Sleep Aid Review - Battle Ready Fuel - Tackle First Night Effect

Battle Ready Fuel Sleep Aid Supplement Review

Ben BA(Hons), PGCert

Battle Ready Fuel have a large product range that was developed by ex-special forces operators, however, sleep aids are often not really given much consideration.

Yet, I know how difficult it can be to rest somewhere new for that first night, especially if I am out in the field or in unfamiliar barracks.

There’s even a name for it. First Night Effect. This is when you have trouble nodding off in a strange environment.

So, maybe there is more to this sleep aid supplement than initially thought.

LAST UPDATED: March 2018 by Ben.

BRF Sleep Aid

Sleep is very important.

It doesn’t matter what your profession, your age or gender, without enough rest you cannot perform mentally or physically to your full. It can even increase the risk of chronic diseases such as obesity. [1]

In fact, without wanting to be too dramatic, it can be the cause of death.

If you are too tired to operate machinery or a vehicle it could be the cause of a fatal accident, if not for the driver/operator someone else who maybe in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Furthermore, over time, sleep deprivation can reduce your immunity, this means you are at more risk to infections. [2]

Consistent sleep deprivation could be a contributor to mortality and a lower quality of life.

First Night Effect

So, picture this.

You are in a new city, a new building, a new bed.

An area and environment that you are not familiar with.

And, you cannot get to switch off. Thoughts running through your brain and you are hyper-aware that you need to get up in the morning for a certain time.

Does this sound familiar?

It does to me. Every time I have to sleep in an unfamiliar environment, particularly if I am training with the army, I find the first night particularly difficult.

I find it difficult to get to sleep initially, then I will wake numerous times during the night expecting there to be about 30 minutes left until my alarm goes off. Yet it never does…

This is a recognized condition.

It is known as First Night Effect (FNE). [3]

Sleeping in a new environment could be seen as a risk management strategy by your brain in order to monitor the change in surroundings. [4]

This is your own bodies night-watch man, a natural vigilance system to protect yourself.

However, it is frustrating, especially if your day ahead is going to be taxing, physically or mentally.

Muscle Recovery

It may be common knowledge that as we physically exert ourselves we need to sleep.

This sleep helps your body recover. And it helps your muscle recover so they can become bigger and stronger.

This is because a lack of sleep decreases protein synthesis, increases cortisol levels and reduces both testosterone but also Growth Factor 1 levels. [5]

Fat Gain

Furthermore, another study outlined that just 5 consecutive days of 4 hours sleep per night caused people to gain more weight. [6]

Gender and race is not exempt, either.

African Americans gained more weight than Caucasians. And men gained more weight than women according to the results.

However, while the lack of sleep could be a contributing cause for weight gain, it was discovered that those who were deprived of sleep simply consumed more calories during their waking hours.

Cognitive Function

Yes, the effect sleep (or lack of) can have on your brain function.

It has been reported that sleep deprivation has a negative effect on brain function and impairs cognitive performance. [7]

Yet, it is theorized that sleep deprivation targets certain areas of cognitive function [8]. Those functions most at risk are:

Language skills
Creativity
Divergent thinking
Executive function (memory)

Statistics

Data suggests that 70 million people in the U.S suffer from issues with their sleep [9]. That is more people than the population of France!

It is reported that approximately 21% of Americans get less than 6 hours of sleep per day. [10]

Then consider that the recommended advice is that we need to get 7 to 9 hours of sleep per 24 hours to encourage optimal health. [11]

There are some other great sources regarding sleep hygiene available to advise you about best practices to ensure great sleep.

Importance

So, from this brief introduction, we can already appreciate how important rest is, and how easily it can be disrupted.

Further thoughts on the reasons behind sleep deprivation are as simple as longer working hours and wanting to pack in as much leisure time as possible. [12]

As a result, I am keen to try this sleep aid supplement from Battle Ready Fuel to see if it can help me get a good night’s sleep.

Who is BRF?

