Severe sleep issues resolved with resistant cornstarch

[natasa778]

I have been reading personal reports on cornstarch before bedtime being very beneficial for some people with sleep disorders, even in extreme cases.

This presumably is to do with cornstarch being super slow to digest and metabolise and so helping nighttime dips in blood sugar. Saying that while some reports are by people with obvious and diagnosed metabolic issues, including diabetes, some individuals with no known/identified metabolic issues are also reporting massive improvements in duration and quality of sleep.

This apparently works only if cornstarch is uncooked and mixed in cold liquid, water or yogurt etc. The amounts people take vary from 2 teaspoons to 3 or more heaped tablespoons.

Wondering if anyone here has tried this or any alternatives such as tapoica or potato starch? The jury is still out on whether those would have any effects so interested in any feedback...

 

[Sushi]

Wondering if anyone here has tried this or any alternatives such as tapoica or potato starch?

Corn starch is a resistant starch. There is a super-long thread on this. Many people experimented with potato starch and other resistant starches with varying results. You can find the thread here.

 

[Old Bones]

I have been reading personal reports on cornstarch before bedtime being very beneficial for some people with sleep disorders, even in extreme cases.

@natasa778 I haven't tried cornstarch before bedtime. But, the most effective food (if you can call it that) for helping me to sleep is Cheetos. We generally eat "clean". However, a few months ago we indulged our craving for this favourite snack from our childhoods. Both of us had the most solid sleep for as long as we could remember. My sleep still wasn't refreshing, but it was a welcome change -- being unconscious for the entire night. Since then, we've tested what we now refer to as the "Cheetos Effect" several times with consistent success. Here are the ingredients:

• Enriched corn meal (corn meal, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid)
• Vegetable oil (corn, canola, and/or sunflower)
• Cheese seasoning (whey, cheddar cheese [milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes], canola oil, maltodextrin [made from corn], salt, whey protein concentrate, monosodium glutamate, natural and artificial flavors, lactic acid, citric acid, artificial color [yellow 6])
• Salt

Definitely not a health food! I've tried corn on the cob (a lesser sleep effect, and made my hands go numb) and homemade corn tortillas (somewhat effective, but caused heart burn). There's definitely something unique about the combination of corn meal and lots of fat. Although, I have wondered if the cooled, deep-fried corn meal forms a type of resistant starch as mentioned by @Sushi .

 

[Kati]

@natasa778 I haven't tried cornstarch before bedtime. But, the most effective food (if you can call it that) for helping me to sleep is Cheetos. We generally eat "clean". However, a few months ago we indulged our craving for this favourite snack from our childhoods. Both of us had the most solid sleep for as long as we could remember. My sleep still wasn't refreshing, but it was a welcome change -- being unconscious for the entire night. Since then, we've tested what we now refer to as the "Cheetos Effect" several times with consistent success. Here are the ingredients:

• Enriched corn meal (corn meal, ferrous sulfate, niacin, thiamine mononitrate, riboflavin, folic acid)
• Vegetable oil (corn, canola, and/or sunflower)
• Cheese seasoning (whey, cheddar cheese [milk, cheese cultures, salt, enzymes], canola oil, maltodextrin [made from corn], salt, whey protein concentrate, monosodium glutamate, natural and artificial flavors, lactic acid, citric acid, artificial color [yellow 6])
• Salt

Definitely not a health food! I've tried corn on the cob (a lesser sleep effect, and made my hands go numb) and homemade corn tortillas (somewhat effective, but caused heart burn). There's definitely something unique about the combination of corn meal and lots of fat. Although, I have wondered if the cooled, deep-fried corn meal forms a type of resistant starch as mentioned by @Sushi .

Go Cheetos!

 

[Dichotohmy]

Its possible those benefitting from cornstarch and corn foods could benefit from seeking out hi-maize products - hi maize being a synthetically engineered resistant starch. Its also possible that the corn supply is truly homogenous and hi-maize corn makes its way into the food system with regular field corn - thus why regular cornstarch or processed corn foods might work for people who would benefit from resistant starch.

That said, i've experimented widely with RS1, RS2, RS3, and even some RS4 foods and supplements and didn't get much sleepwise besides more vivid and prolonged dreams - with my baseline being very mundane and non-fantasical dreams with a generally low percentage of REM sleep.

 

[MikeJackmin]

I eat a large bowl of cheerios with rice milk about 2 1/2 hours before bedtime. I believe it is of considerable help.

 

[Mij]

I eat organic popcorn with ghee, coconut oil, sea salt and nutritional yeast a few nights a week. There were times I fell asleep with my mouth opened and my hand still in the bowl.

 

[TigerLilea]

I did a bit of research last night on resistant starch and came across this Pub-med article http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26745269 that showed that RS can lead to increased anxiety. It makes me a bit nervous about adding this to my diet.

 

[barbc56]

cornstarch before bedtime being very beneficial for some people with sleep disorders, even in extreme cases

Are you referring to all sleep disorders or specifically to insomnia? I have sleep apnea but it's a structural issue..

I love tapioca!

Thanks.

 

[Paralee]

Could these sleep helpers have much vitamin B6 in them?

 

[natasa778]

Are you referring to all sleep disorders or specifically to insomnia? I have sleep apnea but it's a structural issue..

I love tapioca!

Thanks.

Insomnia only, as far as I know.