DSIP (Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide)
EmergingAlso known as: Delta Sleep-Inducing Peptide · WAGGDASGE nonapeptide
A nonapeptide isolated from rabbit cerebral venous blood in the 1970s and named for its apparent sleep-promoting effect in early animal work. One of the oldest "sleep peptides" discussed online, though its own reviewers call its biological role "a still unresolved riddle."
Mechanism (plain language)
Proposed to modulate adrenergic transmission and circadian/neuroendocrine signaling, but no confirmed DSIP receptor or gene has ever been isolated—a notable gap compared with better-characterized sleep-regulating hormones.
What research suggests
Small, older human studies using intravenous DSIP report sleep induction and normalization of disturbed sleep in patients with insomnia, plus reported effects on daytime alertness and stress tolerance. These are decades-old, small, and largely from one or two research groups.
Uncertainties & risks
A dedicated review explicitly frames the sleep-factor hypothesis for DSIP as "extremely poorly documented and still weak," since no DSIP gene, protein, or receptor has been confirmed. No modern, large, placebo-controlled human trials exist, and it is not an approved sleep therapeutic.
Primary sources
Secondary citations for verification. Prefer the STACKD summary above for context before opening these.
- A clinical trial with DSIP
1984 · human
Open study of 7 insomnia patients reported normalized sleep after a series of DSIP injections.
- Delta sleep-inducing peptide (DSIP): a still unresolved riddle
2006 · review
Review concludes DSIP's sleep-factor role remains poorly documented decades after its discovery.