Battle Ready Fuel was established by ex-special forces soldier, Ollie Ollerton.

Ollie has served in the British Special Forces as an operator and prior to that, he was a Royal Marine Commando.

He has quite literally lived a life most people cannot even imagine or dare think up.

His body and mind will have been pushed to its limits on numerous occasions. Therefore, if anyone knows how to conquer those limits, he does.

He has released a range of supplements that we can all utilize to get the best from our performance.

Okay, getting to sleep a little better or lifting an extra pound on the bar may not seem like anything compared to fighting terrorists in far-flung hostile territories, but we all have our own battles to win.

None more than trying to get a good night’s sleep!

And, as the evidence in the studies cited in the above text will confirm, as will my own experiences; sleep deprivation has a negative effect on our mental capacity and body composition.

Nutrient Profile

All of the Battle Ready Fuel products have a transparent nutrient profile and not a proprietary blend.

This means that we know exactly how much of each ingredient is included, thus we can evaluate and analyze studies that are available to understand how they may be able to benefit you.

Calcium

When you think of calcium you think of bones and teeth.

This is because that our body may contain up to 2kg of calcium due to the content in our skeleton and teeth.

As such, calcium is part of the 24 nutrients that are required by your body to ensure good health. [13]

In fact, calcium has a major effect on muscle, nerve, hormones and many other areas of bodily function.

However, calcium also has an impact on sleep, and that’s what we are concentrating here, in this review.

Sleep

There are a number of studies that look at the role of calcium and sleep.

And, it is these that may be the answer as to why it is often prescribed to drink a glass of warm milk before bed for a better nights rest.

This is then qualified by data that supports calcium and its ability to help people get to sleep.

This study was looking at the role of nutrients and sleep symptoms. The findings demonstrated that calcium aided getting to sleep and having restful sleep.

‘Calcium intake was associated with decreased difficulty falling asleep and non-restorative sleep’ [14]

Furthermore, rodent studies have established a link between essential electrolyte levels such as calcium and magnesium which can be reduced by stress.

Sleep deprivation is a known form of stress which can reduce those essential electrolyte levels, in turn this then can prevent further sleep quality. [15]

Which then brings us on to magnesium…

Magnesium

As discussed, magnesium is another key electrolyte and one that can be lost through stress such as sleep deprivation and it has an important interrelationship with other nutrients such as calcium. [16]

Further to this, many people in the developed world are deficient in magnesium, in the United States alone it estimated that around 68% of the adult population do not have the recommended daily intake of this essential mineral. [17]

This figure is somewhat alarming when you consider the important role for magnesium in our human biology. [18]

Magnesium’s role includes:

Functioning of enzymes
Bone and muscle health
Tissue and cell integrity
Nerve function
Hormone secretion
Protein synthesis

Sleep

So where does magnesium fit in with recovery?

Data associates low magnesium status with higher levels of inflammation and stress which disrupts sleep patterns. [19]

It is also known that magnesium inhibits the receptor of NMDA which can lead to better sleep quality. In addition, magnesium will bind and activate GABA receptors which is responsible for improved sleep.

‘Magnesium blocks the N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) receptor and is an agonist of the γ-amino butyric acid (GABA) receptor. Heightened activation of the NMDA receptor may cause poor sleep architecture, while augmentation of the GABA receptor may improve sleep architecture.’ [20]

Magnesium supplementation is also suggested to be able to reduce the impact of anxiety symptoms. [21]

This is key because having a disorder such as anxiety can be the contributing issue to a poor nights recuperation.

Additionally, continued poor sleeping patterns can lead to anxiety symptoms. This can then lead to further health problems such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity. [22]

Vitamin D

A major source of vitamin D is the sunshine.

There are some foods that can provide us with the required levels of vitamin D, such as oily fish, red meat, egg yolks and some other fortified foods depending on region. [23]

However, this diet may not be to everyone’s taste, plus the sun is free.

