Who else has sleeping issues on keto

(Robin Weitzman) #1

I’m waking up probably once an hour. It sucks. Anyone have any tips?! I read it’s a common side effect of keto.

(Richard Morris) #2

I’ve never experienced that, or heard of anyone experiencing being unable to sleep for longer than an hour.

Anecdotally we appear to need less sleep on keto. I tend to sleep roughly an hour less and appear to sleep deeply - perhaps that is confounded by the fact I can breath through my nose easily (which I couldn’t before).

Our last podcast guest, Dave Korsunsky, actually found a correlation in his sleep tracking data with his ketone levels - but that was for shorter sleep - not frequently interrupted sleep.

(Clare) #3

Opposite for me - as I think is quite common. I use a tracker and I sleep very deeply for 3 - 4 hours then in and out of light and deep sleep for around 3 hours. I began routinely waking before my alarm within a few weeks of starting. I use the extra time to walk my dog for longer and to exercise before work. (rowing machine)
Of course there are all sorts of effects for everyone when you make big changes to your body and we are all different.

My guidance for tackling any sleep issue would be to try any / all of the following:

1: no caffeine after mid afternoon
2: chamomile tea around an hour before bed.
3: don’t eat for the last 2 - 3 hours before your bedtime.
4: make sure your sleeping space is a relaxing one - no TV etc in there.
5: no blue light for the last couple of hours before sleep - if you use a computer, install flux on it, to change the light tone. If your phone / tablet has the option, change it to a nightshift setting, to eliminate blue light.
6: try a relaxation tape, or meditation, or an audiobook at bed time. I currently find 15 minutes of Stephen Fry reading Sherlock Holmes sends me off nicely.
7: Darkness and silence are important. I have blackout curtains and use a sleep mask and use earplugs too. As a result, I’d sleep through a nuclear arsenal going off in my street.

I hope you get yourself settled - and hope this ultimately works for you.

(Duncan Kerridge) #4

Are you supplementing magnesium? If not try taking some just before bed

(Mike W.) #5

How long have you been Keto? I had this issue the first month or two but it goes away and I sleep well now.

(G. Andrew Duthie) #6

May want to check out this thread:

https://www.ketogenicforums.com/t/the-importance-of-sleep/2874

Seems that vitamin D may play a role here.

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #7

I do all these things. Blackout curtains changed my life.

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #8

I sleep as if I’m dead. Deep and undisturbed. 3 years ago, before I was in ketosis, any little thing would wake me, and I always woke exhausted. Now I sleep less hours and wake feeling energized, rested, and overall fanfuckingtastic!

(Clare) #9

same here. At first I was a bit weirded out by regularly waking before my alarm - but I quickly realised that it was a gift and started, you know, doing stuff with the extra time.

(roxanna) #10

I’m usually up every 1-2 hours (5x a night) but I’ve had issues like this for years. At different times I might sleep better. I just reinstituted the powdered magnesium (used it in the past to 0 effect) and only woke up 3x the last 2 night. I’m strict about my bedtime routine but I’m just so used to it now.

(Ren) #11

I have always had blackout curtains and a very comfy bed to the point where I could fall asleep really quickly. However I would wake up throughout the night. Since I have went keto I sleep like the dead. I sleep through the night and feel well rested. I have found that I am sleeping about 1-2 hours less than I used too, and I feel better now when I wake up.

Obviously going Keto is one of the big changes. I also started supplimenting. I take a multivitamin, zinc, vitamin d, and magnesium. I have read that Vitamin D and Magnesium can help with sleeping better. I am sure that it is a culmination of keto + supplimenting that has really helped me get much better sleep.

(G. Andrew Duthie) #12

They help me, for sure. Room as dark as possible, get to bed at the same hour every night (if possible), and keep the room cold. The more I can do those things, the better I seem to sleep. I’m not very good at the consistency, alas.

(8 year Ketogenic Veteran) #13

Yes! I love this.

#14

Nope…not for me, i sleep very well in keto. Better than ever before.

I have not seen this being a common complaint. Can you cite the source of where it says this is common? I haven’t read that.

(Jason Cordier) #15

This worked for me as well. 500 mg before bed. Picked that up from Megan Ramos on Fasting Talk.

(Christian Ross) #16

Definitely Magnesium. A typical serving would be 2 tablets or 400 mg. I only take 1 tablet before bedtime. Don’t take to much. Magnesium also help regulate your digestive system. Think ‘Milk of Magnesia’

(Clare) #17

Cool room is a biggie for me too. Fortunately I live in Scotland so it’s not too hard to achieve.

(Cathy) #18

I had terrible sleep problems in the beginning. I felt like I was on speed during the night. I was waking frequently and by early morning could not get back to sleep. I did have some external issues too. After doing a bunch of research, I made some changes that I think helped a lot.

  1. no artificial light. I cover my bedside clock and wear a sleeping mask
  2. read until I am sleepy
  3. This one took practice but I do a bit of self hypnosis in that I will concentrate only on sleep and not allow other thoughts
  4. magnesium supplements in the morning (citrate)
  5. sublingual melatonin at bed (5mg)

I no longer take melatonin (unless travelling). I do have occasional ‘bouts’ of bad sleep in which I really have to go back to my basics and work through it again. Somehow however, I generally have a good day with little effect despite what feels like a bad night.

(Robin Weitzman) #19

I have sleep issues on and off. Keto seems to be bringing them back. It’s really frigging irritating. I literally dont stay asleep through the night and find myself waking up almost every hour. I fall back asleep, but still. I also.dream so somehow I got into rem. I must be skipping between the four phases before rem.

(Robin Weitzman) #20

All over the internet. Lots of different sources.