Keto Insomnia

(Gavin) #1

Hey folks,

Have any of you been experiencing Insomnia due to your carb restriction?

I don’t usually have issues sleeping but for the last 3 nights I have been struggling so bad to get to sleep.

This is actually fitting into the same timeline as my fasting which makes me think it is likely keto related. For the last 3-4 days I would have my meal at 5pm or so and then not eat another meal till 5pm the following day.

I do however kick my morning off with a coffee with about 10g of MTC powder and a tablespoon of double cream… So not a conventional fast really…oh and I take a multi vit and super strength oil tab twice per day

I’ve been following the videos from Thomas DeLauer and I came across one about keto Insomnia. He said its due to a roundabout effect of the lack of carbs resulting in a lack of serotonin, and that resulting in a lack of melatonin… Something like that…

The solution is to move my carb intake into the evening.

So… My question is, do any of you experiencing keto Insomnia have any advice for me?
How many carbs do you eat in the evening/night? What do you eat?

Thanks in advance

Ps: I have just eaten about a quarter slice of white bread and about 5 blueberries (9pm). Be interesting to see if that helps with sleep

(Gavin) #2

Nobody currently active on the forum has experienced this?

To note: I did sleep a bit better last night after eating a small bit of bread, but it could have been exhaustion… I’ve just eaten a little bit more and earlier…let’s see if that helps.

(Doug) #3

Gavin, I had never heard that about less carbohydrates making for less serotonin/melatonin. Some people do seem to need less sleep, and wake up after a shorter time than they did prior to keto, but as far as actual insomnia, I think we’re talking about quite a rare thing, at the most.

(Cathy) #4

You are just delaying your adaption of ketosis. Don’t ‘carb up’.

I did have a lot of trouble with sleep in the initial stages of ketosis. There has been a lot written on the subject. Do a search and try some of the recommendations.

For me, I needed a few things…

  1. sublingual melatonin at bed
  2. magnesium supplement
  3. no artificial light (face mask can do this)
  4. quiet
  5. self hypnosis (no thoughts other than of sleep in my brain)

It took a while to get it all right but right it is and no looking back. Good luck! With some persistence, I am sure you will get the sleep you need and don’t forget, in keto, you likely need less sleep.

(Gavin) #5

Thanks for the input folks.
I will do more reading into it.

Just to be clear, I ate no more than 6g of carbs.
I am probably eating less than 15g most days and in recent times when I’m intermittent fasting I am getting less than 5g minus fibre of course.

Anyway, thanks again

(Andi McNamara) #6

Gavin, has it gotten better? This is my biggest struggle. I thought it was electrolytes, so I tried supplements and drinking salt water. I wake up after 2-3 hours of sleep, wide awake for a couple of hours. Then sleep maybe another two hours. Wake up exhausted. Add carbs and sleep 8 hours straight through.

(mole person) #7

Hmmm…this is interesting. I’m over a year in ketosis and I love almost everything about it, but I still have trouble sleeping many nights. Last night was one such. I haven’t tried having a few carbs as a soporific, but now I intend to.

One thing that I’ve absolutely noticed though is eating my one main meal a day too late in the evening seems to definitely be a causative agent… Last night I finished eating dinner at about 9pm, and went to bed at 10 pm and my sleep was horrible. But I’m so unhungry on keto that I often just keep putting off dinner because I’m not yet in the mood for it. I’m not sure what to do about that.

(Gavin) #8

Hey buddy!
Until recently, it went away for the most part.
It’s possible that the current episode is heat induced but I’ve swapped out my quilt for a sheet and will see how I sleep tonight (very hot still).

How many grams of carbs do you eat per day? And how is that amount spread out?

(Gavin) #9

Hello :slight_smile:

If you are not in the mood for dinner then have you considered not eating before bed and using it as an opportunity to benefit from intermittent fasting?

I get this weird but wonderful feeling when in a fasted state. Me fasting now versus fasting pre keto are worlds apart!

(mole person) #10

Yah, I should probably do that. I do like the fasted state too, but I find it hard not to eat a delicious meal once I’ve prepared it for my husband anyow…lol.

(Gavin) #11

I love me a good dinner too :slight_smile:

Obviously you should do what suits you best, but perhaps you can IM 3 times per week and then the other days you can eat that delicious dinner you make your hubby.

Best of both worlds

(Nikki) #12

[quote=“Nowler, post:8, topic:42986, full:true”]
Until recently, it went away for the most part.
It’s possible that the current episode is heat induced but I’ve swapped out my quilt for a sheet and will see how I sleep tonight (very hot still).

Hey Nowler - I’m 5 weeks into Keto and have been experiencing insomnia for the last 2 weeks - which also coincides with when I started intermittent fasting - I can’t stand insomnia! Laying awake until 3am and waking up exhausted is horrible. I’ve been supplementing electrolytes and will try a dose of melatonin tonight - anything to get to sleep! I’m also worried sleeplessness will hinder my weight loss as well. I’m curious if this has gotten better for you and if so, what you think helped you get a good nights sleep again!

(Edith) #13

It may not be needing more carbs but needing more calories in general.

If your blood sugar drops too low during the night, your body releases cortisol. The cortisol causes your body to release muscle glycogen to increase your blood glucose. The increase in cortisol will also either caue you to wake up and/or to have a hard time falling back to sleep.

Try eating more a little more during the day or having a small bedtime snack to see if that helps.

(*Tame Those Ghrelin Gremlins) #14

I’m having insomnia issues. Since Thursday I have slept only about 6 hours :disappointed:. I’ve tried electrolytes and water or eating more. I’m not sure the reason why I all of a sudden have insomnia but it’s really bad. I can’t function I’m not sure how to get to sleep. I don’t have any melatonin.

(Cathy) #15

Many people find that magnesium supplements help a lot. There is a product Calm which is mixed into water and taken before bed. You can order it from Amazon.

(*Tame Those Ghrelin Gremlins) #16

I bought magnesium citrate I hope that’s good. I took some earlier and was able to sleep about 3 hours.

It’s just crazy I get like this adrenaline blood pumping feeling every time I try to go to sleep. I could be so tired but soon as I lay down it’s there. It’s like my brain is wide awake too but I’m not thinking anything.

(Cathy) #17

I know exactly what you are describing and had it too. It was the hardest thing for me to get over but I did have extenuating circumstances. I am glad I was able to get through it and hope you can too. It was very worth while.

(*Tame Those Ghrelin Gremlins) #18

How were you able to overcome it? Did anything in particular help?

(Cathy) #19

I did so many things over time and some, I continue to do…

  1. block light including electronic lights (a comfy sleep mask will do this)
  2. magnesium citrate in the morning
  3. sublingual melatonin (5mg) at bedtime
  4. relaxation techniques (which I only use now when I wake up occasionally)

Relaxation techniques are a great tool to lifetime sleep habits. I think of it as a bit of self hypnosis. Does not need to be complicated but practice and time to perfect.

I also came to realize that I just didn’t need as much sleep as I once did. If I could get a good solid 4 to 5 hours, and be good to go. I learned that it was also true that resting my body while my brain was awake was sufficient. Fast forward several years later, I have no problems with sleep for the most part. I go to bed at a regular time and same for getting up. I sleep better than I did for years before keto.

(*Tame Those Ghrelin Gremlins) #20

Well for me I wake up about 5 times a night and average about 3 hours sleep a night, there’s no way that could be sufficient. I wake up with tired, dry and heavy eyelids like my eyes are yelling at me for more rest