DSIP
Also known as Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide, Trp-Ala-Gly-Gly-Asp-Ala-Ser-Gly-Glu, Emideltide
DSIP is a nine-amino-acid peptide first isolated from rabbit blood in 1977 and named for its apparent ability to promote delta-wave sleep. People use it for insomnia, stress, and pain, though the research picture is more mixed than the name suggests.
Reviewed by the amino101 editorial team. , first published .
Quick start
What people commonly do. Not a prescription.- Typical dose
- 100 to 300 mcg
- How often
- once daily or a few times per week
- Where
- Subcutaneous, belly or thigh; nasal spray is a common alternative
- Timing
- 30 to 60 minutes before bed, or earlier in the evening if it feels stimulating
- Effects timeline
- sleep depth 1 to 3 nights if it works at all, stress and pain effects 1 to 2 weeks
- Storage
- fridge 2 to 8 C once mixed, use within 4 weeks; it is fragile in solution so smaller vials are better
- Cycle length
- 1 to 3 weeks
- Break between
- 1 to 2 weeks, or use intermittently rather than nightly
Overview
DSIP was discovered by Marcel Monnier and Guido Schoenenberger in Switzerland, who found that blood from rabbits kept in slow-wave sleep by thalamic stimulation could induce similar sleep in recipient rabbits. The responsible nonapeptide was purified in 1977. It occurs naturally in the hypothalamus, pituitary, and other tissues, but no gene encoding it has ever been found, which remains an odd gap in its biology and has led some researchers to question its status as a true hormone.
Human studies in the 1980s were small and produced inconsistent results. Some found DSIP improved sleep onset and quality in insomniacs, while others found no sleep effect at all. More consistent were findings in chronic pain, where a series of intravenous infusions reduced pain scores, and in opioid and alcohol withdrawal, where it eased symptoms. DSIP also blunted stress-induced cortisol and ACTH release in some experiments. The literature dried up after that era, so modern users are working from 40-year-old data.
In animals DSIP is a modulator rather than a sedative. It normalizes disturbed sleep patterns without forcing sleep, reduces stress hormone spikes, has antioxidant effects, and may protect against seizures. This fits with user reports: most describe deeper, more restorative sleep rather than knockout sedation, and some describe nothing. Its short half-life and rapid breakdown by peptidases limit what an injected dose can do.
How it works
DSIP does not act like a hypnotic. It appears to modulate several systems at once, with the net effect of normalizing circadian and stress rhythms. It reduces release of corticotropin-releasing hormone and ACTH under stress, lowers cortisol, and influences the secretion of LH, GH, and somatostatin. In the brain it modulates GABAergic and glutamatergic activity, increases serotonin turnover, and affects opioid receptor signaling, which likely explains the pain and withdrawal results. It shows antioxidant activity and stabilizes mitochondrial function in stressed tissue. The sleep effect, where it occurs, is thought to result from this broad stress-dampening action rather than direct sedation, which is why DSIP tends to improve sleep quality more than sleep onset.
Where the research stands
Chronic painEmerging
- Severe chronic pain episodes. A 1984 series of repeated intravenous infusions reduced pain scores in a small group of patients; never repeated with modern methods.
Stress and cortisol regulationEmerging
- Blunting stress hormone spikes. Reduced stress-induced ACTH and cortisol release in animals and in small human experiments; one of the more consistent findings.
- Opioid and alcohol withdrawal. Small 1980s human studies reported eased withdrawal symptoms; no controlled follow-up exists.
SleepWeak or mixed
- Insomnia. Small human trials are split, with some reporting better sleep efficiency and daytime function and others no effect at all.
- Delta sleep in animals. The original rabbit work showed induced slow wave sleep, but later animal studies describe normalization of disturbed sleep rather than sedation.
- rodentDSIP was isolated from cerebral venous blood of sleeping rabbits and induced delta-wave sleep when infused into recipients.
