Low carb and insomnia

AlexCosma
AlexCosma Posts: 6 Member
edited November 11 in Food and Nutrition
Hello low carbers,

I have a question regarding insomnia for you. It seems that every time I eat low carb (below 25grams, so enough to trigger ketosis) for 2-3 days, I find that I can't sleep until I eat a carb rich meal again. This is really a pity because eating low carb is both quite enjoyable and very effective for me, but the insomnia is an issue that I can't get past.

Some background:
I'm only trying to lose about 3 kilograms of fat, so nothing major. When doing low carb, I eat at maintenance calories, I love my greens and salads and get my fats from healthy fish, oils and a moderate amount of nuts. I also take supplements (especially Ca+Mg which usually help me sleep), so I can't seem to find a solution for kicking the insomnia. Normally I sleep a healthy 7 hours per night.

I do drink some coffee in the morning, but this doesn't affect my sleeping on days I eat +40 grams of carbs. I've also experimented with eliminating coffee altogether and it hasn't worked so far.

I do strength training and running workouts while eating low carb as usual. Strength training seems to make the insomnia instances worse, but I have trouble sleeping even when I don't work out at all.

Any ideas or suggestions for me? Advice much appreciated.

Replies

  • ericah162
    ericah162 Posts: 1
    Hi there,

    I had insomnia for a few years. It's awful!

    Do you workout in thd evening? If so I'd change to the morning as it can give you an energy spike that can make it hard to sleep.

    Bananas are good for sleep, milk and turkey and any foods with tryptophan so try to inc those.

    If these don't help you could purchase a good quality magnesium powder (Bioceuticals muscle Eze is good) and try taking that twice a day.

    If I think of anything else I'll let you know :)
  • AlexCosma
    AlexCosma Posts: 6 Member
    Thanks for the advice ericah162. Much appreciated!
  • elleinaDanielle
    elleinaDanielle Posts: 50
    Have you tried melatonin? It's a supplement that helped me get my sleep schedule back on track.

    Also, for people who have trouble sleeping: your bed should only be for sleeping and sex. This way your body knows that when you get into bed at night it's time for sleep. No reading, watching Netflix, etc. in bed. This may help as well!
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    drgominak.com/vitamin-d-3/
  • ELiCiT23
    ELiCiT23 Posts: 106 Member
    Melatonin definitely, Ketosis is a major change in your body, potassium levels and sodium starts to drop, whch can trigger some type of sleeplessness. Take potassium supps and take some BCAA supps. Probably lacking some kind of electrolytes
  • AlexCosma
    AlexCosma Posts: 6 Member
    Thanks guys for the advice. I take BCAAs before strength workouts, but will do so daily while in ketosis. I'll also try to get my hands on melatonin. Thanks!
  • anne3091
    anne3091 Posts: 15
    Hope you have recovered from Insomnia. Its really a very bad condition when you cant get enough sleep.
  • martyqueen52
    martyqueen52 Posts: 1,120 Member
    First of all, don't assume you have a medical condition. You either do, or don't, based off of a medical professional evaluation.... not assumptions due to low carb, which sounds amazingly retarded.

    You will get use to Melatonin if you take it too often. Not to mention your body produces it naturally.

    Read this, and follow it!: http://www.lift-run-bang.com/2015/01/total-sleep-circadian-rhythms-and.html

  • paperazzi
    paperazzi Posts: 6 Member
    I had this problem, too. While my body enjoys the stability of a low carb diet, for a few nights I have bad insomnia. (Once, in exhausted desperation after my fourth sleepless night in a row, I took an Ativan which worked great! I wouldn't recommend it as a regular course of action, mind you).

    The insomnia does go away on it's own so hang in there.
  • rosebette
    rosebette Posts: 1,660 Member
    I have a similar problem if I don't eat enough. I don't believe in night eating, so after dinner, the kitchen "shuts down," but if I net around 1200 or less, sometimes I fall asleep right away but don't stay asleep, or I awaken very early in the morning around 5:00 AM and can't sleep anymore unless I get up and eat.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Going very low carb can be activating for a few days. Then your body adjusts -- most of the time.
  • miriamtob
    miriamtob Posts: 436 Member
    I've definitely had this problem with low carb, but usually on the days I have the biggest calorie deficit. Starting to research hypocretin neurons: Hypocretin neurons have the ability to incite energetic wakefulness, and to prevent a person from falling asleep, should her body detect a “starved” state.
  • JPW1990
    JPW1990 Posts: 2,424 Member
    Magnesium, you need it anyway when you first start to avoid other side effects. Taking it later in the day helps with the insomnia.
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