Insomnia - getting worse? page

[YogaBare]

Hey everyone,

I've been a bad sleeper for most of my life. As a child / teenager my problem was getting to sleep, in my early-to-mid twenties I went through a long period of having night terrors, and then about four years ago the problem became staying asleep.

I went to doctors / naturopaths / psychotherapists / Chinese medicine docs, and they all told me it was emotional, which makes sense, but I know a lot of stressed out people who sleep just fine. What determines who sleeps well and who doesn't? I had the feeling that this was more than just emotional.

Since going primal I learned about hypoglycemic insomnia. What a revelation. It's like this was the missing link. I have all the symptoms - light, fitful sleep, characterised by waking up after a few hours with an overwhelming urge to eat, and I usually can't go back to sleep until I do eat something.

I was hoping that going Primal would help this (it's helping lots of other things), but if I'm honest, my sleep seems to be getting worse. I wake up after a couple of hours (usually 4am, today it is 3am) and need to eat. I've tried snacking on almonds before bed, and taking magnesium - neither have worked. The only thing that seems to help is really gorging on food a few hours before bed.

Apart from the obvious annoyance of having disturbed sleep ALL the time, and the strain this puts on my energy / mood, it also throws a curve ball into me trying to achieve an ideal weight. If I eat when I wake in the night then I don't eat breakfast, but I can't help but feel that eating at 3am is just bad.

Does anyone have any experience with insomnia and if so, what was the effect of going Primal? Did you find a cure?

Btw, I've tried all the emotional routes so no need to make those suggestions!

[jammies]

Primal made my sleep worse at first, but the addition of magnesium and elimination of ALL caffeine was the solution for me. I use a topical magnesium brine about an hour before bed to make sure i get enough. Are you getting a good dose? Do you have any caffeine in your diet?

The other hint I have heard was to take a teaspoon of honey before sleep. There is also a book that suggests having a protein/carb combo snack immediately before sleeping.

You could also try taking L-theanine before bed - it is supposed to be very helpful for people with racing thoughts at night.

[YogaBare]

Thanks Jammies. I do have caffeine in my diet, but I don't think it's the cause. I gave up caffeine for three years, and I still had the insomnia. (the worst I ever had it was when I was caffeine-free and doing bikram yoga on a daily basis!)

I'm just taking MG tablets - what's a brine? My thoughts don't even race anymore - I just wake up with lots of energy. It could be my liver dumping glucose back into my blood.

Oh, and I also know about biphasic sleep (read mark's post here: What is Biphasic Sleep? | Mark's Daily Apple), and while it does make sense, it's not a satisfactory answer for me. I just don't believe anymore that these are things we just have to "live with" (as conventional wisdom would tell us!)

[Urban Forager]

Are you eating enough? Are you doing paleo to loose weight? If not I suggest you eat some fat before bed. I had the same problem until I gave up all grains and started taking magnesium now I sleep deeply.

I know you don't eat meat but you may have to find a way to increase your protein. When I went paleo I found that eating a little beef jerky before bed helped me to sleep.

[YogaBare]

Thanks Urban F. I'm doing Primal for my overall health, but the fat burning thing definitely appeals to me (I'm slim but have skinny fat).

I think you're right about the protein cos my sleeping got worse when I went veggie three years ago. (Although my doctor said there was no link... hah!) I eat loads of nuts (I won't even shock you by how many), eggs, cheese and yogurt, so I should be getting enough protein from those sources..? (I know, I know... I'm still rethinking the meat thing )

In general I think I'm eating enough... how do others cope after a fast?! If my stomach is in any way empty I just can't sleep .

[YogaBare]

I've just been reading up about Magnesium and its relationship to Calcium. I've gone from being Vegan, and am now eating 500gs of Greek Yogurt a day! Is it possible that the Calcium is whacking the magnesium out of balance, and that's why my sleep is suffering?

This is all such fascinating stuff... love it!