The real problem with modern sleep

Most people struggling with sleep aren't short on time in bed. They're short on the ability to switch off: Racing thoughts at midnight. Lying there physically tired, but mentally wide awake. Waking at 3 am for no reason. Sound familiar? 

These aren't signs of laziness or poor willpower – they're the biological signature of a nervous system that hasn't been given permission to wind down.

Three overlapping mechanisms drive this pattern:

Cognitive hyperarousal. When stress keeps your brain in "on" mode – scanning, processing, problem-solving – sleep can't begin, even when your body is exhausted. The problem isn't that you're not tired. It's that your brain hasn't got the message to stand down.

Chronic stress. Under sustained stress, cortisol stays elevated into the evening – blocking the sleep-promoting signals your body needs to wind down. This keeps you physiologically alert long after you've gone to bed, even when you're doing everything else right.

Circadian blunting. Disruptions to your body clock from screens at night, irregular schedules, and artificial light don't stop melatonin production – they just weaken it. Your body's "it's time to sleep" signal becomes too faint to act on, and sleep initiation stalls.

Addressing only one of these mechanisms rarely works – you need to target all three for a good night’s rest. 

Most sleep products miss the point

Many existing sleep supplements take one of two approaches:

High-dose melatonin, which can override your body's own circadian rhythm rather than support it. At pharmacological doses, melatonin acts more like a sedative trigger than a timing cue. It may cause drowsiness, but it can also distort sleep architecture and leave you foggy the next morning.

Sedative botanicals, which can blunt consciousness without touching the stress physiology or weakened circadian signals that caused the problem. Sleep produced this way often lacks the restorative quality that the brain and body actually need.

Sleep On takes a different approach: signal modulation, not suppression.

The Sleep On Framework: three pathways, one outcome

Rather than forcing the body into sleep, Sleep On creates the ideal biological conditions for sleep to occur naturally.

Circadian cueing with Melostacio™ 

Most melatonin supplements flood your system with hormone doses your body was never designed to handle. Melostacio™ works differently. Its natural plant-based melatonin from pistachio gently engages your body's melatonin receptors – restoring the "night has arrived" signal your brain needs to permit sleep, without overriding your natural rhythm or leaving you groggy the next day.

Stress and arousal modulation with Holixer® Holy Basil 

Holixer® is a clinically studied Holy Basil extract that works as an adaptogen – helping your body dial down its stress response in the evening. By helping to lower cortisol and calming the physiological alertness that stress creates, it removes one of the biggest barriers to sleep. It doesn't knock you out. It reduces what's keeping you awake, so your body can can move into the deep, restorative non-REM sleep it needs.

Neural quieting with GABA 

GABA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) neurotransmitter is your nervous system's natural "calm down" signal. it dampens the brain activity that keeps you in mental overdrive at bedtime, helping you reach deep, non-REM sleep sooner. Non-REM is the restorative stage where the body repairs tissue, consolidates memory, clears metabolic waste from the brain, and recovery actually happen. Rather than forcing sleep, it turns down the mental noise so your brain can get there on its own terms.

Together, these three mechanisms prepare the nervous system for sleep from the inside out.

The Science Behind Sleep On

Here's the research behind every ingredient.

Melostacio™ (Pistacia vera / pistachio extract)

Ingredient: Melostacio™ is a standardised pistachio extract containing naturally occurring plant-based melatonin and supporting bioactives.

Study type: Receptor pharmacology study + randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial

What was studied: Whether Pistacia vera extract engages human melatonin receptors, and whether supplementation improves sleep and stress outcomes in adults.

What was found:

• Pistacia vera extract binds to human melatonin receptors MT1 and MT2 with profiles comparable to melatonin itself¹
• Instead of suppressing your melatonin receptors, it brings them back to their natural resting state – cueing sleep, not forcing it¹
• The effect is not fully accounted for by melatonin content alone – the whole botanical matrix appears to contribute to the circadian modulation effect¹
• Supplementation significantly reduced insomnia scores and serum cortisol levels compared to placebo²
• Physical functioning and vitality scores improved compared to placebo²

Together, these findings point to a coordinated circadian and stress-regulatory effect – supporting sleep initiation while preserving next-day function²

Holixer® (Ocimum tenuiflorum / Holy Basil)

Ingredient: Holixer® is a standardised Holy Basil extract with a rigorously tested safety profile, assessed to internationally recognized research standards.

Study type: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial (8 weeks)  in stressed adults + preclinical stress model + safety battery

What was studied: Whether Holixer® reduces stress and improves sleep outcomes in stressed adults, and its safety profile.

What was found:

• Greater reductions in perceived stress and insomnia severity scores compared to placebo over 8 weeks⁴
• Significantly lower hair cortisol concentrations at week 8 – a reliable marker of how much stress hormone your body has been producing over time⁴
• Sleep efficiency trended towards improvement over time⁴
• Well tolerated with no major adverse events reported⁴
• No evidence of genotoxicity; no treatment-related toxicity up to 5,000 mg/kg body weight in acute oral studies³

Animal studies support the anti-stress mechanism, showing Holixer® helps regulate the body's stress hormone system – consistent with its long history of traditional use as a stress-resilience herb⁵

GABA (Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid)

Ingredient: GABA is the nervous system's primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. Its role in Sleep On is to support evening neural downshifting – reducing cognitive and physiological arousal at bedtime, complementing the circadian and stress-regulatory ingredients without adding sedative force.

