Calcium (As Calcium Carbonate) 100 MG - Calcium is a mineral most often associated with dairy products and the ability to improve the health of your bones, joints, and muscles.
However, it also helps consumers fall asleep faster and ensure they enter REM sleep (rapid eye movement), which is the most restful kind, to make sure that they wake up feeling totally fresh and restored. It can then even offer other health benefits, such as keeping your heart healthy and regulating your hormone levels.
With 100 mg being a sufficient dosage to provide all of these benefits for most healthy adults that eat a balanced diet, the Fenotrex sleep aid formula actually starts off looking pretty good (1).
Magnesium (As Magnesium Oxide) 50 MG - The other mineral in the Fenotrex formula, magnesium, plays a vital role in more than 600 different reactions in the cells throughout the human body, brain, and nervous system, many of which have an effect on the sleep quality you will experience each and every night.
Research suggests those with a high level of magnesium in their system will enjoy a higher level of both physical and mental calmness and relaxation, which will make it easier to fall asleep. It can then also help soothe the muscles and prevent dehydration, cramping, sleep issues, and poor sleep quality.
The problem is, you need to consume 225 mg of magnesium each day in order for it to help improve sleep quality. This means the 50 mg in each dose of the Fenotrex sleep aid is far too low and unlikely to do you any good at all (2).
Vitamin B6 (As Pyridoxine Hydrochloride) 2 MG - Vitamin B6 consists of 6 compounds that between them control more than 140 different coenzyme reactions throughout the human body.
It is added to sleep supplements due to its ability to improve your neurotransmitter biosynthesis, brain cell health and functions, metabolic rate, and testosterone levels, all of which will prevent sleep problems and improve recovery, while also promoting REM sleep and improved sleep quality directly.
Unfortunately, 1.5 mg is said to be the highest dose of vitamin b6 that you can safely take each day. This means the 2 mg in every serving of the Fenotrex sleep aid is too strong and puts you at an increased risk of experiencing side effects (3).
Proprietary Blend 485 MG
Valerian Root Extract - Valerian root extract is a mild, natural sedative that crosses the blood brain barrier and stimulates the pineal gland in the brain, causing it to increase the production of GABA neurotransmitters.
This reduces anxiety and stress and helps you feel calmer and more relaxed, making it significantly easier for you to fall asleep quickly each night. The issue is, you need to consume at least 300 mg of valerian root extract each day for it to produce any of these effects (4).
While it is technically possible that the Fenotrex sleep aid contains this amount, valerian root being hidden in a proprietary blend makes it impossible to know for sure, while the large numbers of other ingredients in the blend makes it highly unlikely.
Hops Flower Extract - Hops flower extract is said to have antioxidant and mild sedative properties that reduce stress, depression, tension, anxiety, and chronic insomnia. This would make it far easier for you to fall asleep and enjoy a healthy sleep cycle (5).
There are, however, a couple of issues with its use.
Not only do you need to consume at least 300 mg of hops flower extract each day for it to be of any use in sleep aids, which is more than can possibly be in Fenotrex, but there are also claims that it can make you feel hungry, which can make it harder to stay asleep and cause your sleep problems to get even worse.
Skullcap Extract - The skullcap is a flowering plant in the mint family that has a long history of being used in Chinese and other traditional medicines, due to claims that it can improve your mood, reduce anxiety and inflammation, boost brain, heart, and immune health and functions, and be used to treat chronic insomnia.
However, as it has also been linked to a number of severe side effects and needs to be used in a much larger dose than can possibly be present here, its inclusion is far more likely do harm you than it is to do you any good (6).
Chamomile Flower Extract - Chamomile flower extract contains a chemical called apigenin and is well known for its ability to reduce anxiety and stress and help you feel calmer and more relaxed. This helps you fall asleep faster and stay asleep longer, while preventing issues that can cause sleep disorders, such as inflammation and digestion.
The problem is, these sleep benefits will only be produced when you consume a minimum of 1.1 grams of chamomile flower extract per day. As this is more than double the weight of the entire blend that it is located in, the Fenotrex sleep aid can't possibly contain enough chamomile extract to be of any use (7).
Passionflower Extract - Passionflower extract has been used as a traditional medicine in the Americas for decades, due to claims that it can be used to treat insomnia, anxiety, hysteria, and even seizures.
Studies on complementary and integrative health history believe that it can increase the brain's production of GABA, causing brain signals to be sent more slowly. This would induce a feeling of relaxation and make it easier to drift off and enjoy restful sleep each night.
The issue is, limited research has actually been done on passionflower extract and its effects, and most of what has been done has been when it has been combined with other medications or natural sleep aids (8).
This means there is little to no conclusive evidence that its presence in the Fenotrex sleep aid will promote restful sleep at all.
L-Taurine - L-taurine is an amino acid that enables the human body to maintain optimal brain, eye, heart, muscle, and central nervous system health and functions, which could reduce insomnia symptoms, while also being able to help reduce your "bad" ldl cholesterol levels and promote fat burning and weight loss.
However, there are a couple of problems with its use here. Not only will l-taurine produce these effects only if you consume at least 3 grams per day, which is far more than this sleep aid can possibly contain, but it is also best known for its ability to boost your energy levels (9).
So, while it is a very strange ingredient to include in any natural sleep aids, the dosage present here means it is again highly unlikely to do anything at all.
Inositol - Inositol is a natural sugar that complementary and integrative health history studies show can regulate blood sugar and cholesterol levels and insulin sensitivity, aid weight loss, and combat polycystic ovary syndrome and diabetes.
Some studies also claim that inositol can increase serotonin production, which would improve your mood, relieve stress, and make it easier to relax and fall asleep. However, as this claim has not been substantiated by medical professionals, it is equally as likely that its presence in Fenotrex does nothing at all (10).
GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid) - GABA is a neurotransmitter made by the pineal gland in the brain of all mammals that interacts with the parasympathetic nervous system to regulate levels of anxiety, excitability, and stress.
Increasing its presence will make it easier to feel calm and relaxed, enabling you to fall asleep faster and enjoy better sleep (11).
However, while the proprietary blend hides the exact GABA dosage, we can easily see that only a miniscule amount far lower than what is required to be of any use is present in Fenotrex.
Pros
Cons
Most of the proven ingredients are present in doses that are too low to be of use in non-prescription sleeping pills, while others are present in dosages that are too high and likely to cause side effects
References