Sermorelin Dosage: Protocols, Timing & Cycles Explained (2026)

Short answer

Typical prescription: 200-500 mcg subcutaneous before bed, often 5 nights on / 2 off. The details are physician-set because sermorelin dosing is individualized to your baseline IGF-1, weight, age and response — it's hormone restoration, not a fixed-dose drug.

Why bedtime is the whole game

Your largest growth hormone pulse fires during deep slow-wave sleep — sermorelin's job is to amplify that pulse, not create a new one. Inject before bed and the peptide peaks into the natural surge. Inject in the morning and you're spending a dose on a trough. This is the single most consistent feature across every protocol.

The 5-on-2-off structure

Most programs prescribe 5 consecutive injection nights with 2 off — the break preserves pituitary receptor sensitivity (continuous stimulation can blunt response over months). Alternative: nightly dosing with scheduled IGF-1 rechecks and physician-managed pauses. Both work; the structure exists to keep your pituitary responding rather than adapting.

Cycles are months, not weeks

Recovery peptides run 4-8 week cycles; sermorelin runs quarters. Sleep quality changes often report inside the first month; body-composition and energy shifts take 3-6 months of consistent therapy. Programs typically reassess labs at 3 and 6 months — that's also how the physician decides to continue, adjust or stop.

Why the dose isn't yours to change

The temptation: feel less → inject more. The physiology says otherwise — your pituitary self-limits output (that's sermorelin's safety advantage), so over-dosing mostly wastes peptide. And 'feeling it' is a terrible dose meter for a hormone that works on months-long timelines. Lab values (IGF-1, metabolic panel) guide adjustments — which is exactly why this stays prescription-only.

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