DSIP, short for delta sleep-inducing peptide, has the most promising name in the sleep-peptide market. It was named for delta sleep, the deep, slow-wave stage. In people, the record is a set of small studies from the 1980s and early 1990s, and they do not agree with each other. This page goes through each one, and through the FDA’s 2026 reading of the whole set. It sits under the sleep goal.
For how DSIP compares with the growth-hormone peptides also sold for sleep, see the overview in what human studies of sleep peptides found.
What DSIP is
DSIP, given the name emideltide in FDA documents, is a peptide of nine amino acids. The FDA notes it is not a component of any approved drug and has no official monograph, and that its chemistry is poorly characterized for use as a compounded injection. [7]
Whether the body uses DSIP as a sleep signal at all is unsettled. A 1995 study measured morning blood levels of DSIP-like material in 10 people with narcolepsy, 9 with sleep apnea and 11 healthy controls. It found no significant differences between the groups, only a trend toward lower levels in narcolepsy [6].
The studies that found an effect
The positive human sleep studies come largely from one author [7]. In a 1987 placebo-controlled, double-blind study (n = 14), middle-aged chronic insomniacs received DSIP on 7 successive nights, with sleep recorded in the laboratory [1]. The author reports that night sleep improved substantially from the first dose and further with repeated doses, that the gain held on the first placebo night after treatment, and that daytime alertness and performance rose.
An earlier open study treated 7 people with severe insomnia with a series of 10 injections [4]. Sleep was reported as normalized in all but one, for follow-up periods of 3 to 7 months. With no placebo group, that result cannot separate the peptide from expectation, attention or time.
The FDA’s reviewers read the positive studies cautiously. They note that the author concluded DSIP was effective, but that it was unclear whether the changes seen in 14 subjects were clinically meaningful [7].
The studies that did not
Two other double-blind studies used intravenous DSIP at 25 nmol/kg. One gave it in the afternoon before three laboratory nights, to 16 chronic insomniacs (n = 16) split between DSIP and a glucose solution [2]. Sleep efficiency was higher and sleep onset shorter on DSIP, but the authors judged the effects weak and possibly due to a chance change in the placebo group. Subjective sleep quality did not change.
The other gave DSIP or placebo for four nights in a crossover design [3]. Total sleep rose, but only in light stage 2 sleep; deep slow-wave sleep and REM sleep did not change. That last point matters for a peptide named for deep sleep. The authors concluded the improvement was of little clinical significance.
Narcolepsy and other uses
The narcolepsy evidence is a single patient. A 35-year-old man given repeated DSIP injections reported fewer sleep attacks and more daytime alertness, and his overnight sleep showed more REM [5]. The FDA calls a single-subject report insufficient to judge effectiveness, citing recall bias and limited generalizability [7].
DSIP was also given intravenously in studies of opioid withdrawal. The FDA’s review of those studies found transient headache, nausea and vertigo as common side effects, and cases of low blood pressure described as “progressive” after a second IV dose [7].
What this means for you
DSIP was tested in a few dozen people, by IV, over days, and the results split. No study has measured DSIP injected under the skin, the route nominated for compounding [7], and no human dose has been established. The peptides for sleep with more human data, and their own limits, are compared in what the sermorelin studies measured and the overview above. How the growth hormone peptides differ from one another is in growth hormone peptides.