Scott Carney’s review of Andrew Huberman’s sleep chapter centers on a simple tension: Huberman tells readers to test supplements one by one, then sells a blended supplement that skips the testing.
In a recent video, Carney points to page 84 where Huberman writes, “It remains the best sleep supplement I have ever taken and yes, I’m incentivized to say that, but I’m measuring my sleep most nights.” Carney gives credit for the disclosure.
He also asks whether the powder matches the advice.
The chapter advises readers to try individual ingredients for a few nights, then add another. Carney calculates the practical cost. The smallest bottles cost roughly $170. Testing each ingredient once for a 3-day period means a 33-day cycle.
Testing every pair means 55 possible stacks and 165 nights. A three-ingredient stack creates 165 stacks and takes 16 months. Every possible combination runs to 2,047 combinations and 16 years, before dosage variables.
Carney calls the self-testing plan “intentionally obtuse and practically speaking impossible advice to follow.” The conclusion is that Huberman’s own $79 a month AGZ powder becomes the only practical solution.
The conflict of interest is built into that funnel. Huberman helped design AGZ and gets a cut of profits. Carney notes that Athletic Greens is a company that “fakes its science” and was founded by a “convicted criminal who fled New Zealand to sell nutrient powders to the masses.”
He then compares AGZ’s label with Huberman’s sleep chapter. Of AGZ’s 19 ingredients, only nine appear in the sleep chapter, while two show up later in a chapter on stress. Only magnesium, B6, myo-inositol, ashwagandha, L-theanine, and saffron have sufficient dosages.
The rest sit in a calming herb and antioxidant blend with a total mass of 2.4 g. Carney also notes that baical skullcap has been shown to cause liver injury in some cases when taken as a sleep supplement. ConsumerLab concluded that AG1 is not likely to improve sleep and is expensive at $2.97 per serving.
Carney’s overall finding is that Huberman’s sleep supplement protocol is onerous and impractical, while the custom mix he sells in partnership with Athletic Greens is at the very least overpriced and in the worst case potentially dangerous.
