Insomnia problem

satisatisati
satisatisati Posts: 260 Member
edited November 15 in Goal: Maintaining Weight
Anybody experienced insomnia during their weight loss journey. I have lost 10 kg of weight in 4 months. I am doing HIIT cardio and weight training. Working out 100 minutes everyday, 6 days a week.
Mix of cardio and weigh training.

I am not using any supplements or proteins. Just taking all my daily macros with natural diet.


Replies

  • kimault1984
    kimault1984 Posts: 71 Member
    I'm having terrible insomnia! Very strange because I didn't have any problems while losing weight, only once I entered maintenance that it started. Maybe it's unrelated...

    When I was working out I noticed that it gave me a ton of energy, do you think maybe you are working out too close to bedtime?
  • satisatisati
    satisatisati Posts: 260 Member
    No I workout early morning hours from 6-8 am. Its been 6th day without sleep.
    My energy levels are still the same. It seems like the weather is changing from Winters to summer in my country which could be the reason i guess in my case.
  • belimawr
    belimawr Posts: 1,155 Member
    I'm having terrible insomnia! Very strange because I didn't have any problems while losing weight, only once I entered maintenance that it started. Maybe it's unrelated...

    I recently posted about this as well, and have yet to find the answer other than the typical sleep hygiene stuff. My insomnia started around the same time as my greatest losses, which were right before going maintenance, and continued.

    The scary thing is not sleeping well, yet having tremendous amounts of energy when I'm up.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited April 2015
    I have it as well. Since I lost 9 pounds and exercise I get only 4 or 5 hours of sleep. I have increased exercise (cardio and lift weights) to 6 days a week.

    I can go right to sleep at 11:00 p.m. and wake up at 3:00 or 4:00 a.m. religiously but I have plenty of energy, wake up rested and ready to go.

    Once in a blue moon I feel like I have a sleep debt like yesterday I took a very unusual 2 hour nap (I have not taken a nap in about 6 months)...

    Does every one have any issues like feeling like they are not recovering well from the day before or are you getting some quality -- straight sleep and feel fine?

    I thought it might be seasonal but it carried on and this seems to be my new norm.. It may not be insomnia, but I do wake up every hour but I can talk my self back to sleep but only for a short time.

  • belimawr
    belimawr Posts: 1,155 Member
    edited April 2015
    gia07 wrote: »
    but I do wake up every hour but I can talk my self back to sleep but only for a short time.

    Exactly my problem now.

    I was never a terribly good sleeper. Then while losing, initially it got better.

    Now I find myself waking every hour or two but find it hard to get back to sleep. After the second time waking I feel energized.which would be fine if it didn't mean work was still more than eight hours away.
  • galgenstrick
    galgenstrick Posts: 2,086 Member
    Definitely had insomnia the from days 20-50 or so. It went away after increasing my thyroid medication. Could have been coincidence though because I still don't sleep as well as I did before starting
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    edited April 2015
    I suffer from sleep problems and have been on trazedone intermittently.


    What i do WITHOUT takin prescription medication:
    1.) Work out at night time. Do cardio or something that just really wears you out.
    2.) Come home and drink a hot cup of tea.
    3.) take a melatonin.
    4.) light some candles and put on a relaxing guided meditation.
    5.) turn off the lights in your bathroom (candles lit) and take a HOT bath. You can try lavender epsom salts, or lavender bath oil.
    6.) lay in the hot bath in the dark for roughly 30 minutes.
    7.) walk into your bedroom and lay down on your bed. (DO NOT HAVE LIGHTS ON!!)

    this almost ALWAYS knocks me out.

    Some other things to consider:
    Do not have caffiene after noon. or at ALL.
    Do not take any stimulants (check if your on meds that are like adderall)
    Do not use your bedroom for anything other than sleep and sex
    Do not have any electonics in your room (phone, tv, tablet, laptop, etc.) EVEN CLOCKS!
    If you don't fall asleep within 15-20 minutes of lying in the dark, get up and LEAVE!

    The above is just good sleeping habits suggested to me. If they don't work or help, see a doctor. Maybe they can give you something for a short while or do testing.
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    belimawr wrote: »
    I'm having terrible insomnia! Very strange because I didn't have any problems while losing weight, only once I entered maintenance that it started. Maybe it's unrelated...

    I recently posted about this as well, and have yet to find the answer other than the typical sleep hygiene stuff. My insomnia started around the same time as my greatest losses, which were right before going maintenance, and continued.

    The scary thing is not sleeping well, yet having tremendous amounts of energy when I'm up.

    You may have an underlying personality disorder. It sounds scarily similar to hypomania. I have an anxiety disorder which causes the same feeling too.

    I feel pumped like i could stay up for days and days and im just not tired.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    I'm curious about this, too. It seems the bigger the deficit, the lighter I sleep, but I don't feel sleepy the following morning/day. At maintenance or surplus, I sleep like a teenager.
  • sgthaggard
    sgthaggard Posts: 581 Member
    edited April 2015
    A magnesium supplement worked for me. If you don't want to take a supplement, avacado, pumpkin seeds, spinach, and brown rice are all fairly high in magnesium.
  • savemama
    savemama Posts: 105 Member
    This can happen if you're eating low fat (low calorie is often low fat unless you're very very careful). Fat is important to sleep and hormone cycles. This happened to me as well. I started to also suffer anxiety and an energy slump in the afternoon (after the poor sleep). An adjustment away from cardio and toward weight lifting, an increase in fat and protein.... fixed it.

