Best Time To Take Phosphatidylserine (For Sleep & Cortisol)

Phosphatidylserine (PS) is a truly unique supplement for many different reasons.

• It offers a HUGE range of health benefits
• It can be derived from both Animal and Plant sources
• It’s a Phospholid – a component found in every cell of the human body

(As I’m sure you’re aware, we’re most interested in the health benefits here at Vitalized Future.)

Now, what makes PS even more interesting is that certain benefits may be more noticeable than others, depending on the time of day you take PS.

In other words, you’ll benefit differently by taking PS in the morning than at night.

So, with this in mind, I’m going to cover the benefits you may notice by taking PS in the morning, as well as the benefits you’ll see by using PS at night.

You can then use this information to tailor your supplement timing to your own needs.

By the law of averages, some of you will be better suited to taking PS in the morning, whilst others will notice better results by taking PS in the evening.

Let’s find out whether you’re in the morning camp or evening camp below.

Reasons to take Phosphatidylserine in the morning

1. Phosphatidylserine boosts cognitive function

Many studies have shown the cognitive-enhancing effects of PS in humans.

For example, a study looked at whether PS would be useful for improving memory in elderly Japanese patients.

Out of the 78 subjects, some were allocated 300mg/day of PS whilst some were given a placebo for 6 months.

The results showed that the memory scores of those treated with PS were significantly increased, whilst those of the placebo group didn’t change.

Another study showed that PS improved attention in patients with ADHD.

Now, I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be at my sharpest and most focused during the day, rather than at night.

For this reason, I’d recommend taking PS in the morning if you want the cognitive boost.

2. Phosphatidylserine may help improve anxiety

Many, many people have reported how PS has pretty much cured their anxiety.

Although this is largely anecdotal, there are many scientific reasons which may explain why PS works for anxiety.

One reason is that it lowers Cortisol levels (Source).

Cortisol levels rise when we’re stressed and it’s well established that stress and anxiety go hand in hand together.

This has been shown in studies too, where people with anxiety had high Cortisol levels and that when these Cortisol levels were reduced, their anxiety was improved.

Although I don’t suffer from anxiety, I believe that it’s worse throughout the day for many people, so taking PS in the morning is advised for this reason.

3. Phosphatidylserine may help with weight loss

PS can be useful for weight loss thanks to its Cortisol lowering ability.

As we’ve just covered, lower Cortisol levels can help with anxiety and stress, meaning you’re less likely to binge on comfort food.

Whilst comfort food is pretty tasty, it’s a fast track way to piling on the pounds which will damage your self confidence in the long run, leading to more comfort food.

But that’s not all though – high Cortisol levels instruct the body to store fat.

­­So, by taking PS to lower Cortisol, you’re less likely to eat junk food and store blubber.

A real win-win.

Now, unless you eat in your sleep, you should supplement with PS in the morning if weight loss is your priority.

Reasons to take Phosphatidylserine at night

1. Phosphatidylserine may help exercise recovery and endurance

One of the lesser known benefits of PS is its ability to improve exercise recovery and endurance.

Take this study for example, which suggests that 800mg/day of PS can decrease muscle soreness from physical stress.

It seems to do this by… you guessed it – lowering the Cortisol response to exercise.

Another study showed that 750mg/day of PS improved exercise capacity in cyclists.

So why should I take PS in the evening for the exercise related benefits? I hear you ask.

Well this comes down to 2 reasons:

• Recovery occurs whilst you’re resting, i.e. sleeping
• It’s been shown that the best time to workout is in the evening

2. Phosphatidylserine Improves Sleep

Speaking from experience, PS is an excellent supplement for sleep.

I personally take 2 capsules with my post-workout protein shake around an hour or so before bed, and this has made falling asleep so much easier.

Now let’s look at how PS improves sleep…

We’ve evolved to have high Cortisol levels only in the morning, as this “stresses us” to wake up.

In the evening? Cortisol levels should plummet and Melatonin levels are meant to rise which should make us feel sleepy.

But nowadays, thanks to stressful lifestyles, many of us have high Cortisol levels at night too.

This is a problem for many, and may explain why Insomnia seems to be more common than ever.

As I’m sure you’re now aware, PS reduces Cortisol levels, so by taking it at night, you can fall asleep much easier.

Conclusion

By now, you should have a rough idea of whether you’ll benefit the most from taking PS in the morning, or the evening.

Personally? I take it in the evening as my sleep is so important to me.

If you’re still on the fence, then why not do a little experiment for yourself?

Try taking a normal dose in the morning for 10 days, and make a note of how you feel.

At the end of the 10 days, do the same again but take it in the evening instead.

Did you feel better taking it in the morning or the evening?

Please let me know in the comments below!