STUDresearch · Non-peptide
TMG
Also known as
Betaine · Trimethylglycine · Betaine anhydrous · TMG betaine · glycine betaine · betaine TMG (not betaine HCl)
Community talk. May be wrong. Not medical advice. Not a protocol. Not for human or animal use.
Non-peptide
Lots of talk
Systemic
Oral powder or capsules
Longevity & cellular energy
Systemic oral — a powder or capsule. Not a pin.
What people say
TMG is trimethylglycine, also called betaine anhydrous: an oral methyl donor and osmolyte. It is neither a peptide nor betaine HCl, and sports-gram use is a separate discussion from NAD-stack add-ons.
Doses people talk about
These are reported oral amounts, not a dose ladder. The human PK study used 50 mg/kg—far above a typical 500–1000 mg discussion for many adults.
How it may feel
Reports range from no obvious sensation to clearer thinking, energy and motivation. Timing may matter for sleep in some reports: one same-author follow-up avoided later use, while another poster repeatedly reported worse sleep after 500 mg at bedtime.
NAD-stack discussion band500–1000 mg/day oral
A common add-on total in the legacy notes; one actual positive account used an unmeasured small pinch rather than a verified mg amount.
Sports-betaine research band~2–2.5 g/day oral
A separate performance literature; higher gram exposure should not be conflated with an NAD-stack add-on.
Half-life & effect duration
- Half-life in the body
- Single oral study doseAbout 14.4 hours
- Repeated study dosesAbout 41.2 hours
- Felt duration people report
- Morning-use accountClarity and energy
- Later-use accountsHarder to sleep or worse sleep
- Other accountsNo noticeable effect
Cycles people discuss
Daily use alongside NMN or NR and separate multi-week sports blocks both appear in the notes. Neither establishes that TMG must be cycled or that an NAD precursor requires it.
Timing
Morning use appears in NAD-stack reports, while sports-betaine users place it near workouts. Some split larger gram totals between morning and evening; other reports describe sleep disruption after later use or 500 mg at bedtime. These are differing reported habits, not a required schedule.
Stacks
TMG appears with NMN or NR, methylfolate or methyl-B12, and creatine. Benefits or adverse effects in a multi-supplement stack cannot be assigned to TMG alone.
Access talk
OTC powder. Cheap. Not a compounding peptide.
Labs people mention
Homocysteine is the marker TMG threads actually name.
Watch for
GI / fishy odor at sports grams.
Tap a line to jump into the full notes. Research only — may be wrong.
Timing context & sources
Half-life in the body
Mean 14.38 hours after a single 50 mg/kg oral dose in 12 healthy men.
In the same open-label study, 50 mg/kg every 12 hours for five days produced a mean terminal half-life of 41.17 hours after the final dose, demonstrating exposure-pattern dependence.
Small male-only study at high weight-based medical exposure; not a direct estimate for 500–1000 mg supplement use or subjective duration.
- Schwahn et al. (2003): pharmacokinetics of oral betaine (opens in a new tab)Full article read: open-label Methods and pharmacokinetic Results/Table 1. Twelve healthy men received 50 mg/kg once and then every 12 hours for five days; mean terminal half-life was 14.38 ± 7.17 hours after one dose and 41.17 ± 13.50 hours after repeated dosing.Small male-only sample, high weight-based exposure and open-label design; not a consumer-dose or felt-effect study.
Felt duration people report
No dependable felt-duration clock; clarity, null-effect and sleep-disruption reports conflict.
One poster reported clarity and energy with morning use and said later use impeded sleep. Another repeatedly used 500 mg before bed and reported worse sleep; replies included no-effect reports.
Unverified products, self-selected reporters, imprecise dosing in the positive account and no blinded challenge.
- Anyone try TMG for their executive dysfunction? (opens in a new tab)OP and same-author April follow-up read: reported clearer/rested/more motivated after a week, later described a small pinch early in the morning, consistent clarity/energy, noticeable missed doses and sleep difficulty with later use.One uncontrolled account with an unmeasured amount; diagnosis, product and co-exposures unverified.
- Tried TMG before bed to improve my sleep—it appears to worsen it (opens in a new tab)Full thread read: OP reported repeated 500 mg bedtime exposures, perceived and Oura-recorded sleep worsening. Replies included a no-noticeable-impact report and a similar-effect report.Self-experiment without blinding; consumer product and wearable endpoints do not establish causality or prevalence.
