LessWrong (30+ Karma) “Is fever a symptom of glycine deficiency?” by Benquo
Mar 22, 2026
Discussion of glycine’s surprising roles in sleep, body cooling, and mitochondrial cleanup. Exploration of how modern diets may leave people glycine-deficient and why that might raise sleep need. Presentation of glycine’s immune actions and the idea that fever can be a backup when glycine is low. Practical dosing and food sources are reviewed.
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Personal Sleep Improvement From Glycine
- Ben Pace found his sleep improved after supplementing glycine.
- He reports modern diets lack connective-tissue glycine and 3 g/day endogenous production versus 10+ g ancestral needs.
Glycine Lowers Core Temperature To Promote Sleep
- Glycine improves sleep by lowering core temperature via NMDA activation in the SCN.
- This widens skin blood vessels, dumping heat and accelerating sleep onset; SCN lesions abolish the effect in rats.
Glycine Limits Glutathione And Drives Sleep Need
- Glycine is often the bottleneck for glutathione synthesis, the cell's main antioxidant, so deficiency slows ROS clearance.
- Slower ROS cleanup raises sleep need; experiments show reducing neuronal ROS reduces sleep in flies.