Peptiva is a dietary supplement for sleep support that’s sold exclusively at GNC. It has a unique formulation that’s primarily composed of probiotics, which isn’t something we’ve seen in any other sleep supplement that we’ve reviewed on Illuminate Health.
In this article we’ll review every ingredient in Peptiva based on published medical research to provide our determination on whether the supplement is likely to be effective for improving sleep quality or if it’s a waste of money.
Because this supplement contains many active ingredients, we’ll break our ingredient analysis down into three sections: Probiotic Ingredient Review, Other Active Ingredient Review, and Inactive Ingredient Review.
Probiotic Ingredient Review
Most of the ingredients in Peptiva are probiotics. The supplement provides a 26 billion colony-forming units (CFU) total dose.
Four of the included probiotic strains are of the Lactobacillus species, including Lactobacillus acidophilus (ATCC SD6865) and Lactobacillus acidophilus (ATCC SD6866). We cannot identify any medical research suggesting that Lactobacillus probiotics are effective for improving sleep quality.
In fact, a medical review published in the Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine journal examined the effects of supplementation with Lactobacillus probiotics on insomnia, and the study authors concluded that there were no studies that proved a benefit.
This type of probiotic may be effective for sleep, but it doesn’t appear to have been proven so in clinical research.
The two other species of probiotics included in this formulation are Bifidobacterium strains, and again we cannot identify any medical studies suggesting them to be effective for sleep. Peptiva cites no clinical studies on their website’s product page proving any of these ingredients effective, so we’ll consider them all likely ineffective at this point in time.
Other Active Ingredient Review
Peptiva contains three other active ingredients: gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA), valerian extract and melatonin.
GABA appears to be an effective ingredient for a sleep supplement. A medical review published in the well-respected Frontiers in Neuroscience journal analyzed data from 14 clinical trials on GABA and sleep, and concluded the following: “doses ranging between 100 and 300 mg seems to be efficacious in reducing sleep latency with prolonged use of 1–4 weeks.”
The GABA dose in Peptiva is 100 milligrams (mg) so we’ll consider this an effective ingredient and dose.
Melatonin is one of the most well studied and safe ingredients for enhancing sleep quality and reducing time-to-sleep. The 1.5 mg total dose in Peptiva is effective based on a meta-study published in 2019 which documented the therapeutic dosing range as 1 mg to 6 mg.
The final active ingredient in this supplement is valerian extract. This is an effective ingredient for sleep, but may be underdosed in Peptiva. A meta-study analyzed data on valerian extract and sleep from 16 clinical trials on the topic. The researchers found the supplement to be effective, but the minimum dose used in any of the trials was 225 mg daily. Peptiva contains only 50 mg.
We consider these ingredients to be more effective than the probiotics overall for sleep.
Inactive Ingredient Review
Peptiva is naturally colored with carrot concentrate which is a much healthier option than artificial dye.
The majority of inactive ingredients in this formulation are safe and non-toxic, however there is one ingredient we typically recommend consumers avoid.
Titanium dioxide is used for its white color, but this ingredient is banned in the European Union (E.U.) for use as a food additive due to concerns over genotoxicity. This means that this additive can potentially damage DNA.
The dose of titanium dioxide in Peptiva is almost certainly very low, but it seems reasonable to avoid this ingredient entirely.
Will Peptiva Improve Sleep?
Overall we do believe that Peptiva is likely to improve sleep quality due to the effectively-dosed GABA and melatonin. However, we don’t recommend the supplement overall because of the inclusion of titanium dioxide. We also consider the probiotic blend, while harmless, to be pointless for a sleep supplement.
Sleep supplements are a relatively cheap category of dietary supplements, and we believe there are options that may be just as effective for sleep, free of questionable additive ingredients, and better-priced than Peptiva.
We do consider Peptiva to be relatively well-formulated though, and consider the formulation to be superior to most dietary supplements we review on Illuminate Health.
Our Research-Backed Sleep Picks
There are sleep products with clinical research backing for their ability to improve sleep quality.
Bulletproof Sleep is our top sleep supplement pick. It contains an effective dose of melatonin (3 mg), and also passionflower extract which has been shown in a clinical trial to increase total sleep time and decrease wakefulness. This supplement is free of any questionable additive ingredients and only costs $25.
Interested consumers can check out Bulletproof Sleep at this link to its product page on the official brand website.
Nolah Weighted Bamboo Blanket is a great option for consumers who prefer non-supplement solutions for sleep. Weighted blankets are clinically shown to improve sleep quality in both older adults and in children, and early research suggests they may also reduce anxiety.
Interested consumers can check out Nolah Weighted Bamboo Blanket at this link to the product page on the official brand website, where it’s currently retailing for under $100.
Manta Sleep Mask is the most cost-effective sleep solution, because it’s only $35 and will last for years. A 2021 clinical trial found that eye mask and ear plug use improved sleep quality in ICU patients. Manta’s mask comes with ear plugs.
We can't locate any medical studies on sleep mask use in healthy patients, but it seems logical that the same effects would hold given that light exposure during sleep negatively impacts sleep quality.
Interested consumers can check out Manta Sleep Mask at this link to the product page on the official brand website.
Peptiva Real User Reviews
Peptiva has been reviewed over 3,000 times on Amazon, and has an average review rating of 4.1 out of 5 stars. The product only scores a “C” grade on FakeSpot, which is a software tool that detects potentially fraudulent Amazon reviews. The adjusted grade that FakeSpot gives Peptiva’s sleep supplement is 2 out of 5 stars.
The top positive review from a verified purchaser comes from a user named “Linda M.” who claims the supplement is effective:
“The product does what it is advertised to do ! I was hesitant about the claims in the advertising but decided to take a chance , not much of a chance since it was free for a 15 day trial . I did not hesitate to order after the first week. You will be happy after trying!”
The top negative review from a verified purchaesr is written by a user named “vicelia k” who claims the product didn’t work for them:
“I started taking this product over a week ago, and since then I wake up every 3 hrs for no reason. I was under the impression that I would have a continuous improvement of sleeping, but do not!”
