increase longer sleep cycles and deeper sleep that results in animals waking up feeling more refreshed during studies.

WHAT IS SERMORELIN

Sermorelin is a synthetic peptide consisting of the first 29 amino acids (1-29) as the natural hypothalamic growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) that exists as a 44 amino acid peptide. It has the same biological activity as GHRH and shows potential in treating growth hormone deficiency in animal test subjects.

AN OVERVIEW OF SLEEP

Every living creature needs sleep. However, its biological purpose remains a mystery. Sleep affects almost every tissue ( the brain, heart, and lungs) and system ( metabolism, immune function, mood, and disease resistance) in the body. Research shows that a chronic lack of sleep or getting poor quality sleep increases the risk of disorders, including high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression, and obesity.

Sleep promotes youthfulness and good health. The quality of sleep deteriorates with age. In early life, animal test subjects require a lot of sleep. With age, that need for sleep declines.

THE EFFECT OF SERMORELIN ON SLEEP

Animal studies have shown that sermorelin may decrease wakefulness and increase slow-wave sleep. When animals age, the total amount of growth hormone secreted in a day decreases by two to threefold. Similarly, the amount of slow-wave sleep decreases over the same narrow age range. The stimulation of slow-wave sleep by sermorelin may result in increased growth hormone release.

Another way sermorelin functions is the research with orexins, which are essential modulators of the sleep-wake cycle. Because of its role in energy homeostasis, it was hypothesized that orexin levels are likely regulated by the growth hormone axis. Recent research supports this fact and suggests that sermorelin may be effective in treating conditions in which orexin release is dysfunctional e.g. narcolepsy, defined as a neurological disorder that affects the sleep-wake cycle.

Understanding Orexin

The brain contains just 10,000 to 20,000 orexin neurons (also called hypocretin), a relatively low number. Interestingly, these neurons extend throughout the entire brain and spinal cord. Additionally, there are receptors for orexins throughout the nervous system. Deficiencies of orexin have been linked to obesity (orexin stimulates fat burning) and narcolepsy while overstimulation of certain orexin receptors has been shown to cause changes in reward-seeking behavior. It is hypothesized that the ability to manipulate orexin may be useful in cases of addiction, overeating, and other medical conditions. Scientific studies based on animal test subjects have shown that Sermorelin may indirectly stimulate orexin neurons and thus increase overall levels of orexin in the nervous system.

CONCLUSION

Many mysteries remain about the association between sermorelin and sleep. A key focus of research is to understand the function and regulation of sleep and how sermorelin induces a better quality of sleep. These, and many other questions, represent the frontier of the research. You can purchase sermorelin for your research from Loti Labs. It is tested through HPLC and Mass spectrometry to ensure quality. Sermorelin is available in lyophilized powder form and is commonly sold in 2mg vials.

References:

National Center for Biotechnology Information. PubChem Database. Sermorelin, CID=16129620, https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/compound/Sermorelin (accessed on Dec. 31, 2019).

Van Cauter E, Plat L. Physiology of growth hormone secretion during sleep. J Pediatr. 1996;128(5 Pt 2): S32–S37. doi:10.1016/s0022-3476(96)70008-2

Van Cauter E, Copinschi G. Interrelationships between growth hormone and sleep. Growth Horm IGF Res. 2000;10 Suppl B: S57–S62. doi:10.1016/s1096-6374(00)80011-8

National Institutes of Health (US); Biological Sciences Curriculum Study. NIH Curriculum Supplement Series [Internet]. Bethesda (MD): National Institutes of Health (US); 2007. Information about Sleep. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK20359/

Walker RF. Sermorelin: a better approach to the management of adult-onset growth hormone insufficiency?. Clin Interv Aging. 2006;1(4):307–308. doi:10.2147/ciia.2006.1.4.307