In-depth review of 8Hours Rise, a once-a-day drink containing a blend of synergistic supplements designed to provide the body with everything it needs upon waking to support athletic performance and recovery.

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Last year, we reviewed 8Hours Sleep, or “Sleep to Move” as it was known at the time, a supplement filled to the brim with a research-backed formulation of high-quality ingredients designed to support natural sleep processes.

The synergistic blend included magnesium bisglycinate, L-Theanine, Apigenin, Myo-Inositol, Tart Cherry, and BioPerine. While most brands chased acute performance effects, 8Hours’ USP was to place their attention elsewhere — on the underlying factor that dictates performance day to day: sleep. Because to move well, you first need to sleep well. Or, as 8Hours put it, “optimise your nights to get more out of your days.”

With the nighttime taken care of, 8Hours are back to address what the body needs upon waking. Or, to put it another way, on the next eight hours. Rise, the aptly-named new product, “supports physical and mental performance, muscle and nervous system function, immune system function, protection of cells from oxidative stress and reduction of tiredness and fatigue.”

What’s In 8Hours Rise?

• Creapure Creatine 5000mg
• Sodium (from pink Himalayan Salt) 600mg
• Potassium 400mg
• Magnesium 125mg
• Chloride (from salts) 60mg
• Aquamin Calcium 100mg
• Selenium 50 µg
• L-Carnitine L-tartrate 500mg
• Taurine 1000mg
• Betanine Anhydrous 1000mg
• Vitamin B5 (Pantothenic Acid)

Taste

Bucking the trend of lemon and lime, 8Hours opted for something a little different: Passionfruit Papaya. It’s really well-balanced — and, as Rise is marketed as a once-a-morning supplement (though really it can be taken any time of day), it needs to be. The last thing you want immediately after waking is an overly sweet or overly salty drink. Rise is neither of those things. The sweetness of the passionfruit and papaya balances perfectly with the Himalayan salt, resulting in a refreshing, not-too-sweet, not-too-salty drink that you actually look forward to.

What We Like

Quality Ingredients

First up, the quality of the ingredients. 8Hours could have opted for generic creatine to keep costs low. Instead, they went for Creapure — a branded creatine made in Germany and manufactured to high (typical of Ze Germans) standards.

To be clear, creatine monohydrate is creatine monohydrate. The molecule doesn’t change based on the brand. What does change is how stringent suppliers are with impurities and quality control. If you’re consuming creatine daily, you want to know you’re getting exactly what it says on the tin and not a bunch of potentially harmful impurities. While most reputable brands do hit comparable (>99%) purities, Creapure provides that extra — and most welcome — peace of mind.

Synergistic Ingredients

On its own, creatine is a powerhouse. It’s one of the most heavily researched supplements available, best known for its ability to accelerate the production of ATP. Where Rise gets more interesting is in the environment it creates around that creatine.

Betaine anhydrous plays a key role here. Acting as an osmolyte — organic molecules that help cells maintain osmotic balance, cell volume, and protein structure under environmental stress — it helps improve cellular hydration, while also supporting methylation — a process involved in endogenous creatine synthesis. In simple terms, it helps create better conditions for creatine to do its job.

Then there’s taurine, an ingredient that’s often misunderstood. No, it’s not going to leave you feeling wired — that’s merely a hangover from taurine’s association with energy drinks. In reality, taurine isn’t a stimulant at all. It’s frequently paired with caffeine because it helps regulate calcium handling during muscle contractions. Caffeine increases calcium release; taurine helps keep things controlled.

Here, taurine’s role is far less flashy but arguably more useful: supporting cellular hydration and neuromuscular function, potentially reducing cramping and fatigue during repeated efforts.

There’s a harmony between 8Hours’ choice of ingredients. Creatine supports repeatable power output. Betaine improves the cellular conditions it relies on. Taurine helps smooth muscle contraction and fatigue resistance. There’s no artificial stimulation, no short-lived “energy hit” — just ingredients that support the mechanics of training so hard sessions feel more repeatable, and recovery between them a little less ragged.

One Drink, Multiple Benefits

With the rise of the “lock in”, optimise-everything crowd, supplements promising life-changing benefits are everywhere. It’s simply a minefield to navigate. Even when something is supported by research, it usually doesn’t take much to find a piece of contradictory evidence.

While I know there’s no shortcut to performance (unless we put something like EPO on the table), I do like to experiment — hence the growing graveyard of half-used supplements in my cupboard. Fundamentally, though, the majority of these — perhaps unsurprisingly — had little to no effect (hence the half-used part).

With Rise, however, just as it was with their Sleep supplement, 8Hours have put the focus on a small number of well-researched ingredients — things you’re likely already (or should be) taking to support an active lifestyle.

