Experiences With ZMA

Diet and Nutrition
21

[quote]th_underdog wrote:
bikemike wrote:
Nate Dogg wrote:
deanosumo wrote:
It gives me a big boner in the morning as well as the deep sleep and dreams.

Yup.

It gave me a big boner at night. So bad that I had to do myself a couple of times before I could get to sleep. But over time, that effect has worn off.

Glad I didn’t have to pay for that information.

Does anybody take it nightly even if your physical activity drops? I am presently injured and besides running for 20 min/ 3 X week I am sedentary. Not worried about too much ZM just wonder if its necessary. Thinking about taking it every other night.[/quote]

Try taking it every other night and see if you notice any difference from taking it every night. I’d experiment for 3-4 weeks at a time.

22

I always take ZMA with either GABA or Valerian Root (which converts to GABA), [CY, please confirm this]…

Valerian Root knocks me the hell out (800mg) and I’ll pop that with Biotest’s own ZMA, as I used to take ZMA Fuel (twinlab, obviously) and thought it was ok, but not as good as Tim Patterson’s Own.

I take my Nighttime protein an hour before popping these, and Ill pop ZMA as my head’s hitting the pillow.

So far, it seems ive been able to guggle the ZMA and calcium effectivley, though it might be placebo so I suggest following other’s advice on this one.

But concider the Valerian Root with the ZMA.

23

http://www.t-nation.com/readTopic.do?id=459250

24

I’ve always wanted to learn how to guggle:p

25

I thought that the calcium interacts with the magnesium, not the zinc. Considering that calcium and magnesium do opposite actions in muscles it would just seem logical.

For $9 a month, you can’t go wrong. Some say that Surge is their most important supplement, but I say that ZMA is the easiest to keep stocked in my cupboard.

And I haven’t really noticed extra morning wood since I started taking ZMA. I’ll try to pay attention more to see if this is true.

26

[quote]chrismcl wrote:
And I haven’t really noticed extra morning wood since I started taking ZMA. I’ll try to pay attention more to see if this is true.[/quote]

If you need to pay attention, then you ain’t getting it.

:wink:

27

I’ve been taking it for over a week now although I’ve never had any problems falling or staying asleep.

What I’ve noticed is that I remember my dreams most nights, although these are not particularly bizarre (as some people report). However, the biggest effect has to be that it knocks me out! I have been unable to get up on time since I started; I just hit the alarm off and continue sleeping.

In view of this, I’ve decided to try taking it during the day to see what happens. At the very least it will help me sleep better at the office, no?

And I didn’t get any morning wood with it.

I would’ve noticed.

28

deep sleep: check (not a prob b4 tho)
vivid dreams: check (new! this is the best part, imho)
burning the midnight wood: check (new!)
morning wood: check (not new)

after ~ month of use, so 3 thumbs up!

Bastard

29

Been taking ZMA daily for 3 weeks now. I’m not getting the morning wood, but I am getting the 3AM wood in the middle of the night unless I rub one out before bedtime.

30

[quote]Panther1015 wrote:
Been taking ZMA daily for 3 weeks now. I’m not getting the morning wood, but I am getting the 3AM wood in the middle of the night unless I rub one out before bedtime.[/quote]

rub one what out? i don’t get it.

31

My girlfriend has really appreciated that I’m taking ZMA and RED KAT without her even knowing it. I seem to be ready for action twice as much as before and I’ve only been on it for two weeks.

The dreams have been bothering me somewhat. I hardly ever remember a dream and now I’m having vivid dreams atleast every other night. Some not so good. Like the one I had the other night where my girlfriend was flirting with some guy right in front of me and then went on to ignore me while she started to make out with this dude. I pulled out a huge knife and was about to stab them both when I woke up. I almost woke her just to tell her off. I was raging mad with all the signs of blood rush,excelerated heart beat and breath.

Otherwise, it’s all good.

32

[quote]BJJER wrote:
My girlfriend has really appreciated that I’m taking ZMA and RED KAT without her even knowing it. I seem to be ready for action twice as much as before and I’ve only been on it for two weeks.

The dreams have been bothering me somewhat. I hardly ever remember a dream and now I’m having vivid dreams atleast every other night. Some not so good. Like the one I had the other night where my girlfriend was flirting with some guy right in front of me and then went on to ignore me while she started to make out with this dude. I pulled out a huge knife and was about to stab them both when I woke up. I almost woke her just to tell her off. I was raging mad with all the signs of blood rush,excelerated heart beat and breath.

Otherwise, it’s all good.[/quote]

I know what you mean … she’s really appreciated me taking it too. (ok, bad joke)

But seriously, you’ve got issues … and probably good that you didn’t wake her … especially if you were all excited.

Another reason not to keep weapons in the bedroom. (weapons, not toys)

“Otherwise, it’s all good.”

Seek help,
Bastard

33

And yeah, 3AM wood is technically “morning” wood. But to me, morning wood is what you get when you wake up to start the day and I don’t usually do that until around 6:30AM.

34

[quote]BluePfaltz wrote:
I always take ZMA with either GABA or Valerian Root (which converts to GABA), [Cy, please confirm this]…

Valerian Root knocks me the hell out (800mg) and I’ll pop that with Biotest’s own ZMA, as I used to take ZMA Fuel (twinlab, obviously) and thought it was ok, but not as good as Tim Patterson’s Own.