The problem is many people are not getting enough vitamin D, that means they are not getting it through their nutrition or are not getting enough ultraviolet B radiation from the sunshine.

The latter may not come as too much of a surprise.

Many people work indoors or on shifts that see them working during the night, old people tend not to go outside as much, either.

There is also a heightened risk of too much exposure to the sun causing skin cancer or even that darker skin pigmentation needs longer exposure to get the sufficient amounts.

Analysis of global data has confirmed that vitamin D deficiency is a widespread concern that seems to transcend all races, ages and genders. [24]

A such, it is recommended that our daily needs are supplemented and can be, safely up to 10,000iu. [25]

However, realistically, it is considered that an oral dose of 2200iu may be required as a minimum. [26]

Health Benefits

The health benefits of vitamin D are numerous.

Most commonly known are its association with bone health and mood. This is particularly true when dosed with magnesium whereby evidence has shown to help reduce fractures.

However, adequate vitamin D levels can also help reduce the risk of developing the following, less known ailments:

Multiple sclerosis [27]
Cardiovascular disease [28]
Flu [29]

Sleep

While we have listed some of the commonly known and not so commonly known health benefits, but that’s not the limits to this vitamin’s effects.

It’s ability to regulate cells tissues and organs make it a steroid hormone. [30]

At this juncture we are interested in whether it can promote rest.

So, we found a meta-analysis which brings together the data of numerous studies.

This, then can provide us with a wider insight as to whether vitamin D has an effect on sleep quality.

This analysis suggests that there is a correlation between low levels of vitamin D and an increased risk of sleep disorders. [31]

Sleep disorders are described as:

Low sleep quality
Short sleep duration
Sleepiness

A further study published in 2017 clearly demonstrated that vitamin D supplementation does improve overall sleep quality. [32]

The results were of a significant difference compared to the control group who received a placebo.

Daily Dose

We are instructed to take two tablets daily.

These two tablets include the above ingredients which are proven to help improve sleep quality.

Each daily serving consists of just over 1100mg.

The tablets are free from gelatin and are more like a compressed and formed powder.

As such, these are suitable for vegans and vegetarians.

Price

One bottle is $29.99 or £19.99

Of course you can also buy this using a host of other currencies including Euros, Aus and Can dollars along with PayPal and Amazon Pay.

You also receive private Battle Ready Fuel community access and a prep plan to help you achieve your goals.

If you wish to stack this with other products you can take advantage of some excellent multi-buy deals whereby the unit price is reduced.

FREE GLOBAL SHIPPING.

Pros

Clearly from the evaluation of the evidence, this supplement is geared towards letting you have a good nights rest.

Now, there are other factors that you need to try and address such as bed quality, light, noise, and even resisting the temptation to look at your phone or tablet while in bed to ensure you can sleep properly. [33]

However, this supplement addresses the biological factors that cannot necessarily be control with thicker curtains:

Anxiety
Mood
Nerve & enzyme function
Electrolyte balance

It is also important to consider FNE.

FNE is a defense mechanism, you are naturally anxious to being in a new environment and are subconsciously alert to your new surroundings.

This can also trigger a change in your mood.

The evidence present the theory that these nutrients can help readdress your mood, and, I have used this sleep aid successfully to help get a better nights sleep when I am in a different location.

I am going away in a month’s time to stay at a garrison I have never been to before with people I do not know, I will be taking this supplement so I can fall asleep and get a restful night sleep so I feel refreshed for training.

There is also free shipping and the benefits of being part of a larger, like minded community.

Cons

Due to the large amount of each ingredient included, these tablets are quite large.

Some people may find them hard to swallow.

Fortunately they are not capsules, but solid tablets that can be cut in half to make it easier.

These have to be bought direct from the Battle Ready Fuel website. This means you cannot just drop in to a store to grab a bottle if you run out.

However, by buying direct you know that you are getting a genuine and high quality product that has been developed by men at the pinnacle of physical and mental health.