Sleep/Insomnia

SierraRose · 2018-05-02 13:16:40 UTC

Hey guys, I’m relatively new to keto- I started in January. I’m loving most of the effects but my sleep sucks.
It seems the lower I go with carbs, the deeper into ketosis- the worse my sleep is.
Is this something that gets better with time?
I’ve been cutting back on caffeine, I take magnesium at night, I take melatonin, etc…
Thanks!!

SasiSan · 2018-05-02 13:32:37 UTC

When do you stop eating? The later you eat in the night the higher the insulin and the greater of a disruption to your circadian rhythm.

So melatonin just tells your body that it is night. But if you are then in a house with LED lighting (blue lighting), TVs, electronics, etc. your body says - heck no it is daytime. I found the only success I had to a good nights sleep was discipline light management - I used the blue light blocking glasses in the beginning and changed lights, added software through time. I also protect my bed time of 10 pm even if I am not ready. Finally, dark room where I had to install blackout curtains.

So many links on the importance of sleep but this is specific to blue light-blocking glasses and a 4 week trial improving sleep onset time by 132 minutes. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27322730

I went from 2 full circadian rhythms a day (doc tested via spit in vials) to wonderful deep restorative sleep. It was not overnight but it is the most important thing you can do for your health!

Good Luck - hope this helps.
Sandra

DiMo · 2018-05-02 13:33:30 UTC

How are you feeling when you wake up? Do you sleep less but wake up feeling refreshed and well rested? That isn’t unusual but I don’t think I’d worry about that.

If you’re not feeling well rested, some insomnia isn’t unusual either. I find that when I’m deep in ketosis (during extended fasting my ketones have been as high as 6.2), I can really struggle with sleep. This has gotten better over time. I’ve also developed some strategies for getting better sleep. I take 500 mg of easily absorbed magnesium glycinate, 3000 mg of glycine and an herbal remedy with some valerian root about 1/2 to 1 hour before bed.

Hope this helps!

SasiSan · 2018-05-02 14:18:37 UTC

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Wearing blue light-blocking glasses in the evening advances circadian rhythms in the patients with delayed sleep phase disorder: An open-label trial.

Y Esaki, T Kitajima, Y Ito, S Koike, Y Nakao, A Tsuchiya, M Hirose and N Iwata, Chronobiology international, 2016

It has been recently discovered that blue wavelengths form the portion of the visible electromagnetic spectrum that most potently regulates circadian rhythm. We investigated the effect of blue light-blocking glasses in subjects with delayed sleep phase disorder (DSPD). This open-label trial was conducted over 4 consecutive weeks. The DSPD patients were instructed to wear blue light-blocking amber glasses from 21:00 p.m. to bedtime, every evening for 2 weeks. To ascertain the outcome of this intervention, we measured dim light melatonin onset (DLMO) and actigraphic sleep data at baseline and after the treatment. Nine consecutive DSPD patients participated in this study. Most subjects could complete the treatment with the exception of one patient who hoped for changing to drug therapy before the treatment was completed. The patients who used amber lens showed an advance of 78 min in DLMO value, although the change was not statistically significant (p = 0.145). Nevertheless, the sleep onset time measured by actigraph was advanced by 132 min after the treatment (p = 0.034). These data suggest that wearing amber lenses may be an effective and safe intervention for the patients with DSPD. These findings also warrant replication in a larger patient cohort with controlled observations.

Shortstuff · 2018-05-02 14:21:53 UTC

The insomnia some people get does seem to get better through adaptation.

SierraRose · 2018-05-02 15:00:45 UTC

I wake up feeling really tired I think a lack of carbs might be leading to less serotonin…

DiMo · 2018-05-02 16:42:24 UTC

You might try looking for ideas from others with this issue. Doesn’t seem uncommon.

https://www.ketogenicforums.com/search?q=Insomnia

TerriDF · 2018-07-19 15:50:28 UTC

Someone tried to convince me of that before and I tried to add some carb back in and it didn’t work and only made my situation worse. Many zero carb/carnivores sleep fine, but usually need less sleep and feel great. It’s usually being in deep ketosis and fasting/OMAD that gives me the most problems, I think, but now that I’m zero carb (3 weeks) it’s worse because I’m trying to eat more and still adapting. Hope it gets better for you as you adapt…hang in there!

Shortstuff · 2018-07-19 19:07:22 UTC

I’m going to be trying reishi mushroom (capsules) before bed tonight to see if their reputation for helping with sleep is deserved.