Sleep issues 3 weeks into Keto


(Luke) #1

Hi everyone,

Im new to the group so nice to meet you.

I started keto / carnivore 3 weeks ago and I’m having trouble getting to sleep. Currently only getting 3-4 hours a night.

Any advice? I’m hoping this is just a normal part of the adaptation phase which will pass in the next couple of months…

Thanks
Luke


(Joey) #2

@Lgre050 Greetings Luke - welcome to the forum!

Yeah, many of us (myself included) experienced significant changes in sleep patterns for a while when starting up carb restriction. For most of us it had to do with the high energy state of burning ketones with the ability (need?) to sleep surprisingly reduced.

After a while this dissipates and one’s sleep tends to fall back into a more typical schedule. When it does, many of us experienced improved, deeper sleep than ever before.

Hopefully your experience follows this path soon. Best wishes! :vulcan_salute:

p.s. - I found those alert hours at night to be a great chance to catch up on reading things I never had time for previously. Get productive - it’ll also tire you out a bit. It’s a keto gift.


(B Creighton) #3

Hey Luke, and welcome to the forum. I don’t do carnivore - the lack of carbohydrates doesn’t allow clearance of the amino acids consumed. In the presence of other amino acids, tryptophan tends not to get into the brain. If insulin pulls the other amino acids into the body tissues, tryptophan has a much easier time getting into the brain. The brain uses tryptophan to make serotonin. During keto, I eat some carbohydrates every day - enough to get some increase in insulin - and feel great. I generally only do keto in the winter time, and do low carb the rest of the year. When doing keto I will add berries or sour cherries to a morning yogurt or put sun dried tomatoes on my morning eggs. I also eat a kale salad or cruciferous vegees or asparagus with my dinner to get some soluble fiber and a low level of carbs. As a man I can eat around 50 gr of carbs/day and still be losing weight in ketosis.


(Luke) #4

Hi, thanks for the reply. Well I do have 2-3 glasses of milk every day and eat tomatoes / avocados with my meat / eggs so I am getting some carbs. I just say carnivore cause it’s over 70% animal products.


(Luke) #5

Thanks for the reply. And what are the usual timelines on this happening? Is it still pretty normal compared to others to have sleep issues at 3 weeks?


(Joey) #6

Everybody is unique and sleep varies so much from day to day, there is no “usual” … it’d be impossible to venture a guess as to how your own experience will ultimately turn out.

Perhaps more importantly, how are you feeling in terms of energy level throughout the day? … even allowing for the fact that you’re getting less sleep than you usually get?


(Luke) #7

Thanks. Well I’m not great… but it’s all typical keto flu type symptoms.

And I did keto before about 5 years ago and it took me the full 3 months to get past feeling crap, but then I felt amazing… so I’m determined to stick it out this time… just not sure if the sleep issues affected me last time… they may well have though and I just can’t remember.


#8

I remember sleeping very little at the beginning of my latest keto adventure but it settled within about 6 weeks and I generally sleep pretty well now.

I do take magnesium at bedtime and think this helps induce a feeling of calm. I try to practice good sleep hygiene too, no caffeine generally after lunch and no dramatic TV prior to bed.


(Cathy) #9

A good quality 5mg of melatonin a couple of hours before bed, darkened and quiet room are important for me. Took me a long time to figure it out but it is my advice for anyone starting out and going forward.


(Joey) #10

Admire your vision and perseverance. Onward! :vulcan_salute:


(B Creighton) #11

I supplement with magnesium glycinate or magnesium taurate, zinc, and a little calcium/mag blend. This seems to have kept the keto flu bug away. Alternatively, you might try an electrolyte drink.


#12

I got this “less sleep needed” -thing after all,too. One month in keto now.

Been here before but now it only came after I started experimenting with calorie deficit. I´m on low carbs ( 5-15g ) and high fat ( +75% ). 1500 - 1800 kcals for a week now. Sleep went somewhere.

I´m just playing around with a calorie calc app, trying to find out what I really need. It looks like 1800 is good. I don´t feel hardly any hunger with these low carbs.

I´m waking up 2-3 AM. I fall asleep well at 10 PM and my sleep is good. But 2-3 AM I just wake up BING! Sometimes melatonin helps but it seems to make sure that the night is short. I used to sleep until 7 AM just a month ago.

I know from experience that his will change to longer nights over time. I wish it was summer, we have daylight from 10 AM to 3 PM now… can´t do much outside with all these extra hours.


#13

Here it is! Yes! I changed to a more expensive pharmacy brand and wow, eleven hours straight last night! Thanks!


#14

I find some magnesium before bed or when I wake up really helps. I take 1/3 teaspoon of magnesium citrate powder with water. Dont get the flavourless sort - I dont seem to have sucess with that type.
If I cant get comfortable thats seem to signal a lack of salt. So again I take 1/3- 2/3 teaspoon of salt with water.
These are what mostly work for me. However just recently these seemed to be not working quite so well so I experimented with calcium citrate during the day and this seems to be working wonders. Apparently only take during the day because its an “upper” whereas magnsium is a “downer”. (cant remember the technical terms).
Anyway all of these are electrolytes so it seems for me at least have enough or at least well balanced amounts of elecrolytes is important for a good nights sleep.
I also had bouts of insomnia amngst other things a few years ago and self diagnosed myself as probably being slightly iodine deficent. Some supplemental iodine during the day helped a lot.
All this is based on my own experience and learning and shouldnt be considered as factual information!
Hope this helps.
PS carnivore for around a year, fairly low carb for many years before that.