Having trouble staying asleep
kendahlj
Posts: 243 Member
I've searched for another thread on this topic and couldn't find one...sorry if this has been answered.
I've been off carbs for about a month. I am pretty strict, although I do eat fruits and vegetables and occasionally beans. Anyway, for the past week I've been waking up right at or near 3:45 a.m. and I can never fall back to sleep. I don't know if it's diet related or something else. I've tried a few different things, like going to bed later, drinking less water at night, etc, but nothing helps. I usually crash from exhaustion for an hour when I come home from work, but I've tried avoiding sleep until normal bed time and that didn't help either.
Anyone else experience this?
I've been off carbs for about a month. I am pretty strict, although I do eat fruits and vegetables and occasionally beans. Anyway, for the past week I've been waking up right at or near 3:45 a.m. and I can never fall back to sleep. I don't know if it's diet related or something else. I've tried a few different things, like going to bed later, drinking less water at night, etc, but nothing helps. I usually crash from exhaustion for an hour when I come home from work, but I've tried avoiding sleep until normal bed time and that didn't help either.
Anyone else experience this?
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I tend to wake up around 1:30. I usually go to the bathroom, eat a cheese stick if I'm at all hungry, and can manage to fall asleep again. For me, restricting water doesn't help much, because the LCHF diet increases urine production a bit regardless of how much you've drank.
Do you notice any trends with what you eat and when you eat? (I sleep better with a few carbs and some protein, like a serving of fruit and a cheese stick, before bed). What's your usual wake up time? Are you diabetic? (If so, check your blood sugar when you wake up).
Make sure you're avoiding alcohol before bed, it's notorious for early awakenings.2 -
I'm no help here, except to feel your pain. I've always been an early bird but now I find myself waking up when it's barely tomorrow. I spent six days in the hospital with acute pancreatitis in March and that apparently finished off my sleep schedule for good. (I got a telephone survey after discharge about my hospital stay. One of the questions was "Were you able to get enough sleep?" To which the correct answer is "Are you kidding me, lady? If I want to get a good night's sleep I go somewhere quiet and peaceful like Bourbon Street during Mardi Gras, or the Indianapolis Speedway. I don't go to a HOSPITAL.")
I went LCHF 11 months before this episode. (And alcohol-free for even longer.) As with everything but a broken arm, the medical profession's prescription for pancreatitis is to eat no-fat/low-fat. I've cut out some very high fat items like bacon and cream and that's the only change I've made since scampering off to the ER.
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I experienced something very similar early on. I don't have specific advice, my sleep cycle returned to normal on its own after a month or so.
Magnesium probably wouldn't hurt if you aren't taking it already.2 -
Dave Asprey of Bulletproof diet found in his reasearch that some folk, including himself, sleep better when they eat a few carbs pre bed time. I dodge caffiene and try to relax/meditate pre bed to help sleep. Changing diet can impact sleep patterns but for me work stress beats diet for greatest impact on sleep quality. That and the gorgeous tweets of morning birds!! 4am sunrise.2
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Thanks for the replies. I'll try to wait this out but it's annoying. It's almost exactly 3:45 a.m. every morning that I wake up. I just find that pretty odd. I have no problem falling asleep...pretty much when I hit the pillow.
How could magnesium help?0 -
Magnesium helps with reducing chance of leg cramps. Plus (thank you google:) "Magnesium is well known for its ability to relieve insomnia. One study found that it helps decrease cortisol, the “stress hormone” that can keep you up at night. It also helps muscles relax, to give you that calm “sleepy” feeling and help you unwind after a long day." I use Magnesium citrate. Suggest dodge the oxide as it is ineffective.1
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@KenSmith108 that is a great read. Thxs for sharing.0
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Reiterating, magnesium:
https://www.amazon.com/Natural-Vitality-Calcium-Magnesium-Raspbery/dp/B003I4P3JS/ref=sr_1_5_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1466201114&sr=1-5&keywords=natural+calm
I tried it to see if it would help with my leg / foot cramps and although it never helped with my leg cramps, man I could NOT keep my eyes open once I took this at the end of the night just before bed and I've NEVER had a difficult falling asleep prior to that anyway!!0 -
Mag saves my life daily. I couldn't figure out my migraine, abdominal cramping, leg and foot cramps and TERRIBLE restless leg syndrome - that was the worst!! A Naturopath said I was mag deficient. I almost never get cramps now, haven't had RLS in forever and my migraines are way fewer than they used to be. The cramps in my feet and legs were so bad that some nights I couldn't lay down, I had to stand tippy toe for minutes on end to ease them or I'd have to have my legs rubbed, and rubbed REALLY hard with mineral ice (not sure why that helped, but it did)0
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Me too waking at 4 can't get back to sleep till alarm is tuning ant 545. I've been waking a few times some nights to use bathroom. Unusual for me. The few times has decreased to on but it is annoying as I'm tired all day..hope it gets better op...I think I need back on some mag again.0
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Yes definitely magnesium helps!!! I took ambien to sleep for a couple years and was able to throw it away thanks to magnesium! I do wake sometimes to go to the bathroom since being on keto but I go back to sleep. I also eat an ounce of cheese before bed. Calcium also helps me relax.0
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Thanks for the replies. I'll try to wait this out but it's annoying. It's almost exactly 3:45 a.m. every morning that I wake up. I just find that pretty odd. I have no problem falling asleep...pretty much when I hit the pillow.
How could magnesium help?
They say magnesium helps you to sleep you may also be lacking in melatonin which your body naturally produces to help you sleep you might want to try supplementing melatonin for a short period but not Long term because it's been tested and proven the body will stop producing its own if you stay on a supplement for too long. Hope this helps
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