Study type: Two randomised, placebo-controlled clinical trials + preclinical sleep models

What was studied: Whether oral GABA supplementation improves sleep onset, sleep architecture, and related outcomes in adults.

What was found:

• Fell asleep faster and reached deep non-REM sleep sooner compared to placebo in adults with sleep disturbances⁶
• Increased total non-REM sleep time and reduced awakening frequency⁶
• Improved habitual sleep efficiency over 90 days⁷
• Reductions in negative emotional state and depression scores⁷
• Improved heart-rate variability – a sign the nervous system is shifting into rest mode⁷

Together, these findings show GABA supports better sleep and a calmer nervous system, without sedation. Animal studies suggest GABA may also promote sleep by signaling through the gut–brain connection, helping suppress the brain's wake-promoting activity.

Sleep On vs. conventional sleep aids

Who is Sleep On for?

Stress-driven poor sleepers If your sleep difficulties are tied to a demanding schedule, chronic pressure, or a nervous system that stays switched on, Sleep On targets the physiology behind that pattern rather than masking it with sedation.

If you’re often ‘tired but wired’ If you feel physically exhausted but mentally in overdrive at bedtime – mind racing, unable to disengage from the day – Sleep On helps quiet the brain activity that's keeping you awake, so sleep can arrive on its own terms.

Light or fragmented sleepers If you fall asleep easily but wake frequently, or sleep lightly and are easily disrupted, Sleep On supports the calmer physiological conditions that favour more continuous, restorative sleep.

Evening screen users and shift workers If your circadian signals are regularly disrupted by artificial light, irregular schedules, or late-night activity, the low-amplitude phytomelatonin in Melostacio™ can help restore the night-time cue your body is missing.

What’s inside (per serving)

Melostacio™ (pistachio extract) – 100 mg, providing 1 mg natural plant-based melatonin

Holixer® (Holy Basil extract) – 250 mg

GABA – 200 mg

Fibergum™ P (acacia fibre) – 50 mg

Vegetarian capsule; free from animal-derived ingredients

A note on Melostacio™ and melatonin content
Each capsule contains 100 mg of Melostacio™, a standardised pistachio extract that delivers 1 mg of natural plant-based melatonin (phytomelatonin).
This is a deliberate formulation choice. Most melatonin supplements use synthetic melatonin at doses of 3–10 mg, which can override your body’s own circadian signals and cause next-morning grogginess.
At 1 mg, Melostacio™ gently reinforces your body’s existing night-time cue, without suppressing the system that produces it. The result: sleep that starts naturally, and mornings without the fog.

How to use

Take 1 capsule daily, 30–60 minutes before bedtime, or as directed by a healthcare professional.

Safety and tolerability

Sleep On works with your body's natural sleep signals, not against them. It is non-sedative, non-habit forming, and safe for consistent nightly use without increasing the dose.

Caution: 

Sleep On contains pistachio (tree nut) as part of the Melostacio™ extract. If you have a tree nut allergy, consult your healthcare professional before use.

Not for use by children. Do not use if pregnant or breastfeeding. If you have a medical condition or are taking any medications – including sedatives, sleep aids, blood thinners, or immunosuppressants – consult a healthcare professional before use. 

May cause drowsiness; do not drive, operate machinery, or consume alcohol after taking. Store in a cool, dry place. Keep out of reach of children.

Sleep On is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease or clinical sleep disorder. Individuals with persistent or severe sleep disturbances, including chronic insomnia or sleep apnea, should seek medical evaluation.

References

1. Labani N, et al. Pistacia vera Extract Potentiates the Effect of Melatonin on Human Melatonin MT1 and MT2 Receptors with Functional Selectivity. Pharmaceutics, 2023; 15(7): 1845.
2. Shivaprasad HN, et al. A Clinical Evaluation of the Safety and Efficacy of Melostacio Gold™ (Pistachio Extract) to Manage Stress and Improve Sleep Quality: A Randomized, Double-Blind, Parallel, Placebo-Controlled Trial in Adults. Pharmacognosy Research, 2025; 18(1): 97–104.
3. Murugan SK, et al. Assessment of genotoxicity and acute oral toxicity of a standardized Ocimum tenuiflorum extract (Holixer™). Drug and Chemical Toxicology, 2025; 48(3): 530–539.
4. Lopresti AL, et al. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigating the effects of an Ocimum tenuiflorum (Holy Basil) extract (Holixer™) on stress, mood, and sleep in adults experiencing stress. Frontiers in Nutrition, 2022; 9: 965130.
5. Jothie Richard E, et al. Anti-stress Activity of Ocimum sanctum: Possible Effects on Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis. Phytotherapy Research, 2016; 30(5): 805–814.
6. Yamatsu A, et al. The improvement of sleep by oral intake of GABA and apocynum venetum leaf extract. Journal of Nutritional Science and Vitaminology, 2015; 61(2): 182–187.
7. Guimarães AP, et al. GABA supplementation, increased heart-rate variability, emotional response, sleep efficiency and reduced depression in sedentary overweight women undergoing physical exercise: placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial. Journal of Dietary Supplements, 2024; 21(4): 512–526.