60-night guarantee · Empty box still gets a refund
Asking a sleep specialist
We asked a sleep specialist to score eight popular sleep solutions. Only one got above seven.
A number and a reason for each. No hedging. The scores came back lower than expected — and almost all of them were low for the same single reason.
3
Melatonin
2
Mag oxide
7
Mag glyc.
3
Antihist.
5
Prescript.
4
Herbal tea
5
Trackers
2
Water
9
★ Cadence
Scored on four criteria. Full reasoning below.
★★★★★ The winner: 4.7 from 2,400+ verified reviews
60-night guarantee · Empty box still gets a refund
Asking a sleep specialist
We asked a sleep specialist to score eight popular sleep solutions. Only one got above seven.
A number and a reason for each. No hedging. The scores came back lower than expected — and almost all of them were low for the same single reason.
3
Melatonin
2
Mag oxide
7
Mag glyc.
3
Antihist.
5
Prescript.
4
Herbal tea
5
Trackers
2
Water
9
★ Cadence
Scored on four criteria. Full reasoning below.
★★★★★ The winner: 4.7 from 2,400+ verified reviews
What they're all supposed to be fixing.
Not falling asleep. Almost nobody reading this struggles to fall asleep.
3:47am. Properly awake, brain already going, no obvious reason. Ninety minutes of ceiling. Then a morning best described as hit by a bus.
So the shelf grew. Melatonin, two kinds of magnesium, something herbal, a tracker. Each one worked for about a fortnight.
Eight products, one problem, all failing the same way. Is that eight coincidences — or something every one of them is missing?
What they're all supposed to be fixing.
Not falling asleep. Almost nobody reading this struggles to fall asleep.
3:47am. Properly awake, brain already going, no obvious reason. Ninety minutes of ceiling. Then a morning best described as hit by a bus.
So the shelf grew. Melatonin, two kinds of magnesium, something herbal, a tracker. Each one worked for about a fortnight.
Eight products, one problem, all failing the same way. Is that eight coincidences — or something every one of them is missing?
The scorecard
Eight solutions, scored out of ten.
3 /10
Wrong job
Melatonin
"It tells your brain it's dark outside. It doesn't tell your brain to stop racing. A timing signal, taken for a problem that isn't about timing — and it does nothing for the 3am wake."
2 /10
Barely absorbed
Magnesium oxide
"Most of what's on the shelf, and the cheapest form for a reason. Very little is absorbed — it's used as a laxative. People try it for months and conclude magnesium doesn't work for them. They've never actually tried magnesium."
7 /10
Good, and capped
Magnesium glycinate
"Completely different. Well absorbed, genuinely calming. It's a seven because it's one ingredient doing one job — it works on the nervous system and doesn't touch why you're awake at three."
3 /10
Sedation with a cost
Antihistamine sleep aids
"You'll be unconscious. The next-day fog is well documented, tolerance builds fast, and they aren't meant for nightly long-term use — which is how most people use them."
5 /10
Has a place. Not a first step.
Prescription sleep aids
"Effective, and right for some people — that's between you and your GP. It's a five because dependence is a real concern long-term, and many still wake up feeling wrecked."
Never stop or change prescribed medication on the strength of a score on a webpage.
4 /10
Mostly ritual
Herbal teas and single botanicals
"Valerian at proper extract strength is reasonable. What's in a teabag isn't close, so most of the benefit is the wind-down ritual. That has real value — it just isn't what people think they're paying for."
5 /10
A thermometer, not a treatment
Sleep trackers
"Useful for spotting a pattern. But it tells you the night was poor, never why, and it doesn't fix anything. Five for information. Zero for intervention."
2 /10
The one that surprises people
A large glass of water before bed
"Sensible instinct that backfires. Plain water passes straight through you — nothing holds it, so it reaches your bladder rather than your cells. You get the 3am trip and you're still dehydrated. What doesn't work is drinking that."
The pattern
Every one of those is aimed at the brain. Sedate it, signal to it, calm it, or measure it.
None addresses whether the body can hold water through the night — which is why nothing on that shelf has touched your 3am wake.
The scorecard
Eight solutions, scored out of ten.
3 /10
Wrong job
Melatonin
"It tells your brain it's dark outside. It doesn't tell your brain to stop racing. A timing signal, taken for a problem that isn't about timing — and it does nothing for the 3am wake."
2 /10
Barely absorbed
Magnesium oxide
"Most of what's on the shelf, and the cheapest form for a reason. Very little is absorbed — it's used as a laxative. People try it for months and conclude magnesium doesn't work for them. They've never actually tried magnesium."
