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Trouble sleeping with keto?

TomfromNY
TomfromNY Posts: 100 Member
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I'm a week into keto. Feeling pretty good, the keto stix showed me as 'medium' yesterday, I've been working out, no big cravings, etc...

However, I've been having trouble falling asleep at night. Although I feel tired my mind races and my muscles feel restless.

Anyone else experience this and any advice?

One thing to note is that I have been eating pretty late at night - perhaps I should avoid food for a few hours before bed? My worry with this is that before I started keto, I would go to bed at 10pm and then wake up at midnight starving and scarf down bowls of cereal or deserts, etc...

Replies

  • Roze_Lintje
    Roze_Lintje Posts: 57 Member
    I sleep better since eating keto! It sounds like your low in sodium, potassium or magnesium. Do add extra salt to everything? I dissolve some salt in warm water every morning and drink that. I heard there is something called lite salt and that's a mixture of salt & potassium. I also take magnesium supplements, that really helped me sleep better as well.
  • TomfromNY
    TomfromNY Posts: 100 Member
    I sleep better since eating keto! It sounds like your low in sodium, potassium or magnesium. Do add extra salt to everything? I dissolve some salt in warm water every morning and drink that. I heard there is something called lite salt and that's a mixture of salt & potassium. I also take magnesium supplements, that really helped me sleep better as well.

    Good idea - I do add salt when cooking, but maybe I'll supplement with some broth. I was thinking about getting some potassium/magnesium supplements. Thanks for the advice.
  • fruttibiscotti
    fruttibiscotti Posts: 986 Member
    I started sleeping better with keto too. But it sounds like you are not waking up in the middle of the night hungry anymore....so that's a good thing, no?
  • TomfromNY
    TomfromNY Posts: 100 Member
    I started sleeping better with keto too. But it sounds like you are not waking up in the middle of the night hungry anymore....so that's a good thing, no?

    yes, not waking up hungry. but i need to be able to fall asleep earlier. going to try more sodium, potassium, and magnesium

    thanks
  • quiarga
    quiarga Posts: 408 Member
    I'm on week 3 of low carbing, and definitely having trouble sleeping. I've been going to bed and hour or sometimes two hours earlier than I used to, but I feel like I'm constantly waking up during the night. My mind is just racing!! I think I'm getting enough sodium. I use sea salt in most of our food, and according to MFP I'm usually at around 3000 mg a day. Potassium on the other hand is generally pretty low. Do you think a potassium supplement or a multivitamin would help?
  • FindingMyPerfection
    FindingMyPerfection Posts: 702 Member
    I am finding I am falling asleep later and waking up earlier but with more energy to tackle the day than I have ever had. Also I used to wake up 2-3 times a night and have to roll over and go back to sleep. I no longer am experiencing this sleep interruption.
  • bacitracin
    bacitracin Posts: 921 Member
    I sleep better since eating keto! It sounds like your low in sodium, potassium or magnesium. Do add extra salt to everything? I dissolve some salt in warm water every morning and drink that. I heard there is something called lite salt and that's a mixture of salt & potassium. I also take magnesium supplements, that really helped me sleep better as well.

    You said everything.
  • mutantatoms
    mutantatoms Posts: 7
    I have been keto for 29 days and the first week was bad for disrupted sleep. I had body aches similar to after a hard workout...but without having done so. It gradually got better over the month but there were some nights that I had to take tylenol AND ibuprofen to get myself to settle down to sleep. Definitely agree with make sure you have enough salt/electrolytes and water. I seem to do a bit better on days that I've had a poweraide zero to try and add in a bit more electrolytes without sugar. Give your body time to adapt is what I keep hearing. :) Good luck!
  • tabithamason
    tabithamason Posts: 10
    I sleep much better now, but when I used to struggle with shutting my mind off so I could go to sleep, I relied heavily on Celestial Seasoning's Sleepytime EXTRA tea. Now, sometimes when I need to up my fat, I'll have a glass at night and add some heavy whipping cream. It's delicious!
  • Gamliela
    Gamliela Posts: 2,468 Member
    Yes, i too am having this sleeplessness.

    I began the low carbs on friday last week and couldnt get to sleep, racing thoughts etc. Every night got worse and worse.

    Plus very bad attacks of restless legs.


    I found a herbal remedy with chamomile and lemon balm, it has helped for the last two nights. It has Vit B and magneseium in it as well. Its called Melissa Dream. I am in Europe though, hopefully you will find some if you think that is an option.

    My only worry is that the carb count in it is below 5 because that is all I am listing it for!

    Hopefully as the ketosis sets in we will be able to settle in to a normal sleeping pattern.

    More suggestions from the pros may bring more enlightenment

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