What people say
- Homocysteine down: The lab people actually re-check when they run grams of betaine. trialforum
- NMN “methyl sink” folklore: If NMN uses methyl groups, TMG is the refill. Mechanistic camp, not a huge human outcome trial. forum
- Sweat/osmolyte feel: Some notice more pump/heat. anecdote
- What talk does not prove: TMG is why NMN reversed aging. forum
- Power/reps: 2.5 g sports-betaine studies get pasted into lifting forums. trial
Doses people talk about
- Methylation/NMN partner: 500–1000 mg/day is the common add-on. forum
- Huberman-class clips often land around 500 mg with the NAD stack. forum
- Homocysteine clinic grams can go higher; fishy-smell and GI rise. forum
- Split large grams AM/PM. forum
- Framing: Supplement grams — not a peptide. forum
- Sports betaine: ~2–2.5 g/day in the performance papers people cite. trial
How it may feel
- Days 1–7: Reports differ. One poster described clearer thinking, energy and motivation within a week and later said the effect remained noticeable when a small morning powder amount was missed; another repeatedly found 500 mg at bedtime worsened wearable-recorded and perceived sleep. Other replies described no obvious effect. Fishy/body-odor complaints remain associated with higher-gram use. forum
- With NMN: People attribute energy to the NMN and sleep/mood to the pair. forum
- GI at 2+ g if dumped in one scoop. forum
Around the dose
- Clock: Morning use appears in NAD-stack culture and in one clarity/energy account, which said later use made sleep difficult. A separate poster reported poorer sleep after repeated 500 mg bedtime doses. These reports do not establish a required clock. forum
- Training: Sports-betaine camp puts it near the workout. forum
- Do not confuse with betaine HCl before steak. forum
Cycles people discuss
- Daily while NMN/NR is on. forum
- Sports blocks of weeks around a training cycle. forum
Timing
- Measured human context: In 12 healthy men given anhydrous betaine 50 mg/kg orally, the mean terminal half-life was 14.38 hours after a single dose and 41.17 hours after 50 mg/kg every 12 hours for five days. Those high weight-based exposures and accumulation conditions do not define kinetics for a 500–1000 mg supplement habit. trial
- Homocysteine change is a weeks-to-labs story. trial
More on what it is
- What most people mean: The NMN sidekick that “donates methyls” so you do not steal them from the rest of the body. forum
- Why it is next to peptides: 2024–26 NAD threads (NMN/NR/NAD+) treat TMG 500–1000 mg as the cheap insurance powder. forum
- Sports betaine (2–2.5 g) is a separate, older power/endurance literature people mix into the same word. trialforum
- 2025 Cell mouse paper: long-term exercise raised circulating betaine; oral betaine looked exercise-mimetic in aged mice (TBK1 talk). Longevity shops pasted it. Human gram-equivalent is not a settled chart — do not copy 1% mouse drinking water. animalforum
- Not: Not glycine powder for sleep (different molecule), not SAM-e, not a GLP-1. forum
- What it is: Trimethylglycine / betaine anhydrous. Not a peptide. Not betaine HCl (stomach-acid supplement). trial
Stacks
- + NMN or NR: The 2026 reason it is on this map. forum
- + Methylfolate / methyl B12: Methylation drawer. forum
- + Creatine: Separate osmolyte/performance pile. forum
- + Choline: Sometimes stacked; redundant-feeling for some. forum
Access talk
- OTC powder. Cheap. Not a compounding peptide. forum
Labs people mention
- Homocysteine is the marker TMG threads actually name. forum
- B12 / folate / MMA if the methylation stack is the whole story. forum
Storage notes
- Powder in a dry tub. It clumps if the lid is sloppy. forum
- Not BAC water. forum
Watch for
- GI / fishy odor at sports grams. forum
- Wrong bottle: Betaine HCl vs TMG. forum
- Homocysteine can overshoot low in mega-gram experiments — people still want a lab. forum
- Not a substitute for folate/B12 if those are the actual hole. forum
Evidence mix
Mostly community / anecdote tags
Full: every bullet (trial + community). Use Scan for a faster bro-science read.