Lack of Sleep

[Kelly Hodgin]

My husband and I cannot sleep!  The past two nights (days four and five) were awful.  We can't fall to sleep, then when we do, we wake up throughout the night.  What is happening?

Kelly

[SugarcubeOD]

Hormone shifts during Whole30 can sometimes disrupt sleep patterns.  Are you keeping good sleep hygiene practices?  Sometimes what you did when sleep was easy isn't going to work when it's tough so have a look at some sleep hygiene articles (easily available through google and Dr. Kirk Parsely is a friend of the Whole30).  Some people often also find that they sleep better when they eat a fist sized serving of starchy carb at their last meal of the day.

You could also try a magnesium supplement like Natural Calm before bed.  The unsweetened one is compliant.  If you would like more directed help and think it could be caused by what you're eating, we'd need all the details of that including portion sizes, specific veggies, fruit, fat and protein, but it's more than likely a temporary adjustment.

[kalgal]

I found that I slept much better the first couple weeks of my Whole30.  I am now on Day 21 and the last couple nights I have had more trouble.  I fall asleep fine but wake up during the night then lie there for an hour, wide awake.  That used to be the norm for me, so I was hoping it had been fixed.  I guess not!  Maybe a temporary continued transitioning of the body to this new way of life?

[sweetcee]

I’ve always been a light sleeper (tossing and turning, up before alarms, wide awake and thinking it’s morning at 1:37am, sensitive to light and sound). So take whatever I say with many grains of salt because I have definitely not fixed it.

were you sound sleepers before? As Sugarcube said better than I can, things are changing internally. Are you experiencing stress, whether related to w30 or otherwise?  I know some of my sleep issues stem from work stress and work-induced anxiety.

I have been using the Calm app and practicing yoga more and find that deep breathing has been helping me a lot. 

Perhaps a sleepytime tea (check ingredients, my favorite has stevia) can help? I also have had luck with Natural Calm.