Having trouble sleeping on LCHF

Fitness_is_dope

My brain just won't switch off.

I get up by 7am and train hard 5-6 days per week...I'm not even consuming caffeine atm. Usually under these circumstances I would be sleeping really well - the only thing that has changed is my diet so I'm just wondering has this happened to anyone else when eating low carb?

What can be done to improve it if you still want to keep carbs low? Does an L-tryptophan supplement help?

kommodevaran

I would say eat like a normal person, but it's hard to tell from your post if you're doing that already. What is your total calorie intake, what's your height and weight, and the macro split? (Why) do you have/want to keep carbs low?

Gracie12311

kommodevaran wrote: »

I would say eat like a normal person, but it's hard to tell from your post if you're doing that already. What is your total calorie intake, what's your height and weight, and the macro split? (Why) do you have/want to keep carbs low?

“Eat like a normal person....”. Seriously? Normal people eat low carb.

So helpful.....

kommodevaran

Gracie12311 wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

I would say eat like a normal person, but it's hard to tell from your post if you're doing that already. What is your total calorie intake, what's your height and weight, and the macro split? (Why) do you have/want to keep carbs low?

“Eat like a normal person....”. Seriously? Normal people eat low carb.

So helpful.....

OP edited her post after I wrote my reply. So many newcomers do extreme things and wonder why they experience problems.

kuranda10

I experienced the opposite when I went low carb.
I now drop off in minutes and sleep straight through the night.

How long have you been low carb?

Lillymoo01

Google low carb and sleep problems and you will come up with enough responses to tell you that this is a common side effect of this diet. The absence of carbs makes it more for difficult for your body to produce serotonin which helps ease anxiety and agitation. Being too low in serotonin will affect your ability to have a good night sleep. I am sure that some keto's out there can help you with tips to overcome this.

Fitness_is_dope

kommodevaran wrote: »

Gracie12311 wrote: »

kommodevaran wrote: »

I would say eat like a normal person, but it's hard to tell from your post if you're doing that already. What is your total calorie intake, what's your height and weight, and the macro split? (Why) do you have/want to keep carbs low?

“Eat like a normal person....”. Seriously? Normal people eat low carb.

So helpful.....

OP edited her post after I wrote my reply. So many newcomers do extreme things and wonder why they experience problems.

My OG post included the fact that I eat low carb, but not keto since I tend to consume more protein than fat.
I edited my OG post because your response post was so off topic...I wanted to make sure I was being super clear about my question.
It's got nothing to do with my macro split or my personal stats really. I'm just looking for anecdotal evidence/tips from others following low carb diets who have had similar issues with sleep.

Fitness_is_dope

kuranda10 wrote: »

I experienced the opposite when I went low carb.
I now drop off in minutes and sleep straight through the night.

How long have you been low carb?

About 2 weeks being strict and tracking on MFP

Fitness_is_dope

Lillymoo01 wrote: »

Google low carb and sleep problems and you will come up with enough responses to tell you that this is a common side effect of this diet. The absence of carbs makes it more for difficult for your body to produce serotonin which helps ease anxiety and agitation. Being too low in serotonin will affect your ability to have a good night sleep. I am sure that some keto's out there can help you with tips to overcome this.

Thankyou. I have looked this up on Google and found the same thing so I'm pretty sure it's the low carb intake that's causing it. Hopefully it's just a transitional thing and my body will adapt. Apart from the sleep thing I feel great.

livingleanlivingclean

Fitness_is_dope wrote: »

Lillymoo01 wrote: »

Google low carb and sleep problems and you will come up with enough responses to tell you that this is a common side effect of this diet. The absence of carbs makes it more for difficult for your body to produce serotonin which helps ease anxiety and agitation. Being too low in serotonin will affect your ability to have a good night sleep. I am sure that some keto's out there can help you with tips to overcome this.

Thankyou. I have looked this up on Google and found the same thing so I'm pretty sure it's the low carb intake that's causing it. Hopefully it's just a transitional thing and my body will adapt. Apart from the sleep thing I feel great.

Sleep is important.

If adding carbs back in helps you sleep, why would you not add some back in?
Your stats would help - over training and undernourishing can lead to sleep issues too.

100_PROOF_

livingleanlivingclean wrote: »

Fitness_is_dope wrote: »

Lillymoo01 wrote: »

Google low carb and sleep problems and you will come up with enough responses to tell you that this is a common side effect of this diet. The absence of carbs makes it more for difficult for your body to produce serotonin which helps ease anxiety and agitation. Being too low in serotonin will affect your ability to have a good night sleep. I am sure that some keto's out there can help you with tips to overcome this.

Thankyou. I have looked this up on Google and found the same thing so I'm pretty sure it's the low carb intake that's causing it. Hopefully it's just a transitional thing and my body will adapt. Apart from the sleep thing I feel great.

Sleep is important.

If adding carbs back in helps you sleep, why would you not add some back in?
Your stats would help - over training and undernourishing can lead to sleep issues too.

This.


Op do you have a medical condition that warrants you to restrict carbs? If not why low carb?

ahoy_m8

I notice sleep disturbance when my caloric deficit is too big (not correlating to a particular macro split). Hence, @kommodevaran ‘s comment about total calories seemed logical to me. If you have strong reasons to stay low carb or just want to experiment, try the same macro split with more calories to see if that makes a difference. Good luck!

Alex_P_N

Fitness_is_dope wrote: »

My brain just won't switch off.

I get up by 7am and train hard 5-6 days per week...I'm not even consuming caffeine atm. Usually under these circumstances I would be sleeping really well - the only thing that has changed is my diet so I'm just wondering has this happened to anyone else when eating low carb?

What can be done to improve it if you still want to keep carbs low? Does an L-tryptophan supplement help?

Yes, always find I have brain rushes and late night energy when on strict low carb, I always imagined it could be related to the adjustment of Insulin/Hormonal patterns, i.e. the antithesis/opposite of carby food / sugar / energy dips - but don't know the science properly.

Would highly recommend you get a couple of good quality chamomile teas inside you on an evening, and try some basics like taking a bath before bed.

frankiesgirlie

kommodevaran wrote: »

I would say eat like a normal person, but it's hard to tell from your post if you're doing that already. What is your total calorie intake, what's your height and weight, and the macro split? (Why) do you have/want to keep carbs low?

What’s normal? And who decides what is normal? You?

forma2017

I've been experiencing this too. I'm so happy that my hunger is much lower and I'm not snacking, craving less, not feeling sleepy during afternoons after meals, but the sleep thing sucks a lot. I am wide awake in middle of night after a few hrs of sleep. Honestly I drink 2-2.5ish glasses of chardonnay and that is the only thing that is helping so far. it's fair amount of calories but not that many carbs and I figure it in to my intake. I have tried sleep aids but they give me a worse hangover than the alcohol. Wish I had better advice. magnesium, melatonin, etc did nothing.

NovusDies

Ok. This is going to sound strange. Based on what I know about myself controlling your appetite and controlling your actual physical hunger are not always the same thing. If you are physically hungry at bedtime it can easily disrupt your sleep. I have superb appetite control and I do it without eating LCHF. I could easily do 5:2 but I know almost certainly that on the lower calorie fasting days even though my appetite is in check I would struggle to sleep because I am physically in need of more calories.

ETA: I don't like the idea of 5:2 btw. That was just an example. I know it works for some people but I have never responded well to deprivation at that level.

Lillymoo01

You could always try low carb instead of keto. That way you may get most of the benefits with fewer side effects. It isn't just your sleep you need to be concerned about. Long term your mood could also be negatively impacted. Just remember that keto isn't suitable for everyone.