As a runner, the benefits of creatine and the necessity for electrolyte complexes are widely documented. Creatine isn’t a magic pill for endurance, but it supports the training that will actually make you faster. Improvements in power and repeatability for key sessions like intervals and hill sprints. Better performance in, and recovery from, strength training — something that has the potential to reduce your incidence of injury and, as touched on in our review of the Yoback, improve your running economy.

Then there’s things like L-Carnitine which supports fatty acid transfer into mitochondria and helps to reduce muscle damage and soreness. Consequently, you receive both a physical and psychological boost to recovery, meaning you’re less likely to skip that all-important workout.

Where Rise really shines then is in its ability to provide a plethora of benefits, to cover all bases, in a single sachet. There are no “stacks” to manage, and, as a result, no excuses for non-adherence.

Easy to Mix

This one speaks for itself, but Rise mixes really well, even without a shaker bottle. Whether it’s in the 8Hours bottle (currently free with your first order), any other generic plastic bottle, or even just stirred in a glass, the result is a a completely smooth, clump-free drink. It might sound inconsequential, but executing the basics well — creating a pleasant experience — means you’re more likely to adhere to the one-a-day supplement.

Who It’s For?

If you’re running low mileage and not doing any additional training, then this may be overkill. (If that’s you, you’re still doing great by the way!) Rise makes more sense for those who are stacking back-to-back sessions, hitting strength work and cardio, or participating in multiple sports each week. “Hybrid”, if you will. For those with their focus exclusively on running, Rise still makes a lot of sense if you’re doing back-to-back training days or, as you more than likely will be, a variety of different running workouts each week (long runs, intervals, easy etc.,)

When Do I Take It?

It’s marketed as a once-a-day, preferably as soon as you wake up, supplement. I’ve used it first thing before a workout, but I’ve also used it post-run. It works equally well for both, and as there’s nothing stimulating in it, you don’t have to worry about it keeping you up. Really, then, you can take Rise any time of day. With creatine, it’s consistency that’s important.

What Outcomes Have I Noticed?

I don’t like to make wild claims about these sorts of supplements, and anyone who does is likely being disingenuous. It’s not that they aren’t providing a plethora of benefits, but rather that outcomes are a little more subtle. I haven’t started running four minute miles just yet.

I have, however, noticed significantly less cramping since using Rise. That’ll be the electrolyte complex, the 600mg of sodium from Himalayan salt, doing the heavy lifting. Due to a past injury, I’m quite susceptible to cramping, so this is a really welcome development.

Additionally, as I’ve been ramping up both the intensity and frequency of training in preparation for Ultra Trail Snowdonia, I have noticed feeling less sore and better recovered the next day, even when I’ve felt like I’m on my way out immediately post-session. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done the requisite work to get there. I haven’t gone from zero to hero with just the addition of Rise, but it does seem to be helping significantly with recovery.

Price: Is 8Hours Rise Worth It?

In reviewing 8Hours Rise, we think that, while certainly not cheap, the product offers great value for money when considering both the number and quality of ingredients it contains. This is particularly true if you’re already taking some of these supplements, like creatine and electrolytes, separately.

For example, LMNT, not quite a direct competitor but a company that likely targets the same segment of the market, will set you back approximately £1.40 per serving. Both LMNT and Rise utilise Himalayan salt as their source of sodium, and while there’s more of that in LMNT’s electrolyte drink, there’s significantly less potassium and magnesium, and no creatine or any of the other synergistic ingredients included in Rise.

Like their other products, 8Hours offer Rise as a one-off purchase or as a monthly, three-monthly, or six-monthly subscription. With our discount code, a month’s subscription to rise will set you back £44.61, three-months comes to £39.07 per month, and six-months £33.79 per month (payable upfront).

As we see it, one sachet of Rise takes care of multiple different needs. It replaces the need to buy creatine, L-Carnitine, and electrolytes separately. Consequently, for the convenience, taste, quality and synergy of ingredients, Rise is a bit of a no brainer. It’s quickly become our favourite supplement, helping to bolster adherence to a few essential ingredients that bolster performance and recovery.

What We’d Like To See

While we love the taste of passionfruit papaya, we would like to see at least one additional flavour in the future. It would be great to be able to switch things up, particularly when subscribing to the longer terms where there’s potential for “taste fatigue.” The ability to have a six month term where you receive three month’s worth of each flavour, for example, would increase the propensity for people to sign up to longer terms.

8Hours Rise Discount Code

For a 10% discount, simply enter code GRITTY at checkout or follow the links contained in this article. The code works for both one-off and subscription purchases.

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