I take my Nighttime protein an hour before popping these, and Ill pop ZMA as my head’s hitting the pillow.

So far, it seems ive been able to guggle the ZMA and calcium effectivley, though it might be placebo so I suggest following other’s advice on this one.

But concider the Valerian Root with the ZMA.[/quote]

I am currently just taking the GABA prior to bed. One side affect is the shortness of breath for a couple of minutes 10-15 minutes after taking it. At first it surprised the hell out of me…then I found out it’s a normal reaction.

What advantage is there to adding the ZMA that you’ve found? Since GABA is a sleep therapy alternative…just curious.

35

[quote]I am currently just taking the GABA prior to bed. One side affect is the shortness of breath for a couple of minutes 10-15 minutes after taking it. At first it surprised the hell out of me…then I found out it’s a normal reaction.

[/quote]

Shortness of breath is normal? I thought that was a sign of an allergic reaction or serious illness.

36

[quote]nickels wrote:
I am currently just taking the GABA prior to bed. One side affect is the shortness of breath for a couple of minutes 10-15 minutes after taking it. At first it surprised the hell out of me…then I found out it’s a normal reaction.

Shortness of breath is normal? I thought that was a sign of an allergic reaction or serious illness.[/quote]

It’s not a sign of an allergic reaction…I’ve been taking it for over a month…and my sleep is very deep. Now I fully expect the shortness of breath. It lasts for only 30 seconds or so. If you do a google on GABA you’ll read more on this reaction.

37

Recently I started getting eye twitches more frequently. I’m a sleep technician so I work third shift and switch to a day schedule on my days off. With all the switching around I tend to be severly sleep deprived once or twice a week.

I thought the eye twitching was due to this. After it started happening ever day I started researching it a bit. Apparently a lack of magnesium can cause eye twitching. This coinciding with me not taking ZMA during the same period. Got right back on and the eye twitching went away.

So, yeah, ZMA good.

38

I definitely sleep deeper with ZMA, always wake up feeling refreshed instead of groggy. Usually though with ZMA I will wake up naturally slightly earlier than I normally would possibly due to the quality of sleep being better.
ex drive also definitely increases while ZMAing…

ShadoW

39

[quote]mertdawg wrote:

No but I added zinc and magnesium to my nighttime suppliments. I had had trouble sleeping and immediately starting having more vivid dreams (or remembering them). It was cause and effect. One night I’d take em and remember 2-3 dreams, one night I wouldn’t and no dreams.
[/quote]

Are you sure you took the right pills? :wink:

40

[quote]daMOJO wrote:
Also, you should note that taking ZMA with calcium will diminish the effects of the ZMA.

That’s because Zinc and Calcium compete for absorption in your body.

So no multi-vitamins or dairy products within, say, an hour of taking ZMA.[/quote]

Yeah, or you could just quit believing everything some of these new-agey T-Nation people think and take your ZMA with a huge glass of milk.

Am J Clin Nutr. 1984 Dec;40(6):1213-8. Links
Effect of calcium and phosphorus on zinc metabolism in man.

  • Spencer H,
  • Kramer L,
  • Norris C,
  • Osis D.

Calcium and phosphorus have been shown to inhibit the availability of zinc for absorption in animal studies, but limited information is available on this subject in man. In the present study, the effect of both calcium and phosphorus on zinc metabolism was investigated in adult men by determining metabolic balances of zinc during three intake levels of calcium of 200, 800, and 2000 mg/day, and during two intake levels of phosphorus of 800 and 2000 mg/day. The analyzed dietary zinc intake was normal and was kept constant throughout all study phases. Increasing the calcium intake from 200 mg to two higher intake levels up to 2000 mg/day did not significantly change the urinary or fecal zinc excretions or the zinc balance. Also, increasing the phosphorus intake from 800 to a high intake of 2000 mg/day did not have any effect. The simultaneous use of the high calcium and high phosphorus intake also had no effect on zinc excretions and on the zinc balance.

J Nutr. 1982 Jan;112(1):136-43. Links
Effect of dietary calcium and phosphorus levels on the utilization of iron, copper, and zinc by adult males.

  • Snedeker SM,
  • Smith SA,
  • Greger JL.

Iron, copper, and zinc utilization were examined in nine adult males fed a moderate calcium-moderate phosphorus diet (MCaMP), a moderate calcium-high phosphorus diet (MCaHP), and a high calcium-high phosphorus diet (HCaHP) during a 39-day balance study. The moderate and high calcium diets contained 780 mg and 2382 mg calcium daily, respectively. The moderate and high phosphorus diets contained 843 and 2442 mg phosphorus daily, respectively. The calcium supplements were fed as calcium gluconate, while the phosphorus supplements were fed as glycerol phosphate. Subjects lost more iron and copper in their feces and apparently retained less iron and copper when fed the HCaHP diet than when fed the other two diets, but these effects were not statistically significant. Urinary iron and copper excretion were significantly affected by the dietary treatments. Dietary treatments had no effect on subjects’ fecal and urinary losses of zinc nor on their apparent retention of zinc. Plasma iron, zinc, copper, and transferrin levels and serum ferritin levels were not affected by the dietary treatments.