Can peptides cause trouble sleeping?

Each answer says whether trouble sleeping was reported, and how often where that’s known. “Not reported” means the label or trials didn’t list it, not that it can’t happen. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist about any symptom that worries you.

From a product label 9

What the prescribing information says, with rates against placebo where the label gives them.

CerebrolysinApproved drug

LabelInsomnia: 0.5% vs 0.2% on placebo (EU label), sometimes with agitation or confusion, which the label ties to the drug’s activating effect.

hCGApproved drug

LabelRestlessness is listed in the US labels without a rate. Insomnia was reported by under 2% of women in recombinant hCG trials, whatever the cause.

L-CarnitineApproved drug

LabelInsomnia: 4% vs 6% on placebo in the label’s dialysis trials, so no excess.

LiraglutideApproved drug

LabelInsomnia: 2.4% vs 1.7% on placebo in Saxenda’s adult trials, which included 3,384 people on Saxenda.

Melanotan 1Approved drug

LabelSleepiness: 2% vs 1% on placebo implants (US label). The EU label lists trouble sleeping and poor-quality sleep as uncommon (under 1 in 100).

TesamorelinApproved drug

LabelInsomnia: 1.2% vs 0% on placebo in weeks 26–52 (original 2010 label). In a 20-week trial in 152 older adults, sleep quality didn’t differ from placebo.

TriptorelinApproved drug

LabelInsomnia: 1.7–5.0% of men across US trials. In women treated for gynecologic conditions, sleep problems are very common (over 1 in 10), the UK label says.

PT-141Approved drug

LabelInsomnia isn’t listed. Restless legs syndrome, which can disturb sleep, was reported in under 2% of users, more often than on placebo.

SermorelinHuman studies

LabelInsomnia isn’t listed in the former US label; hyperactivity and sleepiness each occurred in under 1% of 350 treated patients, mostly children.

From human studies 16

What published trials and case reports found.

DSIPApproved drug

TrialInsomnia trials found weak or mixed effects on sleep. After IV treatment for withdrawal stopped, some patients had returning anxiety with marked insomnia, FDA notes.

GHRP-2Approved drug

TrialDrowsiness, not insomnia, is listed (0.1–5%). In a sleep-lab study of 7 young men, a late-night IV dose didn’t change sleep stages, apart from a nonsignificant trend to more waking.

MazdutideApproved drug

TrialInsomnia: 2.3% vs 4.3% on placebo in the 56-week US phase 2 trial (177 adults), so no excess.

ARA-290Human studies

TrialTrouble sleeping in 2 of 46 people on 1–8 mg vs 1 of 16 on placebo; sleepiness in 2 of 46 vs 0, over 28 days.

HexarelinHuman studies

TrialIn 7 young volunteers, four IV doses at night reduced deep sleep in the first half of the night and raised cortisol, a stress hormone, and prolactin.

IpamorelinHuman studies

TrialInsomnia was more common on ipamorelin than placebo (10.7% vs 5.2%) in the IV surgery trial, though users often take it at bedtime for sleep.

Melanotan 2Human studies

TrialSleepiness, rather than insomnia, was reported: moderate sleepiness in 1 of 2 men on the top dose in the 1996 pilot. Trouble sleeping hasn’t been studied.

MK-677Human studies

TrialIn small sleep-lab studies, bedtime doses increased deep and REM sleep. Sleepiness was more common than on placebo in the Alzheimer’s trial; insomnia was rarely reported.

NAD+Human studies

TrialSleep disturbance was among side effects in a review of 10 oral NADH and precursor trials (489 people), none serious. No data for injections.

SurvodutideHuman studies

TrialInsomnia: 3.2% vs 1.3% on placebo in the phase 2 obesity trial and 1.9% vs 7.6% in the phase 2 MASH trial, so no consistent excess.

TesofensineHuman studies

TrialInsomnia was among the most common side effects in the obesity and Parkinson’s trials; with metoprolol in a small trial, sleep problems hit 50% vs 13% on placebo.

Thymosin Beta-4Human studies

TrialInsomnia was reported once, in 1 of 9 people using eye drops after eye surgery. Trouble sleeping wasn’t listed in the larger eye-drop, gel or Chinese IV trials.

OxytocinApproved drug

TrialNot more common with nasal spray: trouble falling asleep 9.6% vs 13.2% on placebo over 24 weeks in 290 children and teens.

GHRP-6Human studies

TrialRepeated IV doses at night added about 25 minutes of light (stage 2) sleep in healthy men, with no change in deep sleep; night-time cortisol about doubled.

EpithalonPreclinical

TrialNot reported as a side effect. In night-shift workers, a 20-day spray raised a melatonin marker 1.7-fold, but sleep itself wasn’t measured.

Follistatin-344Preclinical

TrialNo data for injected follistatin. One of 3 boys in the Duchenne gene-therapy trial had insomnia; the Becker and myositis trials reported no adverse effects.

From user reports 5

Commonly reported by people who use it, not established in a study.

SemaxApproved drug

CommunityUsers report poor sleep or feeling overstimulated, especially after late doses; the label’s schedule for mental fatigue uses the first half of the day. Not reported in trials.

DihexaHuman studies

CommunityVivid dreams and broken sleep are the effects users report most often; guides move doses to the morning. No study has measured sleep on dihexa.

5-Amino-1MQPreclinical

CommunityUsers report trouble sleeping, especially with doses taken later in the day. No study has checked.

PE-22-28Preclinical

CommunityUsers report lighter sleep, especially after evening doses, so guides dose in the morning. No study has measured sleep.

SLU-PP-332Preclinical

CommunityUsers report lighter sleep or insomnia, more at higher doses. No study has checked.

A precaution, not measured 2

A concern that follows from how it works or from a related drug.

