Gencor’s Levagen+ improves sleep quality and cognition upon waking, study finds

20 Sep 2021 --- Levagen+ is a potential sleeping aid capable of reducing sleep onset time and improving cognition upon waking. Levagen+ is a palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) powder, which has been spotlighted as an alternative to CBD. The endogenous fatty acid amide, PEA, is positioned to promote better sleep via the endocannabinoid system.

The Australia-based study found that participants who ingested 350 mg Levagen+ went to sleep three times faster than the placebo group. Additionally, participants, upon waking, felt fully awake eleven minutes faster than the placebo.

The double-blind study included 103 adult participants. Sleep quality and quantity were measured using wrist actigraphy (used to measure body movement), a sleep diary and questionnaires.

PEA supplementation at week eight reduced sleep onset latency, which is the time taken to fall asleep, and the time to feel completely awake.

Gencor Pacific funded the study, but was not involved in the study design. The study is published in the Journal of Sleep Science Practice.

PEA explained
PEA is a food component commonly isolated from soybeans, peanuts and egg yolks. The fatty acid amide is also known to be naturally occurring in mammal tissues. It is produced as a biological response and repair mechanism, potentiating its actions at cannabinoid CB1, CB2 and GPR55 receptors and TRPV1 channels1.

PEA is used for joint pain and sports inflammation. PEA can also contribute to relaxation and restfulness, leading to a good quality of sleep.PEA is an endogenous fatty acid amide positioned to promote better sleep via interaction with the endocannabinoid system.

Due to its pain reduction and sleep supporting qualities, the company touts PEA as a CBD alternative.

Taking a closer look at the potential of Levagen+ as a CBD replacement, Gencor and CV Sciences previously released CV Defense, a product with similar properties to CBD. The CBD alternative contains Levagen+, vitamins A and D, selenium and zinc and an organic reishi mushroom extract.

Physiological responses to PEA
Physiological responses to PEA may have resulted in participants with sleep latency issues falling asleep faster.

An increase in anandamide (AEA) levels via the endocannabinoid system and a change in inflammatory signaling or reduction in pain sensitivity could all promote faster sleep.

Sleep disturbance has previously been linked with inflammation and inflammatory signaling that contributes to possible sleep disturbance. Therefore, a change in inflammation sensitivity (signaling or receptor activity) could alter sleep patterns.

PEA supplementation improving the time to feel fully awake was of particular interest to the researchers as sleep inertia and daytime grogginess are common side effects of many pharmaceutical options for treating sleep disturbance.Levagen+ supplementation reduced the amount of time to fall asleep in individuals with sleep latency issues.

The combination of the PEA group reporting falling asleep faster and waking up feeling more alert and awake compared to the placebo group suggests that future studies on PEA and sleep should focus on populations with difficulty getting to sleep or waking up.

A significant limitation of the study was that it was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, limiting the number of participants to provide blood samples. Therefore, researchers were only able to measure pathology markers on a limited number of participants.

NPD for sleep
As the COVID-19 pandemic increased stress and decreased sleep quality, industry players have formulated solutions for the sleep space.

This month, Pharmactive’s saffron extract, Affron, was shown to elevate restorative sleep when taken one hour before sleeping. Also, FrieslandCampina Ingredients’ Biotis SleepWell concept reduced stress and provided a better night’s sleep in a study of healthy adults.

By Nicole Kerr