megmac Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I had been grain free on and off for several months and am not a sugar addict, so the big changes for me have been dairy and alcohol (red wine). And what amazing changes those are! I can already tell my clothes are feeling looser and my belly is beginning to shrink, but what is really a shock to me is how I'm sleeping. I haven't slept well in more than 10 years, so I glossed over that part, knowing it wouldn't pertain to me. How wrong I was!!! And it turns out sleeping well is addictive! I've been thinking a lot about life after Whole30, and what I really want to add back. That answer depends on what is causing me to sleep so much better. Does anyone know specifically what's responsible for it? I could always fall asleep, but couldn't stay asleep or get back to sleep once I woke up. And I often felt like I never got in to a deep sleep. My husband comes to bed an hour or two after I do, and I haven't even heard him for the last week or so. I'm assuming because I'm sleeping well, I also have SO much more energy! I had been feeling (and looking) all of my 45 years recently. These last 10 days have given me hope that I have FINALLY found what works for me! If it means Whole30 for the rest of my life, I'll do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juju Posted July 23, 2012 Share Posted July 23, 2012 I can't say for sure what would account for your change in sleep patterns but I have 2 theories: 1-) No Alcohol, depending upon when and how much you were drinking. Alcohol helps you fall asleep but it is known to cause all sorts of trouble once you are actually asleep making it harder to stay asleep and harder to fall back to sleep once you wake up. 2-) Inflammation. Inflammation sets up all sorts of cytokine signalling within our body that disrupts normal signalling and processes, icluding cortisol levels and the secretion of normal hormones that help us sleep. Cytokines are great in the right doses and at the right times but too much is a systemic shut down waiting to happen. Perhaps something you were eating previously (maybe dairy) was setting off that inflammatory cascade which disrupted everything else. Now that the inflammatory offender is gone your body is relaxing. I guess the only way to find out is to reintroduce stuff at some point and see what happens. At any rate...awesome that your are sleeping well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
megmac Posted July 23, 2012 Author Share Posted July 23, 2012 Interesting. I know that I don't sleep as well if I've been drinking, but I've given up alcohol before for this reason and didn't have these results. The inflammation makes sense to me, and perhaps it's a combination of the things I was doing that were disrupting my sleep. I guess I'll have to reintroduce and then re-eliminate to figure out if it's just one thing or a combination. Thanks for the info. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattiM Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 I had the same experience after removing the wine. I think it's the combination of the alcohol and the sugar for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redruns Posted July 24, 2012 Share Posted July 24, 2012 Could be your blood sugars have stabalized! Dairy wreaks havoc as well on you digestive tract and over all health as we all know. As your history says you've given up alcohol before with no result. Maybe the key is the dairy? Or it could be a combo of both! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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