DSIP
Sleep
In short
- Delta sleep-inducing peptide, isolated in 1974 from rabbit cerebral venous blood during induced sleep.
- Despite the name, its role in sleep has never been convincingly established — the evidence is inconsistent and much of it is decades old.
- Whether it is even an endogenous peptide with a defined physiological role remains debated.
- Small human studies in the 1980s explored sleep, pain, and withdrawal, with mixed results.
- No approval anywhere, and no modern research programme.
Structure
How it works
DSIP is a nonapeptide originally identified by transferring blood from sleeping rabbits into recipients and observing increased delta-wave sleep.
No specific receptor has been definitively identified, which is unusual and is a substantial gap. Proposed mechanisms include modulation of GABAergic and opioidergic signalling and interaction with the somatostatin and corticotropin systems.
The honest position is that the mechanism is not established, and its status as a genuine endogenous signalling peptide with a defined function has been questioned since the original work.
What the research shows
Early studies reported increased delta sleep and improved sleep onset in some subjects.
Subsequent work has been inconsistent, with several studies failing to reproduce sleep effects.
Small studies explored use in chronic pain and in opioid and alcohol withdrawal, with reported benefit that was never developed further.
The field largely moved on decades ago, which is itself informative.
Dosing in the literature
Figures below are quoted from published studies, with the species or population they were measured in. They are records of what was studied, not recommendations.
| Studied in | Amount | Route | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Human — small sleep and pain studies, 1980s | Commonly around 25 nmol/kg | intravenous | PubMed |
Commonly reported ranges
These are amounts people report using. They are not from any study, have not been evaluated for safety, and are reproduced here only because they circulate widely and are better seen alongside the evidence than instead of it.
| Reported by | Amount | Route |
|---|---|---|
| Commonly reported | 100–300 µg before sleep | subcutaneous |
No published human pharmacokinetic study establishes a dose, interval, or duration for this compound. Community figures below have no trial behind them and are reports of practice, not evidence. The original studies used intravenous administration in clinical settings. Community subcutaneous dosing has no comparative data, and the underlying evidence that the peptide does anything to sleep is itself weak.
Handling and storage
Supplied as a lyophilised powder requiring reconstitution with bacteriostatic water. The powder is comparatively stable; once reconstituted it is refrigerated and used within weeks. Track the date you reconstitute each vial — the Inventory section does this, and it is the difference between knowing a vial is three weeks old and guessing.
Subcutaneous injection before sleep is the community pattern. The original human work used intravenous administration.
Side effects
No systematic safety data exists. The small historical studies did not report significant adverse effects, but they were small and short.
Community reports mention headache, grogginess, and paradoxical alertness in some users.
With no established receptor and no modern pharmacology, there is little basis for predicting what long-term use would do.
Combinations
No interaction data. Commonly combined with other sleep-directed compounds, which makes attribution impossible in a domain where placebo and expectancy effects are particularly strong.
Research status
A cluster of work from the 1970s and 1980s, mostly European, followed by decades of near-silence.
The lack of sustained research interest across fifty years, in a field with enormous commercial motivation to find sleep agents, is the most informative fact about this compound.
Legal status
Not approved in any jurisdiction. Sold for research use only.
WADA status
Not specifically named on the Prohibited List. Falls under WADA class S0, which prohibits any pharmacological substance not currently approved by any governmental regulatory health authority for human therapeutic use. Treat it as prohibited in sport.
Conclusion
DSIP has an evocative name and a thin, old, inconsistent evidence base. Its receptor has never been identified and its physiological role remains disputed.
Sleep is also the domain where subjective self-report is least reliable and expectancy effects are strongest, which makes anecdotal enthusiasm here worth discounting more heavily than usual.
Sources
Track your own DSIP protocol
Peppers logs your doses, models your levels from this half-life, tracks your vials and tells you when you will run out. Free on iPhone.
Reference and educational information only. Not medical advice. Nothing here diagnoses, treats, or prescribes, and nothing here is a recommendation to use any compound. The compounds described are research chemicals and are not approved for human consumption. Legal and anti-doping status change — the review date above is when these claims were last checked. Talk to a qualified clinician about anything you intend to take.