Zest Labs Wake-Up Pill
"But never before in the United States had the objects of envy and the objects of biological prejudice been the same group.” – Nancy Kress, Beggars in Spain
Link: https://takezest.com
What is Zest?
Zest is a slow-release, delayed-release caffine pill designed to make getting out of bed in the morning easy. You take a pill 8 hours before your desired wake-up time and then sleep normally. Zest will time the release of caffine into your bloodstream such that you wake up at your desired time feeling refreshed. It then continues releasing caffine slowly throughout the morning, leading to a more stable "awake" feeling than a cup of coffee could offer.
My Experience
I'm definitely someone who wishes sleep were optional, and tries my best to act as if it is. When I need more time in my schedule (as I often do), sleep is the first thing to go. As a result, I find that getting out of bed in the morning can be quite hard. When ads for Zest started popping up on my Instagram feed, I was immediately intrigued but also quite skeptical. If such a pill existed, wouldn't I have heard more about it? Eventually I decided to order a month's supply and try for myself. While I wouldn't consider Zest pills a fine-tuned product yet, they've been a useful tool for days when I know sleep deprivation is inevitable.
First Attempt
According to the handbook, the Zest pills should be taken on an empty stomach to avoid premature caffine relase. The first time I took Zest I ignored these warnings and ate a large meal (Chipotle) an hour beforehand. I took the pill at 10pm and found myself wide-awake at 4am with my heart pounding. The potency of the caffine suprised me – despite being only 80mg and slow-release the pills definitely pack a punch. By the time I got to the gym (6:15 am) I felt great, and even towards the end of the day I found the lack of sleep due to my unnecessarily early wake-up to be unnoticable.
Second Attempt
For my second attempt, I learned my lesson and was careful not to eat after an early dinner (~6pm). I took the pill just after 10pm and woke up just before 6am. I've found that in general, I tend to wake up ~7 hours after taking the pill, but it's not much of a problem given that I don't typically get 8 hours of sleep on weekdays. Again, I felt more awake than normal throughout my day, even towards the evening when the caffine should have worn off.
My General Usage
While advertised as something you can take every day for more consistent sleep, I don't think I would ever use the pills regularly. Instead, I've been using these as a way to force myself back on track when I sleep in for multiple consecutive days/my sleep schedule gets too off track. Once I'm confident in re-establishing a good pattern, I go back to relying on an alarm and willpower.
Special Use Cases
Zest as a Jetlag Cure
I recently travelled to CA (2 hours behind) and got sick on the way back. When returning to work, I was struggling to get back on Central Time, and extra lethargic due to the illness. Even waking up as late as 9am I was still tired! After giving myself a few days to recover I took a pill, woke up at 6am, and made it to the gym before work for the first time since returning home. Without the pill, I think it would've taken me much longer to get back on track.
Zest and All-Nighters
Since receiving my pills, I've had to pull a few all-nighters. I'm someone who is naturally pretty ok missing a single night of sleep, but I dislike driving the next day due to the increased danger associated with driving on low sleep. I've used zest a few times when driving long distances without sleep, and the results seem pretty good. I feel more alert, and don't notice the tell-tale boughts of drowsy ignorance I've sometimes felt driving late at night. I'm not sure if this actually is safer than normal, but it definitely feels much safer. Maybe something interesting to study (@zestlabs)?
Discussion
When talking about Zest to friends, I've heard a lot of people complain that the pill isn't actually fixing symptoms, but instead just hiding them. This is true, but I also don't think it's a bad thing. As much as I'd love a pill that entirely removed your need to sleep (or a gen-mod technique…), that's a bit out of scope for today's scientists. I have enough things I prioritize over sleep such that even without Zest, I probably would not be sleeping less, and therefore, would be just as tired. The choice users make when they take the pill is whether or not they'd like to feel this tiredness. Personally, I'd rather feel awake.
Another thing to not is that Zest is not magic. It's entirely possible to go back to sleep after waking up. I've never fallen back asleep without actively trying, but the fact that it's possible probably implies I will at some point, if tired enough.