I'm sorry this is so long, but sleep is a very complicated thing. Losing the ability to do something that seems so natural may point to something very complicated happening inside the body. I am still trying to understand it, I will give you my experience so far.
I've had insomnia for 6 years. At one point it was so bad I felt certain that I was going to die. Thankfully, I am now able to manage it through the following a strict lifestyle and supplement regiment.
Before I list the things I do and why, I first would like to say that I still consider myself to have insomnia, because without these things, I would NEVER sleep. These are things I discovered through trial and error, and if you have insomnia you'll know exactly what I mean! Most breakthroughs happened at about four in the morning, after being awake for two days, with me desperately trying something... ANYTHING... to see if it would work.
Secondly, it is important to understand that the reason you cannot sleep is because something has gone wrong inside of your body.
Contrary to what you might think, sleep is actually a very energetic process and the body needs enough energy to be able to carry out essential processes, such as restoration and repair, while you are in that state. There are certain things that your body NEEDS to be able to sleep, and if it doesn't have them, you will not be able to.
I learnt this fact from bitter experience, as I watched myself go from a young, healthy 30 something year old, to an old, sick, decrepid shadow of my former self within the space of a few years.
The body will only allow us to sleep if it feels safe to do so, therefore if you cannot sleep, it is because the body does not feel SAFE. It is trying to tell you that it NEEDS something!
Before you give me the "Why didn't you try this?" questions (trust me I've heard them all), I tried EVERYTHING the so-called experts advised: meditation, mindfulness, yoga, soothing music, milk, eating in the evening, not eating in the evening, keto diet, every herbal remedy known to man. NOTHING worked. And I'm glad none of it worked, because that was when it dawned on me... that nothing on the OUTSIDE was going to help me sleep, because the problem was coming from the INSIDE. It led me down a furious rabbit hole where I struggled to understand the science of sleep, as much as my brain fog would allow.
I have never tried any prescription medication and have never been tempted to, simply because I understand that it induces a state of sedation, which is not real sleep, and can cause unwanted side effects. Perhaps I would if none of these natural solutions had worked. Luckily, they did.
If you are struggling to sleep, before reaching for medication that can potentially make things worse rather than better, do a body scan. Lie still, close your eyes and ask yourself what other symptoms are you experiencing? What sensations are you feeling?
Is your mind racing?
That is often a symptom of low B1 or b6. Try eating more fermented foods and supplementing with a good quality natural form B complex vitamin and high dose benfotiamine, which is a fat soluble form of B1. I would advise taking the b1 a few hours before bed because it seems to interfere with sleep if taken right before. Take b6 in the form of pyridoxal 5'phosphate. Do not take pyroxidine as it is an artificial form of b6. In fact avoid taking artificial forms of vitamins (such as folic acid) at all as these can actually exacerbate the deficiency that you're trying to treat.
Are you tense/struggling to relax your muscles? Is your heart racing?
This can be a sign of low potassium. The average person needs around 1400 mg per day. It is found in high amounts in leafy green vegetables and root vegetables.
Could you have acidosis?
A symptom of this is tense muscles, restlessness, racing mind, a racing heart, air hunger/ sighing or difficulty breathing, muscle twitching, irritability, increased urination.
Avoid highly acidic foods such as alcohol, pickles, vinegar, lemons, coffee, cheese and fizzy drinks after midday (keep them to the morning). Acidosis can also be brought on by stress.
Drink San Pellegrino or another mineral water that is high in bicarbonate. The body uses bicarbonate to neutralise acid. You may also take a teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda in a glass of water and knock that back. If you're symptoms improve within half an hour then you know for sure that it's probably acidosis. Another good remedy is a supplement containing calcium and magnesium.
Take a good sugar free electrolyte supplement, one that contains a good balance of all the electrolytes and at least a thousand milligrams of potassium. The dose will be dependent on your personal tolerance, you may need more or less depending on your personal circumstances. If my rhr is in the 90s, I find that potassium brings it right down, but be careful not to have too much as it can cause diarrhea which can make the problem worse.
