Morning Wakefulness
Zest is formulated to help you wake up alert, energized, and mentally clear — without needing to reach for coffee.
Clinical Trial Results
- In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, participants who took the delayed-release caffeine before bed showed a 400% increase in physical readiness to move
- 71% increase in mental clarity
- 80% improvement in ease of waking — within 15 minutes of opening their eyes
- These results reflect rapid, measurable improvements across all domains of sleep inertia: physical, cognitive, behavioral, and emotional
Cognitive Performance
Zest supports faster thinking and better decision-making during the most cognitively vulnerable part of your day: right after waking.
Clinical Trial Results
- Participants had significantly faster reaction times on the psychomotor vigilance test (PVT)
- Showed improved neurobehavioral performance vs placebo — even after just 4 hours of sleep
- This marks the first time a proactive, time-synced caffeine product has shown improvements in objective cognitive metrics immediately post-wake
Mood & Emotional Well-Being
Zest promotes a positive emotional state upon waking, helping you start your day with motivation and mental resilience.
Clinical Trial Results
- On the PANAS (Positive and Negative Affect Scale), participants reported a significant boost in positive affect
- A trend toward reduced negative mood within 15 minutes of waking
- The caffeine formulation's effects were linked to dopamine activation in mood-related brain regions like the nucleus accumbens
Circadian Alignment
Zest is designed to complement your natural biological rhythms — amplifying your body’s natural cortisol spike in the morning without interfering with sleep onset.
Clinical Trial Results
- Salivary cortisol measurements showed a significant increase in cortisol levels at 60 minutes post-awakening in the caffeine group vs placebo
- Aligning with the natural cortisol awakening response (CAR)
- This suggests Zest supports healthy HPA-axis function and wake-up hormone dynamics
Sleep Integrity
Zest is engineered for nighttime use — designed to activate about 8 hours later, without disrupting your ability to fall asleep.
Additionally, since the study, we've improved the formulation and capsule technology to prevent disruption of sleep from food-induced digestive activity.
Clinical Trial Results
- Despite being taken at bedtime, the formulation showed no significant impact on sleep latency, REM sleep, or sleep efficiency in a restricted 4-hour sleep window
- The only change was a minor (~17-minute) reduction in deep sleep (N3) under specific conditions where a meal was given mid-night.
- This suggests that under normal fasting conditions, Zest preserves sleep quality
Dornbierer, D.A., Yerlikaya, F., Wespi, R. et al. A novel bedtime pulsatile-release caffeine formula ameliorates sleep inertia symptoms immediately upon awakening. Sci Rep 11, 19734 (2021). View Full Study