- human pilotSmall trials in chronic insomnia reported improved sleep efficiency and daytime performance, though other trials found no effect.
- human pilotRepeated intravenous DSIP reduced pain scores in patients with chronic, severe pain episodes.
- human pilotDSIP eased withdrawal symptoms in patients dependent on opioids or alcohol.
- human pilotDSIP blunted stress-induced cortisol and ACTH release in animals and humans.
Rodent and in vitro mean no human data for that finding. Human pilot means small, often uncontrolled. Human RCT means randomized and controlled. Clinical means an approved drug with regulatory data.
Levels over time
Modeled from the half-life. Illustrative, not measured.A half-life of 15 min against dosing every 24 h means each dose has cleared before the next. Nothing stacks; you start from zero every time, and the tissue effect is what carries over.
Because it is gone from blood within an hour or two, it is dosed shortly before bed and whatever it does to sleep structure has to come from signaling it sets off rather than from the peptide being present through the night.
DSIP dosage and protocols
Most people run 1 to 3 weeks and then take a break, or use it only on nights they need it. Nightly long term use is uncommon because responses fade or turn unpredictable for some users, and because there is no long term safety data. There is no loading phase and no need to taper.
| Goal | Dose | Frequency | Route |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sleep quality | 100 to 300 mcg | once nightly, 30 to 60 minutes before bed | Subcutaneous, abdomen |
| Sleep, intermittent | 100 to 200 mcg | 2 to 3 nights per week | Subcutaneous or intranasal |
| Stress and cortisol | 100 to 200 mcg | once daily, evening | Subcutaneous |
| Higher dose (community reports) | 300 to 500 mcg | once nightly for short runs | Subcutaneous |
Dose 30 to 60 minutes before bed on an empty or light stomach; a subset of users find it wakes them up and do better dosing 2 to 3 hours before sleep. Alcohol and sedatives on the same night make it hard to tell what DSIP is doing and can compound grogginess.
Some community protocols go up to 500 mcg or more. Older human studies used intravenous doses of roughly 25 nmol per kg, which is in the low hundreds of mcg range for an adult.
Dose calculator
U-100 insulin syringeUnits are a volume on the syringe, not an amount of peptide. Concentration changes every time you change the water volume. The standalone calculator explains the math.
| Vial | Suggested water | Concentration | Low dose draw |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5 mg | 2 mL | 2.5 mg/mL | 4 units |
| 10 mg | 2 mL | 5 mg/mL | 2 units |
How to reconstitute DSIP
- 1
Wash your hands and wipe the work surface. Swab both vial stoppers with alcohol and let them dry.
- 2
Pick the water volume with the calculator above and write it on the vial. The concentration means nothing without it.
- 3
Draw the bacteriostatic water into a mixing syringe.
- 4
Insert at an angle and let the water run down the inside wall. Never squirt it straight onto the powder.
- 5
Swirl gently or leave it to dissolve. Do not shake.
- 6
Label with the date and water volume. Store in the fridge at 2 to 8 C and use within about 4 weeks.
- 7
Unmixed vials keep for months in the fridge and longer in the freezer, sealed and out of light.
- Full walkthrough with syringe reading and site rotation: reconstitution guide.
- ✓White, fluffy cake
Lyophilized powder should look like a small white puck or fluffy cake at the bottom of the vial. That is a proper freeze-dry.
- ✓Clear after mixing
Once dissolved the solution should be water-clear with nothing floating in it.
- !Slight clumping
Small clumps that dissolve with gentle swirling are fine. Shipping compacts powder.
- ✕Collapsed or melted
Powder stuck to the sides, glassy, or shrunken means it got hot in transit. Contact the vendor.
- ✕Cloudy or particles
Persistent cloudiness or visible particles after mixing means degraded or contaminated product. Do not use it.
- Night 1 to 3
Responders report deeper, more restorative sleep and vivid dreams rather than faster sleep onset; a meaningful share of people notice nothing, and a few feel wired.