7 /10
Good, and capped
Magnesium glycinate
"Completely different. Well absorbed, genuinely calming. It's a seven because it's one ingredient doing one job — it works on the nervous system and doesn't touch why you're awake at three."
3 /10
Sedation with a cost
Antihistamine sleep aids
"You'll be unconscious. The next-day fog is well documented, tolerance builds fast, and they aren't meant for nightly long-term use — which is how most people use them."
5 /10
Has a place. Not a first step.
Prescription sleep aids
"Effective, and right for some people — that's between you and your GP. It's a five because dependence is a real concern long-term, and many still wake up feeling wrecked."
Never stop or change prescribed medication on the strength of a score on a webpage.
4 /10
Mostly ritual
Herbal teas and single botanicals
"Valerian at proper extract strength is reasonable. What's in a teabag isn't close, so most of the benefit is the wind-down ritual. That has real value — it just isn't what people think they're paying for."
5 /10
A thermometer, not a treatment
Sleep trackers
"Useful for spotting a pattern. But it tells you the night was poor, never why, and it doesn't fix anything. Five for information. Zero for intervention."
2 /10
The one that surprises people
A large glass of water before bed
"Sensible instinct that backfires. Plain water passes straight through you — nothing holds it, so it reaches your bladder rather than your cells. You get the 3am trip and you're still dehydrated. What doesn't work is drinking that."
The pattern
Every one of those is aimed at the brain. Sedate it, signal to it, calm it, or measure it.
None addresses whether the body can hold water through the night — which is why nothing on that shelf has touched your 3am wake.
The obvious follow-up
So what would a 10 have to do?
Four things. The order matters.
01 · The foundation
Hold water through the night
You lose fluid every hour you sleep — breathing, skin, eight hours, nothing going in. Sodium, potassium and magnesium leave with it, and every nerve signal runs on those. Get this wrong and nothing above it matters.
02
Get you down without sedating you
Unconscious and wound down are different states, and the difference shows up at seven the next morning.
03
Keep you there through 3am
Nearly everything is scored on getting you under. Nobody's measured on the second half of the night, which is where the problem lives.
04
Leave nothing to shake off
If it takes two coffees to undo last night, the product moved the problem rather than solved it.
The obvious follow-up
So what would a 10 have to do?
Four things. The order matters.
01 · The foundation
Hold water through the night
You lose fluid every hour you sleep — breathing, skin, eight hours, nothing going in. Sodium, potassium and magnesium leave with it, and every nerve signal runs on those. Get this wrong and nothing above it matters.
02
Get you down without sedating you
Unconscious and wound down are different states, and the difference shows up at seven the next morning.
03
Keep you there through 3am
Nearly everything is scored on getting you under. Nobody's measured on the second half of the night, which is where the problem lives.
04
Leave nothing to shake off
If it takes two coffees to undo last night, the product moved the problem rather than solved it.
The same eight, against those four.
Holds water overnight
Down without sedation
Through 3am
Nothing to shake off
Melatonin
✕
~
✕
✕
Magnesium oxide
✕
✕
✕
✓
Magnesium glycinate
✕
✓
✕
✓
Antihistamines
✕
✕
~
✕
Prescription aids
✕
✕
✓
✕
Herbal teas
✕
~
✕
✓
Sleep trackers
✕
✕
✕
✓
Water before bed
✕
✕
✕
✓
Cadence Sleep Hydration
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓ meets it · ~ partially · ✕ doesn't.
The same eight, against those four.
Holds water overnight
Down without sedation
Through 3am
Nothing to shake off
Melatonin
✕
~
✕
✕
Magnesium oxide
✕
✕
✕
✓
Magnesium glycinate
✕
✓
✕
✓
Antihistamines
✕
✕
~
✕
Prescription aids
✕
✕
✓
✕
Herbal teas
✕
~
✕
✓
Sleep trackers
✕
✕
✕
✓
Water before bed
✕
✕
✕
✓
Cadence Sleep Hydration
✓
✓
✓
✓
✓ meets it · ~ partially · ✕ doesn't.
The only one above seven
The ninth thing we put in front of her.
★9/10★
Starts at criterion one
Cadence Sleep Hydration
"The only one that starts with the foundation instead of skipping it. All three electrolytes, dosed for overnight retention rather than a gym session — so fluid is held, not passed through. Then a full sleep complex on top, with every dose printed on the pack. It replaces about four things people are usually taking."
So why not a ten?
→ It takes two to three weeks. Nothing happens on night one. Anything scoring a ten on speed is sedating you.