Night enuresis aka. Getting up to pee.
Not normal. You should not be getting up in the night to pee. The cause is not fully understood, though it is possibly blood sugar dysregulation and high insulin. Common cause: our old friend stress, but also can be a sign of high a1c. I would get it checked out by your doctor.
Limit refined foods, especially simple sugars, carbohydrates and seed oils.
You might also try high dose benfotiamine which has been shown to help support the body's blood sugar management.
For more information on this particular vitamin, please check out Elliott Overton of EOnutrition on YouTube.
If the cause is due to prostate problems I cannot advise on that, other than that I have heard it is possibly a hormonal imbalance issue.
Period.
I always find that my insomnia gets worse around the time of my menstrual cycle. I don't know why, but my guess is that the culprit is the body's increased demand for nutrients such as sodium, potassium etc. I find I need to drink more water during this time. Magnesium is good for period cramps.
Water.
It is important to keep hydrated, however I would not advise drinking water straight from the tap or filtered water, as this can flush out essential nutrients like sodium and potassium. Personally, I cannot drink this type of water, it makes me feel terrible. The only water I am able to drink is a good mineral water such as San Pellegrino. I'm not being snobby! I've just found that that works for me! If you are able to drink tap water just fine, then please ignore this statement.
Are you too hot?
You could be low in sodium. I often add half a teaspoon of pink Himalayan salt to my electrolyte drink and sip this throughout the day.
Do you have digestive issues?
GERD, gas, indigestion, slow gut motility and hiatal hernia can make it hard to sleep. Antacids and PPI's can make the problem worse.
A chiropractor or osteopath can help with a hiatal hernia. Fermented foods, digestive enzymes, betaine hydrochloride with pepsin, digestive bitters and high dose B1 can all help with digestive issues.
Low levels of electrolytes like potassium and sodium can also cause problems with digestion, as your body requires these to make stomach acid.
Digestive issues is a problem I struggle with. I usually cut off my eating window by about four o'clock and I have found that I sleep better. Eating too close to bedtime can really mess up my sleep. Avoid eating at nighttime altogether, however some people have told me that eating something small before bed actually helps them sleep. If this is you, then by all means do what works for you.
If anyone has any advice on how to further improve gut health, I would love to hear it. As far as I understand, sleep issues, and in fact, most other issues, start with problems in the gut.
Pain.
I can't give any advice on this because I don't suffer from any pain. I have found that the ketogenic diet has kept my levels of inflammation very low and I think this has kept my levels of pain very low. Eating fermented organic dairy products and going on an elimination diet helped to ease my IBS. Vitamin d may also help, otherwise I would advise talking to your local health practitioner for advice on pain management.
Lifestyle changes that improved my sleep:
1. Make sleep a priority.
Understand that unless you get good DEEP sleep, your body cannot heal and repair.
2. AVOID STRESS. Seriously do whatever you can.
Don't read tabloids or newspapers. Get rid of your TV and radio. Avoid social media. Read books instead.
Avoid toxic family members and friends. Your sleep is more important.
Let things go, stay out of other people's business and learn to forgive. I have found Byron Katie to be very helpful for accepting my situation and even learning to love it. You can find her on YouTube, she also has books, free audio guides and a website:
www.byronkatie.com
3. Fixing my circadian rhythm:
Get out of bed at sunrise, open up a window or go outside and look towards the sunrise making sure the light shines in your eyes (don't look directly at the sun though). Do this every day, even when it is cloudy. Make it a habit, you won't regret it.
Get outside as much as possible. Sit in the sun for at least half an hour.
Go to bed at sundown every day.
Avoid bright light during the evening.
Get rid of all the LED lighting in your house and replace with incandescent lighting or red lights.
Make sure your room is completely dark.
Use blackout blinds.
I have found that a weighted blanket does help.
Bright light at night is not natural for our bodies, we are not nocturnal. Blue light confuses our bodies and throws off our body clocks, making our brains think it's daytime when it is nighttime and creating a surge in cortisol which interrupts the production of melatonin, therefore preventing sleep.