IGF-1 DESPreclinical

PrecautionNo human data for DES. Mecasermin enlarged tonsils in 15% of children, sometimes with snoring or sleep apnea; trouble sleeping itself isn’t listed.

IGF-1 LR3Preclinical

PrecautionNo human data for LR3. Mecasermin enlarged tonsils in 15% of children, sometimes with snoring or sleep apnea; trouble sleeping itself isn’t listed.

Studied in people, not reported 23

Labels or trials covered enough people and didn’t report it. It can still happen.

ExenatideApproved drug

Not reportedTrouble sleeping isn’t listed in the label, whose 30-week trials included 963 people on exenatide. Sleepiness appears among reports after approval.

GlutathioneApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed in the Italian label, and not more common than on placebo in IV trials (Parkinson’s, 21 people; chemotherapy, 185).

GonadorelinApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed in the UK label, which covers a single diagnostic dose.

OrforglipronApproved drug

Not reportedTrouble sleeping isn’t listed in the label, whose 72-week weight trials included 3,155 people on orforglipron.

SelankApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed as a side effect. The Russian label counts sleep problems among the anxiety symptoms it treats; a 62-person trial also reported a stimulant effect.

SemaglutideApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed as a side effect in the labels, whose weight trials followed 2,116 adults on 2.4 mg for up to 68 weeks.

SS-31Approved drug

Not reportedNot a listed side effect, and not reported by 5% or more of 117 adults over 48 weeks, or by 2 or more of 30 in a 4-week trial.

ThymalinApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed in the Russian label, which names only allergic reactions; published trials, mostly small and from Russia, gave few safety details.

Thymosin Alpha-1Approved drug

Not reportedNot listed in either label; the Indonesian label cites use in over 2,000 people, with drug-related side effects in under 1%.

TirzepatideApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed as a side effect in the labels (2,519 adults, up to 72 weeks). In the sleep apnea trials, Zepbound improved sleep-related impairment scores vs placebo.

VIPApproved drug

Not reportedNot listed in Invicorp’s label. In a 196-person trial of 3-day IV infusions, no side effect type except diarrhea was more common than on placebo.

AOD9604Human studies

Not reportedNot listed among the common side effects in trials of 893 adults lasting up to 24 weeks.

ArgirelineHuman studies

Not reportedNot reported in the small skin trials (up to 60 people, mostly 4–8 weeks); the most reliable lab tests found almost none reaches deeper skin.

CagrilintideHuman studies

Not reportedNot among common side effects (5% or more) in the 26-week trial, which gave cagrilintide alone to 506 people.

CJC-1295 with DACHuman studies

Not reportedTrouble sleeping isn’t among the side effects FDA summarized from the published trials (63 healthy adults, up to 49 days).

GHK-CuHuman studies

Not reportedNot reported in the small topical studies (13–86 people, mostly 8–12 weeks), which gave few safety details. Injection hasn’t been studied in people.

Kisspeptin-10Human studies

Not reportedNot reported in small, short human studies (about 300 people, single doses to 12 days), which often didn’t track side effects.

LarazotideHuman studies

Not reportedNot more common than on placebo in a pooled analysis of four trials (626 people with celiac disease, up to 12 weeks).

LL-37Human studies

Not reportedNot among the side effects reported in the ulcer trials (about 200 people, up to 13 weeks), which applied it to wounds.

MatrixylHuman studies

Not reportedNot reported in the skin trials (93 women for 12 weeks; 196 using a mix for 8 weeks), where it was well tolerated.

RetatrutideHuman studies

Not reportedTrouble sleeping wasn’t among side effects reported in 5% or more of 338 adults in the 48-week phase 2 trial. In TRIUMPH-1, sleep apnea improved.

SNAP-8Human studies

Not reportedNot reported in two small patch studies that mixed it with other actives (24 people for 28 days; another for 12 weeks); SNAP-8 alone hasn’t been studied.

BPC-157Preclinical

Not reportedNot reported in the small human studies (about 80 people, one dose to 2 weeks of use), which gave few safety details.

No human safety data 13

No one has been given it in a published study, so it can’t be ruled in or out.

AdamaxPreclinical

No dataNo safety data for Adamax. Semax users report poor sleep after late doses, and Adamax is sold as a stronger Semax.

AHK-CuPreclinical

No dataNo human safety data: AHK-Cu has never been tested in people, on the skin or by injection.

CartalaxPreclinical

No dataNo human data: no study of cartalax in people has been published, so side effects are unknown.

CJC-1295 (no DAC)Preclinical

No dataNo human safety data for this peptide.

FOXO4-DRIPreclinical

No dataNo human data: no one has been given FOXO4-DRI in a published study, so side effects are unknown.

HGH Fragment 176-191Preclinical

No dataNo human safety data for this peptide.

HumaninPreclinical

No dataNo human data: no one has been given humanin or its stronger version HNG in a published study, so side effects are unknown.

KPVPreclinical

No dataNo human safety data: FDA’s 2026 review found no study and no adverse-event report for KPV by any route.

MGFPreclinical

No dataNo human safety data: no published study has given MGF to a person.

MOTS-cPreclinical

No dataNo human safety data for MOTS-c itself. In a 4-week trial of a modified version, CB4211, injection-site reactions were the only side effect in over 10% of the 11 treated.

PEG-MGFPreclinical

No dataNo human safety data: FDA found no human exposure data for PEG-MGF by any route.

PinealonPreclinical

No dataNo useful human safety data: the few small Russian reports on pinealon gave no details of side effects.

TB-500Preclinical

No dataNo human safety data: FDA found no study that has given TB-500 to a person.

Sources

Each answer comes from the compound’s own page, under “Can it cause …?”, where its sources are listed.