Gummy gummy?

I bought some gummies that are supposed to help you sleep better, but aren't full of chemicals, additives or anything that makes you lose your natural version of whatever the gummy is trying to "fix". 

Meaning, these things I bought don't have melatonin in it, so there's no trying to wean myself off or not use it every day in order to get a restful night sleep (because I've over melatonined myself). "They" (generalized science) say that our bodies make melatonin naturally and taking too much extra of it on a daily nightly basis does you more harm than good. 

Therefore, the package (brand) I bought, does not contain melatonin. It contains things like Reishi,  GABA, corydalis, passionflower and chamomile. The company prides itself on using natural ingredients that won't conflict with a human's chemistry. 

It's called "Wonder Sleep" due to the mushrooms, chamomile and GABA (a "neurotransmitter" that helps you relax). 

According to the brand website, they "explain" why their science is behind the creation of these gummies:

The ingredient list is such (taken from website):

I've found, so far, in the couple weeks I've been taking them, I've slept a little better. It's not "zomg; I'm stopping everything and focusing solely on this" worthy, but I'm also not waking up with a headache either. The few times I've worn my Apple Watch (series 3) to bed, the health app says I've slept through the night with little (watch sensed) wake ups. Depending on what time I go to bed, I averaged 9-10 hours and on a weekend, almost 11. I'm feeling well rested enough that there have been days I'll wake up not wanting to just cover my head and go back to sleep because I'm way over tired. 

Oddly enough, looking over the ingredient list, the Coconut MCT oil isn't giving me the "run to the hills!" bathroom effect either (much like I got when I tried the Vega Cold Brew Protein Powder. Thankfully Amazon stopped selling it. The reviews I saw on other sites also say there were problems with this. Even my friend Erica thought it was weird at one point). 

I'm not getting any stomach issues with this, as my gut issues have been happening even before trying these sleep things. So my toilet is seeing as much as me as normal, even though there are reviews for these gummies that say it causes constipation. I haven't noticed that, honestly. 

Yeah, I know. TMI.

So moving on....

This all could be a placebo effect and I'm really sleeping well and thinking it's the gummies. Who knows.

But.. these chewy vitamins must be doing something good? Got to stay positive.

The overall taste is palatable. It's not sugary or sweet. It has a hint of a full bodied fruit, but I'm not completely used to a lot of elderberry flavoring, so the package stating it tastes like an elderberry, sure. I'll get behind that. 

All this, and I haven't mentioned the name of the company. 

Plant People. 

The package and gummies look like this:

I have to admit, I bought it at Sprouts, and not on any available website. 

Plant People does have a website and I signed up to get rewards if I decide to use them going forward. The challenge turns out to be this site is one of those "spend X amount, get X points back. For every tier of points, you get so much off". But you do need to spend $75 to get free shipping. You also get 15% your if you sign up for their email newsletter as well as getting "insider information" on product drops. 

As I wrote this, I did some price comparison research. 

The Plant People website has the price listed for Wonder Sleep as $34.99 for a bag of 60. You're supposed to take 2 at night before bed, so it's really a one month supply. Plant People have their own subscribe and save, where it's 29.74 a month (or repeat purchase, saving 5.25 each time you buy it). Subscribe and save gives you 15% off repeated delivery plus free returns.

On top of that, like I stated, you have to spend $75 for free shipping, but if you poke around the site and get a couple different products, you should be good to not pay shipping and handling... if you watch what you're doing. Again, there is the tiered system where every dollar spent equals 1 point. You can get $10 off every 100 points. Spend $150 and "get a 1.5x points multiplier on all purchases" as well as "Access to exclusive content and product giveaways". Spend $300 and "get 2x points multiplier on all purchases" plus free swag (hat, hoodie, or bandana). 

Where as Amazon has the same bag for the same price of $34.99. The subscribe and save difference is 10%, so you're paying $31.49 per order,. Unless you have 5 items under subscribe and save, to get 15% off (which would then be the same price as Plant People @ $29.74, but you need 5 items to ship per month to your address to get that unlocked). Prime members have free shipping, so if this is the only thing you're ordering on a monthly basis, you're paying a straight $31.49 if you do the subscribe and save option. Don't forget tax though, if you are in a taxable state. You don't get any extras with any ordering - No "spend $X and get X rewards multiplier". If you're not a Prime member you do have to pay for shipping, but if you're looking to change up your routine, why not sign up for Prime? 

I mean, we've used quite the perks in my household - between getting a tiny discount at Whole Foods, 0-2 day shipping (plus my mother will order stuff for a relative and it'll ship directly to them), streaming content and the various items on my subscribe and save. It's been worth the yearly money grab ($139) because I've had very little problems returning stuff when / if needed. 

When I bought the product at Sprouts, it was around $32, but I don't recall exactly. I don't have the receipt anymore. Add tax and you're looking at $34 or so to go out the door with it. A $2 savings is a lot, but it's not a lot once you tack on store tax. You break even with it when you shop in person. Although I think I bought it the day Sprouts was having a discount day on vitamins and health products, so I saved more than two bucks then... 

At at the end of the day, we all have to find something that works. I've never had a decent sleep since moving to Florida, so if these can help (because I haven't tried any CBD stuff yet), then I'll work on getting a little healthier and have a better night's rest. If these are bad by the end of the bag, I won't buy them again. It seems like they're working, for now, and hopefully they'll help in the future if I decide to take them every other day or every so often when I really feel the need. 

Until then, stay mindful.

Cheers;