Coconut oil and sleep

#1

Does anybody have trouble sleeping if they take coconut oil before bed, or does it help you sleep? The last few times I took it before bed I had trouble sleeping but I don’t remember that being the case a long time ago when I took it before bed then so maybe it’s something else in my diet.

(Allie) #2

Could be a reaction to the MCT oil it contains as they can cause sleeplessness in some people. Why would you want it before bed though? :thinking:

#3

I also wonder with @Shortstuff why you’re eating it before going to bed. Coconut oil is strongly ketogenic, especially the MTC portions of it. In fact the MCTs go straight from the digestive tract to the liver and are metabolized very quickly into both energy and ketones. So basically what happens is you get a quick burst of energy from the MCTs, then a slower but sustained boost from the longer chain fats as they metabolize. Dose dependent, of course, but even a couple tablespoons of coconut oil might suffice to affect on your sleep simply due to feeding your brain its fav/best food just when you want it to calm down for awhile. I would suggest not eating/drinking anything within a couple hours of going to bed, with one exception.

My one suggested exception is vinegar. Mix a couple tablespoons in a cup of water and drink slowly half an hour or so before going to bed. Vinegar is also ketogenic, but unlike coconut oil it doesn’t provide instant fuel. Instead, it stimulates lipolysis more slowly but steadily over a few hours by providing various acetyl- molecules. I think it’s beneficial to encourage lipolysis overnight.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #4

I find that, in general, too much fat in my diet (when I eat past the point of satiety, I mean) gives me so much energy that I sometimes have trouble sleeping.

But sometimes I sleep more than I think (one study showed that sometimes people who think they were awake all night mostly were asleep, and sometimes people who think they slept well were actually awake much of the night—go figure!), and the real question is how well-rested we are in the morning, regardless of how much sleep we think we got.