→ It isn't a treatment for a sleep disorder. Heavy snoring or pauses in breathing needs a sleep study, not a sachet.
→ It can't fix a bad situation. A newborn, a night shift, real anxiety — those aren't hydration problems.
The only one above seven
The ninth thing we put in front of her.
★9/10★
Starts at criterion one
Cadence Sleep Hydration
"The only one that starts with the foundation instead of skipping it. All three electrolytes, dosed for overnight retention rather than a gym session — so fluid is held, not passed through. Then a full sleep complex on top, with every dose printed on the pack. It replaces about four things people are usually taking."
So why not a ten?
→ It takes two to three weeks. Nothing happens on night one. Anything scoring a ten on speed is sedating you.
→ It isn't a treatment for a sleep disorder. Heavy snoring or pauses in breathing needs a sleep study, not a sachet.
→ It can't fix a bad situation. A newborn, a night shift, real anxiety — those aren't hydration problems.
What's in it, and how much.
The foundation — criterion 01
Sodium 100mg
Dosed for overnight retention, not a workout
Potassium 100mg
Holds fluid inside the cell
Marine magnesium 50mg
Absorbable form, not oxide
Together
Water is held rather than passed straight through
The sleep complex — criteria 02, 03, 04
L-glycine 1000mg
Lowers core body temperature — your own sleep cue, not sedation
L-tryptophan 1000mg
Raw material your body uses to make serotonin
L-theanine 200mg
Raises alpha brain wave activity — relaxed, not knocked out
Ashwagandha 100mg
Adaptogen traditionally used to support relaxation
Valerian root 10:1 75mg
Proper extract strength, not teabag strength
B6 14mg · Zinc 2mg
Bisglycinate form
No proprietary blends. No melatonin, caffeine, sugar or artificial colours. Informed Sport certified, third-party tested every batch.
What's in it, and how much.
The foundation — criterion 01
Sodium 100mg
Dosed for overnight retention, not a workout
Potassium 100mg
Holds fluid inside the cell
Marine magnesium 50mg
Absorbable form, not oxide
Together
Water is held rather than passed straight through
The sleep complex — criteria 02, 03, 04
L-glycine 1000mg
Lowers core body temperature — your own sleep cue, not sedation
L-tryptophan 1000mg
Raw material your body uses to make serotonin
L-theanine 200mg
Raises alpha brain wave activity — relaxed, not knocked out
Ashwagandha 100mg
Adaptogen traditionally used to support relaxation
Valerian root 10:1 75mg
Proper extract strength, not teabag strength
B6 14mg · Zinc 2mg
Bisglycinate form
No proprietary blends. No melatonin, caffeine, sugar or artificial colours. Informed Sport certified, third-party tested every batch.
Forty seconds a night.
01
Mix
One sachet, 350ml of water. Sour cherry.
02
An hour before bed
Topped up before the window, not during it.
03
Clear the shelf
It replaces three or four bottles. Don't run them all.
04
Judge at week four
You've had things work for a fortnight before.
Forty seconds a night.
01
Mix
One sachet, 350ml of water. Sour cherry.
02
An hour before bed
Topped up before the window, not during it.
03
Clear the shelf
It replaces three or four bottles. Don't run them all.
04
Judge at week four
You've had things work for a fortnight before.
The 9/10.
★★★★★ 4.7 from 2,400+ verified reviews
The 9/10.
★★★★★ 4.7 from 2,400+ verified reviews
Sixty nights. Empty box still counts.
Nobody should reorganise their nights because a stranger gave something nine out of ten. Two weeks to know, four to know it isn't another fortnight wonder — the window is sixty days so no fair test runs out of time.
Use all thirty sachets. If 3am is exactly where it was, email us and we'll refund it. No return shipping, no form, no justification required.
Sixty nights. Empty box still counts.
Nobody should reorganise their nights because a stranger gave something nine out of ten. Two weeks to know, four to know it isn't another fortnight wonder — the window is sixty days so no fair test runs out of time.
Use all thirty sachets. If 3am is exactly where it was, email us and we'll refund it. No return shipping, no form, no justification required.
Eight scored under eight. One didn't.
Free cap and Fuel Guide · Cancel any time · 60-night guarantee
Eight scored under eight. One didn't.
Free cap and Fuel Guide · Cancel any time · 60-night guarantee
4.9
From 2,400+ verified reviews
60
Nights to try it, opened box accepted
100%
Of batches third-party tested
Fill all three with real details before launch.
4.9
From 2,400+ verified reviews
60
Nights to try it, opened box accepted
100%
Of batches third-party tested
Fill all three with real details before launch.