Gorilla Dream Review: Is this sleep aid any good?

Gorilla are a new supplement manufacturer on the scene, but they have quickly established themselves as a serious health and fitness brand. They specialize in sports-performance products, with a particular focus on sports-specific nootropics. Their Gorilla Mind Rush product is already pretty popular.

So what does Gorilla Dream claim to do? Who is it designed for?

According to the bottle, Gorilla Dream is a “sleep & recovery formula”. We’re told that it helps you get a better night’s sleep by:

1. Promoting deep sleep
2. Promoting vivid dreams
3. Helping you wake up feeling more refreshed

It is interesting that this is a “sleep & recovery formula”. Few sleep aids are designed specifically to promote recovery, although deep sleep is the ultimate recovery aid! We expect to see some extra ingredients to help you recover from intensive training in Gorilla Dream.

So, does Gorilla Dream really work as described? Is this an effective sleep aid? Is Gorilla Dream safe? Will it cause side effects? Find out by reading our full Gorilla Dream review below.

Gorilla Dream Ingredients

Here is the Gorilla Dream formula as it appears on the bottle:

Here is a list of the ingredients in Gorilla Dream in case that label isn’t showing:

We’ll now give you a brief overview of what each ingredient does – or doesn’t do – for sleep. We will tell you what we make of the scientific evidence behind each ingredient (if it exists), and what we think of the dose. If you have any questions, please post them in the comments at the end.

GABA – 500mg

GABA is the chief inhibitory neurotransmitter in the mammalian CNS. In more simple terms, GABA is the neurotransmitter which dulls your central nervous system. That means GABA reduces nerve sensitivity, relaxes the muscles, reduces tension, and reduces anxiety. It also lowers your inhibitions. Having a nice release of GABA before sleep would help anybody who struggles to “switch off” at night.

The problem is that oral supplementation doesn’t work with GABA. GABA is not well absorbed in the gut, and it does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier. Consuming GABA is therefore not a good way to increase GABA levels in the brain! Gorilla Dream’s main ingredient is a dud!

Phenylalanine – 375mg

Phenylalanine is a non-essential amino acid. That means you do not need to consume this amino acid to stay alive. In fact, we aren’t exactly certain what role phenylalanine plays in the body. One thing we can tell you though is that it seems to have nothing to do with sleep!

We have no idea why phenylalanine is in Gorilla Dream. It’s possible that one sleep aid included it in their formula as a bulking agent, and others have started to copy. But we see no reason to think this stuff works as a sleep enhancer.

Valerian Root Extract – 300mg

The useless ingredients just don’t stop in this formula! Valerian Root is used in dozens – maybe hundreds – of sleep aids on the market today. But we don’t know of any convincing clinical studies showing valerian root supplementation having a positive effect on sleep. As far as we’re concerned, it doesn’t work.

L-Ornithine – 250mg

We don’t know why Gorilla Dream contains Ornithine. This amino acid plays a role in the urea cycle. We don’t know of any benefits associated with ornithine supplementation. It is sometimes used in the treatment of liver disease, and occasionally to enhance wound healing. But it isn’t thought to be an effective recovery aid. Nor is it thought to be a sleep enhancer. Yet more dead weight in Gorilla Dream!

L-Theanine – 250mg

Theanine is a fantastic natural sleep aid. This amino acid works in several different ways at the same time. It reduces anxiety, reduces muscle soreness, and counters the effects of caffeine. It has been shown in clinical trials to be effective for reducing sleep latency and promoting deep, restful, high quality sleep.

Consuming 250mg of theanine shortly before bed will definitely help you fall asleep faster and to stay asleep for longer. Gorilla Dream really got this one right.

Chamomile Extract – 175mg

People have been drinking chamomile tea to get a better night’s sleep for a long time. But unfortunately, Chamomile isn’t an effective sleep aid when consumed orally. It certainly doesn’t pack the same kind of punch as other, more powerful sleep enhancers like Tryptophan, Melatonin, or Magnesium. We think you are better off just drinking chamomile as a relaxing, caffeine-free drink before bed. Don’t spend good money on folk remedies that have no scientific backing.

Mucuna Pruriens – 105mg (98% L-DOPA)

Mucuna Pruriens isn’t a sleep aid. It is an effective natural testosterone booster; studies have found that consuming high L-DOPA Mucuna Pruriens extracts increases free and total testosterone by a considerable degree. But there is no reason to think that Mucuna Pruriens will help you sleep better; higher testosterone levels do not correlate with better sleep, but better sleep does correlate with higher testosterone levels.

However, we need to remember that this is a sleep and recovery stack. Extra testosterone will definitely help you recover better at night. Gorilla Dream provides 100mg, which isn’t a lot.

Melatonin – 3mg

Melatonin is the most effective, proven, reliable sleep aid in existence. At least in our opinion. Consuming melatonin reliable increases melatonin levels in the brain – something we can’t say about GABA. Melatonin governs your sleep-wake cycle. The release of melatonin in the brain is what triggers feelings of drowsiness, and spikes throughout the night put you into the deepest stages of sleep. The 3mg we get from Gorilla Dream is plenty to see real benefits.

Some people will no doubt see improvements in sleep timing and duration while using Gorilla Dream. However, they wont see any more benefits than when using a simple melatonin supplement. But they will be paying more.

If you just want something to promote deeper sleep, then melatonin is a great option. If you want to truly optimize your sleep, consider using a professional quality sleeping stack.

Gorilla Dream Side Effects – Is it safe long term?

On the whole, Gorilla Dream looks like a safe sleep aid to us.

All of the ingredients are well-understood. They’ve all been thoroughly tested in laboratory conditions and have been found to be perfectly safe for regular human consumption.

None of them are thought to pose serious health risks or to cause notable side effects.

Anyone who is allergic to Phenylalanine obviously needs to stay well away from this supplement. Since phenylalanine has no benefits we aren’t sure why Gorilla included any – it just makes the product unsuitable for some people for no reason.

We’re also slightly concerned about messing around with the urea cycle by using ornithine. Again, we get no benefits from it, so why include it?

But apart from these concerns, Gorilla Dream looks safe for the vast majority of users.

In conclusion – Is Gorilla Dream a good sleep enhancer?

We really don’t see why anybody would use Gorilla Dream when the formula is so full of useless or unproven ingredients.

There are some exceptionally high quality sleep aids on the market today.

They don’t use ingredients that lack scientific proof like Valerian Root, Ornithine or GABA.

Nor do they bulk out their formula with benign amino acids like phenylalanine.

Instead, they combine scientifically-proven, effective sleep aids in large doses.

To us, Gorilla Dream is a poor supplement. Far better alternatives are available regardless of what it is you’re looking for from a sleep aid.