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The Hungry One

GHRP-6

Also known as Growth Hormone Releasing Peptide-6

Summary coverage

At a glance

What it is
A strong GH releaser that also raises appetite, cortisol and prolactin.
Evidence
Small human studiesHow the tiers workFrieboes et al. (1995) showed GHRP-6 stimulates sleep, growth hormone, ACTH and cortisol release in normal man, a small human study; our tesamorelin comparison table characterises the wider evidence base as limited. Why this tier
Half-life
About 2.5 hours, when given into a vein
From Cabrales et al., European Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2013
Routes
Subcutaneous
Category
Growth hormone, Sleep
FDA
FDA Category 2
As of 3 August 2026. What that means
WADA
Prohibited (S2.2.4)

Putting GHRP-6 on a schedule, with the vial it comes from and a log of each dose, happens in the app: Claritide for iPhone.

Evidence

Why this tier

Frieboes et al. (1995) showed GHRP-6 stimulates sleep, growth hormone, ACTH and cortisol release in normal man, a small human study; our tesamorelin comparison table characterises the wider evidence base as limited.

Overview

What it is

GHRP-6 is a growth hormone-releasing peptide acting on the ghrelin receptor. It produces a stronger GH release than GHRP-2 but also stimulates appetite substantially and, unlike ipamorelin, spikes cortisol and prolactin. It is used for deep sleep and recovery where the appetite effect is acceptable or wanted.

Mechanism

How it works

GHRP-6 activates the ghrelin receptor on the pituitary, prompting growth hormone release. Because ghrelin is the hunger hormone, activating its receptor non-selectively also drives appetite, which is the defining practical difference between GHRP-6 and the more selective compounds in the same class. Our sources note it additionally spikes cortisol and prolactin, which ipamorelin does not. The sleep benefit runs through the same route as the rest of the class: the largest natural GH pulse occurs in the first slow-wave sleep cycle, and amplifying GH secretion deepens and extends those stages.

Dosing

Commonly researched ranges

These are figures reported in published literature and practitioner protocols: a commonly researched range, not a recommendation. Claritide does not tell you what to take.
  • Standard100–300 mcg

    Nightly · Before bedtime on an empty stomach, at least 2 hours after the last meal

    Often paired with a GHRH peptide such as CJC-1295 without DAC for synergistic GH release.

Cycle guidance
8–12 weeks, cycling 5 days on / 2 days off.
Goals
Sleep, Recovery, Muscle
Legal standing

Where this sits with the FDA

Dated, sourced, and separate from whether it works. Removal from a warning list is not permission to compound.
FDA Category 2as of 3 August 2026 · US

503B Category 2 · bulk substances that may present significant safety risks

A live FDA “significant safety risk” designation. Nothing in the 2026 reclassification wave changed it: GHRP-6 was not among the 12 substances removed from Category 2.

Last change · 29 September 2023 · Added to the 503B Category 2 list on 29 September 2023.

Primary source

How it got here

  1. 29 September 2023

    FDA placed GHRP-6 in 503B Category 2.

Sport

WADA status

The 2026 Prohibited List entered force on 1 January 2026.
Prohibited (S2.2.4)

Named on the 2026 List under S2.2.4, growth hormone secretagogues and GHRPs. Prohibited at all times.

Reconstitution

Mixing recipes our sources document

Concentration (mg/mL) = vial mg ÷ diluent mL. On a U-100 barrel, 1 unit = 0.01 mL.

Not established in available literature. Use the calculator with the figures printed on your own vial.
Open the calculator

Expectations

Week by week

What our material describes people reporting. Individual responses vary widely.
  1. 1
    Week 1–2

    Our sleep guide places noticeable sleep change in this window.

Tolerability

Side effects

Grouped by how often our sources report them. Percentages appear only where a published trial figure exists.

Common

  • Increased appetiteVia ghrelin receptor activation. A benefit or a drawback depending on your goals.
  • Cortisol and prolactin elevationThe reason ipamorelin displaced GHRP-6 in most modern protocols.
Safety

Contraindications and interactions

Do not use if

  • Active cancer: GH promotes cell proliferation
  • Never combine with GHRP-2: they target the same receptor
  • Pregnancy or nursing: no safety data in our sources

Interactions

  • GHRP-2avoid

    Same receptor target. Our sleep guide states these should not be combined.

  • Other GH secretagogues and exogenous GHcaution

    Cumulative GH-axis load with unpredictable hormonal effects.

Absence from this list does NOT mean safety. It means lack of research.

Handling

Storage and cost

Storage
Lyophilized powder: refrigerator 2–8°C, freezer −20°C for long-term storage. Reconstituted with bacteriostatic water: refrigerate and discard after 28 days.
Cost
Not established in available literature
Combinations

Stacks with

Only pairings our own material actually documents. Stacking is the least evidence-based part of this field.
CJC-1295 (no DAC)The Short Pulse
Deep dive

GHRP-6 in full

Limited coverage

GHRP-6 appears in our sleep guide and in the growth-hormone comparison table on our tesamorelin page. This record covers what our sources state.

What it is

A growth hormone-releasing peptide acting on the ghrelin receptor. Older than ipamorelin, stronger in raw GH output, and considerably less clean.

The tradeoff that defines it

GHRP-6 produces a stronger GH release than GHRP-2. It also stimulates appetite substantially, because the ghrelin receptor is the hunger receptor and GHRP-6 does not discriminate. Our tesamorelin comparison table adds that it spikes cortisol and prolactin, which is precisely what ipamorelin was designed to avoid.

Whether that is a problem depends entirely on the goal. For someone trying to eat more, the appetite effect is a feature. For anyone in a fat-loss phase, it works directly against the objective.

Why it appears in a sleep guide

The largest natural GH pulse occurs during the first cycle of slow-wave sleep. Enhancing GH secretion deepens and extends those stages, and Frieboes et al. (1995) showed exactly that in normal men, along with the ACTH and cortisol release that is the compound's known downside.

What our sources give as dosing

100–300 mcg subcutaneously before bed on an empty stomach, at least two hours after the last meal, nightly. Cycles of 8–12 weeks, five days on and two off. Often paired with a GHRH peptide such as CJC-1295 without DAC.

The empty stomach requirement is real for this class: food blunts the GH response.

The rule that matters

Never combine GHRP-6 with GHRP-2. They target the same receptor, and our sleep guide states this explicitly. This is the clearest example in our material of a duplicate-mechanism conflict: two compounds, one receptor, no additional benefit, doubled unknowns.

Active cancer is a contraindication for any GH-axis compound, and the Playbook's warning about stacking multiple GH-modulating peptides applies here in full.

References

Sources

  1. 1
    Frieboes et al., 1995 · GHRP-6 stimulates sleep, growth hormone, ACTH and cortisol release in normal man, Neuroendocrinology 61(5)

Every record in this library is free to read, and it stays free. Your own schedule, vials and log live in the app: Claritide for iPhone.