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Sleep problems

D

D33

Newbie
Messages
2
Type of diabetes
Treatment type
Other
Hi, I'm a long time lurker and first time poster and wanted to say hello to the community. The information I've gathered from all contributors has been incredibly helpful.

Thanks to you all.

I was diagnosed type 2 about 18 months ago and have been low carb for just over a year. Everything is going well and I've never felt better except for my sleeping patterns.
I have no trouble dropping off, in fact, it's almost instant. The problem I have is staying asleep. I seem to wake between 3 and 4 every night and find it very hard to get back to sleep.
I've read some advice that recommends having a small carb meal before bed but obviously I'm very limited in my carb intake so I'm not sure what would be suitable.

Have any of the other low-carbers on here had a similar problem and how did you resolve it?

Thanks in advance
 
I fall asleep quickly but have to stumble to the bathroom every night around 4.30am, and often don't go back to sleep for an hour or more. There was another thread about this recently and I found this http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Segmented_sleep which is quite reassuring and implies that interrupted sleep isn't necessarily harmful. Maybe if you don't worry about it you'll go back to sleep quicker.
Alternatively if you still can't sleep just read the article again and zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
 
If you are a woman and in perimenopause, this is a common problem. :(

I've tried a number of strategies. Last year, I found magnesium taken before bed helpful. Then I ran out and was too busy to buy more. My goal is to do that this weekend.
 
I've had a similar problem for many years (most of them before I became diabetic), and I definitely find a small meal before bed helps, as I think part of my problem has been hunger in the middle of the might. I try to eat something suitably low carb, highish fat, but I've found that if i have a "naughty" carby snack I may sleep a bit longer...

I'm in a position though where I don't have to worry so much over lack of sleep as I'm retired so can have a daytime nap if I feel the need for one, so I'm sorry that I can't be a bit more helpful over this.

Robbity
 
Yes, been there, been the bathroom, walked around the living room, watched absolute garbage on the tele, finally fall back asleep again. Then wake up go toilet again. Etc.
The reason I have sleep disruption is of my excess insulin, I need to go the toilet once or twice a night.
Itchiness, I have an upper body itch which is really burning sometimes. I have anti-histamines for that.
Also I have really weird and full Technicolor dreams.

I have found that when I have full fat yoghurt an hour before bed I sleep better. Don't know why!

I've had the sleep apnia tests, I've been on sleeping meds. I've had an hours sleep in the middle of the working week. Low carb does make it better!

Hope that helps!

Going to bed now, I'm knackered!
 
I'm going to try some Greek yoghurt with chia seeds mixed in tonight and see if that helps. Maybe I just need to relax and accept that things change. It can be hard though at 4 in the morning, alone with your thoughts. Thanks.
 
I do names A-Z, male & female, and fruit and veg; counting 1-2-4-8-16 etc to the first number over a million; counting in binary and converting from binary numbers to decimal and vice versa; trying to recall the plot of a good film or book, and names of characters and/or actors; plan meals for the next day or so; imagine driving along a favourite sunny road; sitting in a favourite field and focusing on my breathing; recall the addresses I've lived at (26); practise relaxing further with each out-breath; listen to the silence.
It doesn't seem to matter what mental state I'm in at 4-5am, I always suddenly go back to sleep.
Best of luck.
 
Hi, hope you sleep well tonight.

Not diabetes related but I have been through periods of not sleeping well...few of my strategies include
sleep pillow - you can plug your radio or MP3 into these pillows and it plays away, then auto switches off, nice and soothing, different and nicer than wearing headphones/ear plugs!
Badgers sleep balm.....just love the smell
Getting cold...get up, move around, cool down, then snuggle back down into bed...

Have been eating much lower carb levels since diagnosed with diabetes in Dec and curiously sleeping much better.

All the best.
 
Hello DeejayR

It's a balm with lots of organic lavender in it! Badger is the brand, am trusting no live badgers been anywhere near it! Tin advises rubbing it on pulses etc!
 
Daffodils1 said:
Hello DeejayR

It's a balm with lots of organic lavender in it! Badger is the brand, am trusting no live badgers been anywhere near it! Tin advises rubbing it on pulses etc!
Click to expand...
Just joshin'. It has excellent reviews, I notice.
 
Daffodils1 said:
Hi, hope you sleep well tonight.

Not diabetes related but I have been through periods of not sleeping well...few of my strategies include
sleep pillow - you can plug your radio or MP3 into these pillows and it plays away, then auto switches off, nice and soothing, different and nicer than wearing headphones/ear plugs!
Badgers sleep balm.....just love the smell
Getting cold...get up, move around, cool down, then snuggle back down into bed...

Have been eating much lower carb levels since diagnosed with diabetes in Dec and curiously sleeping much better.

All the best.
Click to expand...

I do same, except for the balm!

I sleep best in winter with the heat turned down.

My nightly routine is to go to bed with socks on feet - (I have cold feet) - only to wake up later too warm. Removing socks and tossing one or more layers of bedding to side sometimes works. If that fails, getting out of bed to cool down sometimes works, as you do. If that fails, I listen to children's literature on tape or CD by laying the headphones on the side of my head. I buy them at thrift stores. Listened to Harry Potter for years. Now listening to C.S. Lewis' Narnia books. The pillow you mention would be better, particularly with the automatic shut off. Going to check into that. :)
 
D33 said:
I'm going to try some Greek yoghurt with chia seeds mixed in tonight and see if that helps. Maybe I just need to relax and accept that things change. It can be hard though at 4 in the morning, alone with your thoughts. Thanks.
Click to expand...

When I can't fall back to sleep, another help is to read in a book of fiction, that I'm enjoying, that's light in topic, for a half hour to an hour in bed. I often can fall back asleep after that. I don't like to reflect or problem solve when I'm trying to sleep, but if something is REALLY interfering with my sleep, I get up and get on the computer to sort out my thoughts or to gather additional information. That can take 1 - 2 hours though, so really try not to do that. :)
 
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