Protect your eyes from blue light at night.
Note: this kind of light is also bad for animals, so if you have a floodlight or LED lights in your back garden, please consider the wildlife and your neighbours by turning them off. Sadly my neighbours are not so considerate
Using a red light filter on your devices and television.
Wear BLUE BLOCKING GLASSES during the evening and at night. (If you ignore all the other advice, then please follow this one piece!)
Avoid driving, going to clubs, cinemas and supermarkets at night if you can.
4. There is talk about EMF causing insomnia, although I haven't really looked into this. I do put my phone on airplane mode at night, just in case. I noticed my insomnia started around the same time I got my first smartphone, although this could be coincidence. Some people like to put their phone in a metal box as well but I don't go that far.
5. Avoid acids and caffeine. I tend to cut off consumption of these things before 12pm.
6. Don't have too much salt. Go for a natural variety such as sea salt or pink Himalayan salt that contains a mix of minerals, not just sodium chloride in isolation.
7. Cold therapy, although has been shown to help some cases of mecfs, makes MY insomnia worse. Keep it to the morning. I can't comment on any kind of heat therapy such as sauna, although I did try red light therapy and found that this also made my insomnia worse.
8. Avoid getting too tired.
Sounds completely counter intuitive, as most so-called sleep experts out there advice exercise before bed. However, I found that this makes my insomnia worse. It is almost as if my body is too tired to sleep.
9. Nutrients that are essential to MY sleep, in no particular order:
D3 (from the sun or supplement. Signs of deficiency include depression, clicking joints, hunchback and bone pain, particularly in the shins and lower back.)
K2 (from butter and fermented foods or supplement)
Selenium (from Brazil nuts, seaweed, meat or supplement)
Iodine (from seaweed, although too much iodine can cause insomnia!)
Tryptophan. Is converted to serotonin and then to melatonin by the body. It is found in chicken, turkey, pork and other meats.
Potassium citrate
Calcium aspartate anhydrous
Magnesium glycinate
Zinc (I highly recommend Zincatest to keep a tab on your zinc levels).
Copper (is depleted if zinc is taken on its own. Deficiency manifests as split ends. Cocoa and liver are good sources.)
Colloidal minerals (contains a good balance of all the minerals your body needs.)
B vitamins, particularly B1 and b6. (B1 has been shown to be deficient in people suffering from panic attacks and is being researched for various mental health problems including schizophrenia and dementia).
Pink Himalayan salt
Vitamins e and a. (Get from fatty foods including butter, eggs, animal fat, fatty fish, goose, nuts, seeds and coconut.)
San Pellegrino or other good mineral water such as Evian.
Things that I tried, can't say if they helped or not:
Taurine
Glycine
https://uk.iherb.com/pr/hyland-s-na...blets/29114?rcode=CME5721&utm_medium=appshare
This suppliment helped me
I hope from this list you can clearly see that a nutrient dense, whole foods diet is essential for those suffering from insomnia and that supplementation may be necessary ON TOP of that, not instead of.
These are supplements that I use and that are helping me sleep through the night. They are individual to me, discovered through my own desperation of trying to sleep. I can't really give you any idea of dosage, you're going to have to find that for yourself. Be careful when trying supplements for yourself, listen to your body.
I have found that sufferers of mecfs tend to be very inefficient at using vitamins and minerals. I mean that the body tends to go through them very fast and therefore we need more.
It is important to get the balance of minerals and vitamins JUST RIGHT. Too much of one can knock out another. For example: too much magnesium can knock out potassium, worsening insomnia. It is all about balance, something our bodies seem to struggle with more than healthy people. For further information, Google the mineral wheel, which will give an idea of how minerals interact with one another.
I think I've got everything there, hopefully I haven't forgotten anything. I hope it helps someone.
If you have any questions, please feel free to ask me, but again, these are things that I have found have worked for ME. Everyone is different. I can't guarantee that they will work for YOU.
Xxx