Three years ago, Justin Zheng, an entrepreneur in San Francisco, lay groggy in bed while a group of venture capitalists twiddled their thumbs waiting for him. “I completely forgot this meeting was scheduled,” Zheng recalls. After his no-show, they forgot about him—and the possibility of backing his startup.

Zheng, 25, has struggled with waking up in the morning as far back as he can remember. About a year ago, though, he heard about a supplement designed to bring more pep into your morning step. Known as delayed-release caffeine pills, they’re taken right before sleep, and the caffeine stays dormant until you need to rise from bed.

Zheng’s difficulty with waking, called sleep inertia , is widespread. More than 15% of Americans have a severe form of it, according to one analysis, whil

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