Better sleep thanks to spirulina

Definition: "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance "

12.05.2025

A two-gram dose of spirulina taken before bed reduces the time it takes you to fall asleep by 15 minutes - and improves the quality of your sleep, according to a human study published in Food Science & Nutrition.

Better sleep thanks to spirulina

Study

Thai researchers experimented for 8 weeks with 2 groups of 33 test subjects each with mild to moderate depression. During the experiment, one group took a placebo every night before bedtime, while the other group took two grams of spirulina.

The researchers used a product from the Thai biotech company Siambiota. Sambiota did not sponsor the study.

The researchers waste little time on the exact composition. They do say that the algae used were not of a special type and that the extracts were packaged in gel capsules to improve the absorption of bioactive substances such as tryptophan, gamma-linolenic acid, vitamin B1, phytocyanin and carotenoids.

Results
During the experiment, the researchers measured the subjects' sleep using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire. The lower you score, the better. During the experiment, the scores of both groups improved, but the decrease was most convincing in the experimental group.

Click on the figure and table below for a larger version.

From the values in the table above, you can see that the control group rated their sleep quality as average 'moderate to good' during the experiment. This did not change during the 8 weeks that the experiment lasted.

However, according to the experimental group, the quality of sleep improved from 'moderate to good' to 'good to very good'.

Compared to the control group, supplementation with spirulina reduced the time it took the subjects to fall asleep [sleep latency] by fifteen minutes.

Conclusion
"Supplementing with spirulina, a natural food supplement, is an option for increasing sleep quality and mental health", the researchers summarize.

"Further clinical studies, potentially conducted over extended periods, could provide additional support for the trends observed in this study."

Source:
Food Science & Nutrition, 2025; 13:e70082.

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Spirulina, an unlikely supplement for erectile dysfunction 28.10.2020

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