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Can't sleep since going paleo


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Hi All,

Ever since going paleo last November, I have had terrible trouble sleeping. It is hard to fall asleep, and if I do, I wake up 4 or 5 hours later and can't go back to sleep.

Before this, I used to sleep no worries for 7 or 8 hours every night.

Any ideas what is going on?

Thank you :):)

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It has happened to me, too. I have read some recent posts about "insomnia" and am currently reading an article about segmented sleep. I have decided to accept the early morning awakenings and not fight my body. In the past, getting up and having a few calm moments alone - a cup of tea for example - worked well. Now, I am simply trying not to become so frustrated because this seems like it is common and not as counterproductive as the added stress of worrying about it.

There are a lot of suggestions about sleep hygiene and supplementation with magnesium in the form of Natural Calm. A search for insomnia will help you find more info.

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Having something starchy with dinner seems to help - insulin helps increase serotonin production apparently which is good for zzzs. I go through stages of sleeping terribly since eating this way as well. I eat a big sweet potato or something for dinner and that seems to help most of the time, as well as some magnesium, and lavender oil on my pillow.

I agree with you Nico, becoming anxious about not sleeping doesn't help a whole lot haha, and a cup of tea in the middle of the night can work wonders :) Sometimes. Lol!

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Ugh. I wonder if my sleep is diabetes related and how I will fix it. I am trying to really stick to the diet to help reset hormone levels, but I do already have diabetes. For some odd reason, I haven't found much about Type 2 here, but mine has been under amazing control. I do have the problem of higher morning sugars and I had just fixed that by having protein at bedtime for the last month or so before I started my Whole30. I think I slept through the little rises in the past and, honestly, had started having sleep issues just before the Whole30. I have also been trying to vary my foods and not to rely too much on sweet potatoes. I have some most days and also have some pumpkin. I'll have to explore other starchy things to keep my diet rounded out. I know there is a good thread about alternatives.

Anyway, previous bouts of insomnia did teach me not to toss and turn, to get up and keep things calm with lights very low. Listening to soft music, making a cup of tea, and other things that might be a distraction as well as a relaxing activity that might go well in the hour before bedtime actually really seemed to help.

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That is a long time to have sleep issues.

I had the same problem when I started my Whole30 in January, and it took well over 6 weeks until it completely resolved.

For me it was a matter of eating enough overall calories as well as enough carbohydrates.

I have a huge level of activity, and since sweet potatoes simply do not exist here, white potatoes are forbidden and fruit is discouraged, I had no way to get in enough no matter how I tried.

(None of the recommended starchy vegies are really all that starchy.)

It was only after I tossed all those rules out and started eating white potatoes and fruit with abandon that I slept again.

Not saying others need that much carbohydrate, I do burn through tons in a day, but I think experimenting with a higher carb intake is definitely worth it.

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