    Also- magnesium supplementation (along with the regular supplementation) as a low cal diet makes it very hard to get enough. In fact, even a healthy diet makes it hard to get enough magnesiu as our soil is mag depleted any more. Magnesium plays an important roll in sleep (as well as metabolic functions) so it's a great idea to look into it.
  • belimawr
    belimawr Posts: 1,155 Member
    edited April 2015
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    You may have an underlying personality disorder. It sounds scarily similar to hypomania. I have an anxiety disorder which causes the same feeling too.

    I feel pumped like i could stay up for days and days and im just not tired.

    I looked it up, the only thing that describes me unfortunately i the energetic part... I wish I had the creativity!

    The fat thing sounds interesting, checked into that too. From what I see, it will take a while to recover if that is the case, so upping my fat will not give quick results. I am falling slightly short (<20g) each day, wonder if that is indeed enough.

    Hey, curious, since we insomniacs are up a lot more than normal folks, does that mean we get to consume extra calories? :)

    I'm joking of course, just making light of this.
  • satisatisati
    satisatisati Posts: 260 Member
    savemama wrote: »
    This can happen if you're eating low fat (low calorie is often low fat unless you're very very careful). Fat is important to sleep and hormone cycles. This happened to me as well. I started to also suffer anxiety and an energy slump in the afternoon (after the poor sleep). An adjustment away from cardio and toward weight lifting, an increase in fat and protein.... fixed it.

    Also- magnesium supplementation (along with the regular supplementation) as a low cal diet makes it very hard to get enough. In fact, even a healthy diet makes it hard to get enough magnesiu as our soil is mag depleted any more. Magnesium plays an important roll in sleep (as well as metabolic functions) so it's a great idea to look into it.

    I think you have concluded it quite nicely. In order to cut down my calories. I stopped eating fats completely. I added egg york yesterday in my diet and finally I was able to get some good sleep after almost 5 days of sleeplessness.

  • RosieRose7673
    RosieRose7673 Posts: 438 Member
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    belimawr wrote: »
    I'm having terrible insomnia! Very strange because I didn't have any problems while losing weight, only once I entered maintenance that it started. Maybe it's unrelated...

    I recently posted about this as well, and have yet to find the answer other than the typical sleep hygiene stuff. My insomnia started around the same time as my greatest losses, which were right before going maintenance, and continued.

    The scary thing is not sleeping well, yet having tremendous amounts of energy when I'm up.

    You may have an underlying personality disorder. It sounds scarily similar to hypomania. I have an anxiety disorder which causes the same feeling too.

    I feel pumped like i could stay up for days and days and im just not tired.

    Bipolar disorder is a MOOD disorder. Not a personality disorder. But you are correct in that it is a symptom of mania/hypomania.
  • bigd66218
    bigd66218 Posts: 376 Member
    Yes, I can't sleep more than 2-3 hrs. wake up than try to get another hour or two. Hopefully, this will change when find a job!
  • almondbutterbay
    almondbutterbay Posts: 221 Member
    I've had insomnia my entire life and my doctor just recently told me I might need more salt and sodium in my diet, I've increased the sodium and weirdly that's helped.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    belimawr wrote: »
    rainbowbow wrote: »
    You may have an underlying personality disorder. It sounds scarily similar to hypomania. I have an anxiety disorder which causes the same feeling too.

    I feel pumped like i could stay up for days and days and im just not tired.

    I looked it up, the only thing that describes me unfortunately i the energetic part... I wish I had the creativity!

    The fat thing sounds interesting, checked into that too. From what I see, it will take a while to recover if that is the case, so upping my fat will not give quick results. I am falling slightly short (<20g) each day, wonder if that is indeed enough.

    Hey, curious, since we insomniacs are up a lot more than normal folks, does that mean we get to consume extra calories? :)

    I'm joking of course, just making light of this.

    I have upped the fat and lowered the carb, went back to moderate carb and lowered the fat. I take vitamins every day with magnesium and still have this.

    Last night I went to bed early (9:00 p.m. as I got really sleepy for some stupid reason... but I upped my weights yesterday) and went to sleep in 10 minutes. I woke up every hour and talked my self sleep and work up officially 3:30 a.m. It was wonderful sleep...

    I net the same sleep no matter what I do (and even try things for weeks before I throw them out) and at my age, etc... I think I am just one of those that needs less sleep and once I get out of rem sleep to go back into light and back into deep sleep (the cyles of sleep you go through) I am woken in the transition back to light/deep...

    Isn't this crazy trying to figure all of this out...

