Protocol
Sleep & Recovery Stack
Pre-bed GH-pulse stack for deeper sleep and overnight recovery.
Why this stack
The rationale.
CJC-1295 without DAC is a GHRH analog with a short half-life, so it mimics the body's pulsatile GHRH release rather than flooding the pituitary. Ipamorelin is a selective ghrelin-receptor agonist that triggers a GH pulse without raising cortisol or prolactin (unlike older secretagogues like GHRP-6). Together they hit the somatotroph from both sides — GHRH + ghrelin — producing a synergistic pulse that is larger than either alone, while preserving the natural rhythm.
The protocol
Dose, frequency, cycle.
- Dose
- 100mcg
- Frequency
- 5×/week
- Cycle
- 12 weeks on, 4 weeks off
- Timing
- pre-bed, empty stomach, 15-30 min before sleep (Mon-Fri, off weekends)
- Dose
- 200mcg
- Frequency
- 5×/week
- Cycle
- 12 weeks on, 4 weeks off
- Timing
- pre-bed, same injection as CJC (can be drawn into same syringe)
Expected timeline
What to expect, when.
nights 1-7: deeper, harder-to-wake-from sleep, vivid dreams common. weeks 2-4: faster sleep onset, morning HRV trends up, recovery between training sessions improves. weeks 5-12: body composition shifts slowly (slight fat reduction, slightly fuller muscle bellies), skin quality often improves as a side effect. expect a transient flush or head-warmth in the first few minutes post-injection — this is the ghrelin-receptor signal and fades within weeks.
Monitoring markers
What to track.
- IGF-1 (baseline, week 6, week 12)
- fasting glucose (GH pulses can transiently raise it)
- HRV (morning, wearable)
- sleep stages if tracked (Oura, Whoop, 8sleep)
- morning resting heart rate
Contraindications
- active malignancy (GH/IGF-1 axis stimulation)
- uncontrolled diabetes or pre-diabetes with high fasting glucose
- pregnancy or breastfeeding
- active retinopathy or proliferative eye disease
- carpal tunnel syndrome (GH can transiently worsen fluid retention)
Description
Protocol overview.
A classic CJC-1295 (no DAC) + Ipamorelin pre-bed pairing. The combination produces a clean nocturnal GH pulse without sustained elevation, aligning with the body's natural slow-wave-sleep GH release. Subq injection 15-30 minutes before lights out, on an empty stomach (no carbs or fats for ~2 hours prior).
Clone this protocol to your account.
Drop it onto your dashboard, pin doses to your weekly schedule, and let the daily-protocol screen tell you what to draw each morning. Reconstitution math, site rotation, and lab reminders come with it.