Anyone tried fasting to help with insomnia? Struggle with this & thinking about giving it a go. If so what is the best way to go about it? Cheers
I also suffered from insomina in the past, and haven’t had problems with it for a long time since adopting a lifestyle based on metabolic flexibility (keto the vast majority of the year, switching up to carnivore, paleo, and some carbs a few times per year), fasting, calisthenics, and daily sunshine exposure.
Speaking from much experience here with all of the above - Fasting will probably disrupt your sleep unless you dial in your electrolytes, and don’t push too aggressively on the calorie deficit when not fasting. If you get the electrolytes dialed in (likely much more sodium and potassium than most people think), aren’t dieting too aggressively, and also adopt a handful of other habits, your sleep can become amazing even during a long fast. For example, I am in day 6 of a 7 day fast right now, and even restricting my hydration window to about 1-2 hours per day, and am sleeping quite soundly.
The most powerful habit that turned the corner for my sleep: Nearly full body sunshine exposure during the early morning and middle part of the day.
Additionally:
• limit everything that spikes cortisol
• no stimulants, especially not at night
• no alcohol, especially not at night
• no sugar, especially not at night
• adopt the cleanest sleep hygiene possible - times, routine, and be consistent
• no lights at all at least one hour before you want to be asleep
• no EMF from electronics in your bedroom while sleeping - no wifi, no standby mode TV, etc
• a cold room at night, and more importantly, a room which is not hot
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Hope this helps! You can do it! My sleep was a total mess prior to doing the above.
If you can do that, then your sleep can and probably will improve despite fasting
I struggled with insomnia for years. Now I have a whole routine around sleep that I’ve spent years tweaking. I’ve found I don’t sleep as well on longer fasts but that having my last meal at least two hours before I go to bed helps. Extra fat in my evening meal seems to help me sleep through the night.
I get up/go to bed at the same time, even on weekends. I cut out alcohol and caffeine. I do cold showers most mornings as soon as I wake up, and I go outside every morning and most afternoons depending on my meeting schedule for that day. I do this every day unless there’s a storm or other dangerous weather conditions.. I stopped melatonin and I don’t take any sleep “supplements”. I make sure to exercise every day. I do things like no overhead lights in the evening, keep my bedroom cool, use blackout curtains and I have no distractions in there. I actively manage my stress (cold showers really helped with this) and have a short stretching routine to wind down in the evening.
It sounds like a lot but it’s been years of adding/removing things until i found what worked best. There’s no quick fix and all the things I do took time to show results. If you drink alcohol I recommend starting with that. It’s horrible for your sleep.
I have a good friend who also battles with sleep. She gets a prescription. She thought I was crazy when I started working in my sleep. She’s still her prescription and whenever we talk she tells me how bad her sleep is. I’m getting a solid 7 hours a night and waking up rested and refreshed.
From my personal experience, when my diet contains excess sugar, I start to sleep badly or very little. As soon as I cut the excess sugar (processed carb foods, sugar) I fall asleep and stay asleep at bedtime, otherwise I’m wired and awake for too long or even randomly.