I started intermittent fasting last month and about a week into it my sleep has been so so bad, like proper insomnia, I always felt like i never had the strongest of sleep but at the moment it’s the worst ever. Before I also never struggled getting to sleep, I always found getting to sleep quick and easy.
I eat between 1-8pm nothing else before or after other than water. Bed by 12ish with alarm set for 9am.
When I go to bed i’m so fatigued and tired, i can feel the exhaustion behind my eyes all day, but it’s just like my brain won’t let me fall to sleep, i’m not stressed or overthinking anything so no cause there either.
Has anyone else had this problem from intermittent fasting? Does it go away?
It is normal and it will get get better with time, your body needs to adjust, it can take a couple weeks to a couple months.
In the meantime you can try some generic remedies to alleviate the issue like:
I’m having this now too. I’ve never been a great sleeper, usually takes me so long to fall asleep, but would stay asleep. Now it’s opposite. I’m quite tired at night, fall asleep easily, but wake up to pee around 4:00am, and it’s hit or miss if I fall back asleep or not. Frustrating! I’ve heard taking magnesium at night can help, just started this so we’ll see how it goes.
Eat closer to bed time. You are waiting 4 hours after dinner to go to bed, by which point your stomach is empty again. Try to sleep within 2 hours of your last meal. The closer it is to when you last ate the easier it will be to sleep.
When I was in that insomnia period I found that meditation helped me. And having a strict bedtime routine. That’s how I got into skincare and face massage. No phones, iPads tv or computers 1-2h before bedtime. It gets better with time.
I had that for a while when I first started. I’m not sure whether it stopped just due to the passage of time or because I upped my protein as the last thing I ate before my window closed. I cannot eat and go right to bed or I’ll get horrendous heartburn/reflux, regardless of how healthy the meal is.
Normal, fasting increased adrenaline and cortisol production at first. Because it puts your body into fight or flight mode (basically your brain thinking “there’s no food?? Let’s go on a mission and find some!”) And also it can make you much more sensitive to caffeine (I can’t drink coffee in the afternoon anymore since I started fasting!) But your body should totally adapt and balance itself out after a while ☺️
This is what I found online:
Hope this provides some insight. Take care.