    PS I second the notion from @belimawr that we should be burning more calories if our eyes are open and we are awake... LOL
  • csteuter
    csteuter Posts: 87 Member
    I have suffered with insomnia most of my adult life (my mind wakes up with 5,347 things to think about). I was told by my dr. that you naturally go through another sleep cycle around 3:00 am so it's not at all unusual to awaken then, but getting back to sleep can be the issue for many of us. I am going to go the other route and tell you what works for me. My husband kept bringing up that we needed a TV in our bedroom "for my insomnia". I finally gave in, and now I watch Frasier re-runs or Will & Grace every single night and I'm out in about 10 minutes. Although I've seen every episode hundreds of times, my brain doesn't have to think and it's humor ... so a TV in the bedroom is not always a bad thing. I don't think my husband was thinking he'd be stuck with Frasier every night for 10 minutes, but it's a whole lot better than being hooked on Ambien.
  • nakima
    nakima Posts: 37 Member
    I am also a insomniac and have been my whole life. It can be a real pain. I used to take ambien but sleep walking and eating on it was to much. Switched to lunesta and it worked but tasted awful and I really didnt want to be on meds. Went cold turkey about 2 years ago and so I just sleep when I can. I recently started taking aleve p.m. and it seems to help some. I also watch a little t.v. when I can't sleep and it does seem to help as long as it's a comedy or spiritual anything calming and positive. I do notice that when I wake in the middle of the night it is sometimes associated with pain I have fibromyalgia,Peripherial neourapthy and some other issues and sometimes it's just that I had a really good workout ha! Anyway I have tried just about everything over the years and nothing really seems to help so I just accept that this is the way I am and try to just work it in to my life the best I can. :)
  • laineybz
    laineybz Posts: 704 Member
    I've always been a light sleeper, and it was made worse around 5 years ago when i got made redundant from work. i had no sleep pattern and my job now is shift work so all over the place.

    The last 6 months or so, i wake two or three times a night. I don't have a problem falling to sleep, and when i wake i need the bathroom. It's my own fault for having a hot chocolate before bed lol. I've had blood tests to make sure there's no underlying issues and there isn't. I either give up the hot choc and sleep, or don't and be tired and moan about it the next day. I'm doing the latter lol.
  • jms14letgo
    jms14letgo Posts: 138 Member
    edited April 2015
    I was having the 3AM problem a while back and did a TON of research and came across this gem. drdeborahmd.com/do-your-adrenal-glands-wake-you-3-am I also came across a lot of other research suggesting adrenal fatigue, hypothyroidism, and hypglycemia.

    After some experimentation I have decided that it might not be as serious as the above article suggests (though if you feel it might, by all means go to your Dr!).

    Here's what I have done, and it has helped immensely!
    1- I blocked out all light, including the alarm clock. I put a towel over it so that if I do wake up I can't roll over and look at it.
    2- I eat a high protein snack before bed (as in, I"m crawling into bed with food in my mouth :* )... Something small. Cheese, jerky, hardboiled egg... etc.

    I personally think that I was having a dip in blood sugar, which was setting off a stress reaction in my body. That stress reaction signaled my brain to wake me the hell up. Thus the wide awake at 3 AM.. EVERY. DANG. MORNING... It took a couple of days but I really am sleeping a lot better. I still wake up occasionally but I think it's more from my husband snoring, and I have no problem going back to sleep.. it's not like I'm wide awake like I used to be.

    A lot of it comes down to keeping your blood sugar steady.. even throughout the night which is why I choose a protein based snack.
  • snaptate
    snaptate Posts: 22 Member
    Anybody experienced insomnia during their weight loss journey. I have lost 10 kg of weight in 4 months. I am doing HIIT cardio and weight training. Working out 100 minutes everyday, 6 days a week.
    Mix of cardio and weigh training.

    I am not using any supplements or proteins. Just taking all my daily macros with natural diet.


  • snaptate
    snaptate Posts: 22 Member
    You might be lacking certain vitamins. I take calcium, zinc and magnesium. The mag I take at night, helps me sleep. I don't believe in a lot of useless supplements. I take what I need to. Branch chains amino acids I also take and fish oil. These are essential.your body can only make 9 aminos the rest you should butdon't have to take. Its all a choice, but a happy balance for me.
  • satisatisati
    satisatisati Posts: 260 Member
    snaptate wrote: »
    You might be lacking certain vitamins. I take calcium, zinc and magnesium. The mag I take at night, helps me sleep. I don't believe in a lot of useless supplements. I take what I need to. Branch chains amino acids I also take and fish oil. These are essential.your body can only make 9 aminos the rest you should butdon't have to take. Its all a choice, but a happy balance for me.

    Thanks for suggestion. I will surely add this to my diet. I have been getting good sleep since last one week after i increased my fat % from 20 to 30.
  • Carol_
    Carol_ Posts: 469 Member
    Well, I am up now. It is 3:00 AM. I am drinking Sleepy Time tea and took 2 Motrin. AND we are getting ready to get a big fat thunderstorm! ( see my blog?) Yah! Sweet Dreams!
  • Carol_
    Carol_ Posts: 469 Member
    "I woke last night to the sound of thunder
    How far off I sat and wondered
    Started humming a song from 1962
    Ain't it funny how the night moves
    When you just don't seem to have as much to lose
    Strange how the night moves" ~ Bob Seger ( Night Moves )
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