- Week 1 to 2
Stress-related effects, such as feeling calmer in the evening or less reactive during the day, show up here if they are going to.
- Week 2 to 3
Effects tend to plateau or fade, which is why most people take a break at this point and restart only if sleep worsens again.
Interactions and stacking
Epithalonsynergistic
Epithalon works on melatonin rhythm while DSIP works on stress-driven sleep disruption, so they are paired for different parts of the sleep problem.
Selankcompatible
Daytime Selank for anxiety and evening DSIP for sleep is a common pattern; no known interaction.
CJC-1295 (no DAC)compatible
Some people pair a bedtime GH secretagogue with DSIP on the theory that deeper sleep supports the nightly GH pulse; untested.
Ipamorelincompatible
Same logic as CJC-1295; dosed at bedtime alongside DSIP without any known interaction.
Sedatives, benzodiazepines and sleep medicationcaution
DSIP is not a sedative, but combining it with anything that depresses the nervous system adds grogginess and makes the response impossible to judge.
Opioidscaution
DSIP affects opioid receptor signaling in animals and eased withdrawal in small human studies, so it may change how opioid doses feel; nobody has studied the combination properly.
Alcoholcaution
Both affect sleep architecture and stress hormones; alcohol on DSIP nights blunts whatever benefit it has.
Epithalon works on melatonin rhythm while DSIP works on stress-related sleep disruption.
Daytime Selank for anxiety paired with evening DSIP is a common pattern for stress-driven insomnia.
Some people pair growth hormone secretagogues at night with DSIP to support deep sleep, when GH release peaks.
Safety
- ▲Headache
- ▲Grogginess the next morning
- ▲Vivid or unusual dreams
- ▲Feeling wired or restless instead of sleepy, especially at higher doses
- ▲Injection site irritation
- ▲Nasal irritation with spray use
- ▲Results are inconsistent; a meaningful share of users report no effect at all.
- ▲Headache, grogginess, or vivid dreams are the most common complaints.
- ▲Some people feel more wired rather than sleepy, particularly at higher doses.
- ▲Human evidence is decades old, small, and mixed, with no modern trials.
- ▲Degrades quickly once reconstituted, so old solutions may be inactive.
- ■Sleep gets worse or you feel more anxious rather than calmer after a few nights
- ■Persistent headaches or next-day grogginess that affect daytime function
- ■Signs of an allergic reaction such as hives, swelling or trouble breathing
- ■No noticeable effect after a full 2 to 3 week run, since more of the same is unlikely to help
Community poll
Self-reported by visitors. Not clinical evidence.DSIP: frequently asked
Does DSIP actually make you sleep?
Not in the way a sleeping pill does. In studies where it helped, it improved sleep quality and structure rather than knocking people out. Several trials found no sleep effect. Users who benefit usually describe deeper sleep and feeling more rested, not faster sleep onset.
Why are the human studies so old?
DSIP was heavily researched from the late 1970s through the 1980s, mostly in Europe. Results were mixed, no company took it through modern trials, and the field moved on. The lack of a known gene for DSIP also made it harder to study.
Is it good for cortisol or stress?
Reducing stress hormone spikes is one of its more consistent findings in both animals and small human experiments. That is probably why it helps some people whose insomnia is stress-driven and does nothing for others.
Injection or nasal?
Older studies used intravenous infusions. Subcutaneous injection is the community standard and nasal spray is a common alternative. There is no modern comparison of routes, and its short half-life means timing relative to bed matters more than route.
References
- Characterization of a delta-electroencephalogram (delta-sleep)-inducing peptide. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 1977
- Effects of DSIP in man: multifunctional psychophysiological properties besides induction of natural sleep. Neuropsychobiology, 1983
- Therapeutic effects of delta-sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP) in patients with chronic, pronounced pain episodes. European Neurology, 1984
- Delta-sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP): a review. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 1984