Shut Eye

7.1

Sleep latency

7.0/10

Sleep quality

7.0/10

Price

5.5/10

Safety

9.0/10

Positives

• Melatonin dose is perfect
• Utilizes good form of magnesium
• Contains a good dose of theanine

Negatives

• Magnesium dose is low
• Chamomile doesn't really work as extract powder
• Valerian is unproven
• GABA doesn't cross blood-brain barrier

Nuvana Shut Eye Review: Does this sleep aid work?

Shut Eye is a brand new sleep aid from Nuvana Nutrition. It claims to be “neurologist formulated”. This kind of claim always makes us a bit worried; many supplements claimed to be “doctor formulated” or “doctor recommended”, and they almost always turn out to be scams. Just because something is made by a doctor does not mean it is good – REMEMBER THAT!

So what does Nuvana Shut Eye do exactly?

According to the main sales page, Nuvana Shut Eye enhances every aspect of sleep. It promises to:

• Help you fall asleep faster
• Get more deep, high quality sleep
• Stay asleep for longer
• Wake up feeling more refreshed

Nuvana say that Shut Eye delivers all of these benefits without posing any side effect risks. They say that it is non-habit forming, is vegetarian friendly, and that its ingredients are all clinically proven.

We’ll be the judge of that!

Does Nuvana Shut Eye really work? Will it cause side effects? Is it safe long term? Is there a better sleep aid than Nuvana Shut Eye on the market right now? Read our detailed Nuvana Shut Eye review below and you’ll find answers to all these questions and more.

Nuvana Shut Eye Ingredients

Here is the Shut Eye formula as it appears on the bottle:

Below is a quick rundown of the ingredients in Shut Eye; what they do, if and how they contribute to better sleeping patterns, and what we make of the serving sizes. Please post any questions you might have to the comments section at the end.

Magnesium – 10mg

Magnesium supplementation has been linked with both longer, deeper sleep, and with reduced sleep latency. This shouldn’t come as a surprise; magnesium regulates your hormones, some of which (e.g cortisol) are heavily involved in your sleeping cycle. We don’t get much magnesium from Shut Eye, which is a big shame.

Theanine – 200mg

Theanine is a amino acid naturally found in large quantities in black tea (and to a lesser extent, green tea). It is a reliable muscle relaxant, anxiolytic, and sleep aid. It reduces sleep latency – speeding up the process of falling asleep – while promoting deeper, more restful sleep. It does not have a powerful sedative effect; it simply promotes calmness and helps relax the body. Consuming significant doses of theanine will help you fall asleep more easily at night. It is therefore ideal for restless sleepers and athletes who struggle to sleep with sore muscles.

GABA – 200mg

GABA is the main inhibitory neurotransmitter in humans. Stimulating GABA receptors reduces anxiety, relaxes the mind and body, and lowers your inhibitions. However, consuming GABA orally does not lead to greater GABA activity in the brain. GABA is poorly absorbed in the gut. On top of that, the little GABA that does make it to the head does not readily cross the blood-brain barrier. Supplementing with GABA is – according to our research – completely pointless.

Valerian Root Extract – 150mg

Valerian root is a common ingredient in natural sleep supplements today. People variously claim that it is a natural sedative, a muscle relaxant, an anxiolytic, and more. However, the only studies we’ve ever seen in which people experienced better sleep while taking valerian root extracts all used multiple substances at once. That is, we’ve never seen proof that valerian root supplementation by itself produces better sleeping patterns in humans.

5-HTP – 100mg

5-HTP is a precursor of serotonin; this is one of your main ‘feel good’ neurotransmitters. Serotonin produces feelings of love, empathy, closeness, and contentment. Large concentrations produce euphoria and joy. Supplementing with 5-HTP supports healthy serotonin synthesis in the brain; having more 5-HTP means the body has more of the raw materials it needs to make new serotonin. Having higher serotonin levels will reduce anxiety while inducing a positive, calm mood. This can have a powerful effect on sleep, especially if worries about work keep you up at night!

Chamomile Flower Extract – 100mg

Chamomile tea is the archetypal relaxing drink. It has been used for centuries as a stress and anxiety reliever, as well as a natural sleep aid. However, there isn’t a great deal of evidence supporting its use in modern sleep supplements. There is a lot of anecdotal data to support the use of chamomile as an anxiolytic. But there have been no independent, clinical trials showing good results from chamomile supplementation (at least none that we have been able to find).

Passionflower Extract – 100mg

Like chamomile, passionflower is a widely-used but completely unproven sleep aid. We’ve never seen a single peer-reviewed paper which shows a statistically meaningful difference in sleep quality resulting from passionflower supplementation. Not one. Until we see a proper study – from credible researchers – showing passionflower having a big effect on sleep quality, we’re going to just assume it’s bogus.

Lemon Balm Extract – 100mg

There are a couple of research papers out there which suggest that lemon balm might be a good sleep enhancer. At least one study we read found that lemon balm supplementation was able to improve sleep quality in people with anxiety-related sleep disorders. However, we’ve only been able to find a couple of proper studies on lemon balm and its effect on sleep. We need to see more research before we really buy into this stuff.

Melatonin – 5mg

Melatonin governs your sleeping cycle. When it is released in the brain, this hormone makes you feel sleepy. When melatonin levels are high enough, you will fall into a deep sleep. Then when levels begin to drop off, you’ll gradually become more awake. Supplementing with melatonin is a very effective way to get back onto a healthy sleeping cycle; 2-5mg an hour beforehand is all you need to drift off into a deep, restorative sleep.

Melatonin is the most reliable sleep supplement in the world. We know that it works, we know how it works, and it never seems to cause any notable side effects. The fact that Nuvana Shut Eye contains a nice big 5mg dose of melatonin is a big selling point!

On the whole, we’re mightily unimpressed with Nuvana Shut Eye.

It is a boring, mediocre sleeping supplement. There are much more effective, interesting, and ultimately more effective sleep aids on the market today.

Side Effects: Is Nuvana Shut Eye safe?

There is nothing in Nuvana Shut Eye that makes us worried about side effects. Not in the slightest. We doubt any of you will experience even mild side effects while using this sleep aid.

The ingredients used in Nuvana Shut Eye are natural, they’re widely used, and they’ve been tested in numerous clinical trials. None of them are thought to pose even moderate side effect risks – not at these doses at least.

If you do experience any side effects while using Shut Eye, contact Nuvana directly and get their advice. Stop using the supplement and seek medical attention right away.

In conclusion – Is Nuvana Shut Eye any good?

We don’t think Nuvana Shut Eye is a good choice for anybody looking for help getting more, better quality sleep.

The formula has some serious flaws.

GABA doesn’t actually work how many assume it does; it cannot effectively cross the blood-brain barrier.

Chamomile, passionflower and valerian root lack solid scientific evidence.

The magnesium dose is very low and theanine can be obtained from tea.

We’re sure that many people will see good results from using Nuvana Shut Eye. The large dose of melatonin will see to that!

But if you want the best possible results – and a bit more bang for your buck – we recommend investing in a more professional sleep aid.

Nuvana Shut Eye has quite a generic formula; we’d go as far as to say it uses a boring formula. There are much better options on the market today for sure.

B. Johnson

Brian Johnson is a former academic researcher, psychologist, and tireless proponent of bio-hacking. Brian has dedicated all of his time since leaving academia and private practice to promoting the benefits to be obtained from the application of biotechnology and bio-hacking supplements. He has years of experience with nootropics, as well as prebiotics, probiotics, and other natural nutritional supplements. He has published scholarly research on natural nootropics; you can find his papers on his Google Scholar page.