I've been taking 100mg Trazadone since April 2011 and along with 1 Wal-Zyr (centirizine) was able to sleep until 6:30-7a.

Since starting Atkins, I wake up consistently between 3-3:30a then either go out to the couch and turn on the tv and fall back asleep or I'm just awake for the day 😒 My husband works 3rd shift so I do have the bed to myself 5 days a week. I go to bed by 10:30 during the week.and work 10 hr days Sun-Thurs.

I've long ago tried the standards, st. Johns wort, melatonin, etc with no help. Has someone found a supplement that seems to help with this diet-specific problem? Thanks!

I've had problems sleeping for years so I can't blame the diet. But now, even if I wake up at 3:30 or 4:00, I don't get tired during the day. I'm rarely even tired before my usual bedtime. But because I don't have a job I do have the luxury of sleeping in sometimes. If the donkeys don't wake me.

I've been taking an otc sleep aid for years - so far with no bad affects. But I'm not sure how long my body will let me get away with it, so I hope there are some other options. I tried St. Johns Wort & melatonin with no luck. The best natural help so far is a long, hot soak right before I go to bed. But I don't always get that worked into my schedule.

I can get to sleep OK but I sleep so lightly and my dreams are very dim or crappy. I used to be able to sleep like a log and dream in Technicolor, those days are gone.

I do notice that when I go VLC I sleep less and a bit jittery. More squash and root veggies help add some carbs and I feel more balanced most of the time.

May be due to getting older, I should research what the mechanism at work is in aging and needing less sleep.

I'm not sure if sleeping heavily is actually a good thing but I still miss it.

Insomnia is a less common but not unheard of side effect and there are a number of threads on it with many members adding their advice. Here's one to start with a good link within it: http://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=471408

Janet linked to this in another thread about 5 foodish things that can cause insomnia - https://www.psychologytoday.com/blo...ty-and-insomnia

I hadn't realized that caffeine stays active in the body for that long! I'm going to have to think hard about reforming my coffee habit.

I've had low carb insomnia a few times when transitioning from lowish carbs (50-75 g/day) to very low carbs (<20 g per day).

Typically it only lasts a week or so and like Bonnie, I have good energy throughout the day even though I'm not sleeping my normal 7-8 hours.

I'm wondering if my ability to sleep less (5-6 hours) & still be awake during the day is related to getting older (I'm 63), my coffee habit (I'm not admitting to how much!), or the lchf diet. Or a combination or maybe something that's not even on the radar yet.

I'm 63 as well. Sleep is definitely not what it used to be. Drinking alcohol before bed is the worst for me. I can guarantee I'll be awake some time in the night (maybe as blood sugar drops?).

I read an article many years ago in the NY Times that stated in the days before electric lights, people slept much more in the winter and had *no expectation* of sleeping through the night. In fact, they expected to wake up for an hour or two. I often do that and console myself that it is "natural". As long as I stay in bed and think about positive things, I will eventually go back to sleep and be fine the next day, as if I'd slept solidly through the night.

Could be a combo.

I've had sleep issues since I became peri menopausal, with and without low carb. I think LC makes it worse though.

Ive had my cortisol measured and it is definitely rising at this time when I awaken so early.

Have you tried taking magnesium in the evenings? I find it helps me relax more in bed.

Unless you have a reason not to, you could try DHEA at night. Its supposedly an anti-cortisol.

Also, I've been using pycnogenol lately. I find it helps me have a much more restful sleep, even though that's not why I started it.

Also 63. I sleep a little better since I started taking a tsp of glycine and 2 mag citrate tablets with a cup of chamomile tea at bedtime.

Thanks Janet I read through those posts.

Hi Bonnie, read through those 5 foods too. I haven't had coffee since 11-1 when I started Atkins. My love of the Vanilla Sugar-Free creamer is too strong lol and it has a lot of carbs! I have been regularly including fajita-blend veggies for the last week and that's basically bell peppers & onions. We don't keep alcohol in the house and only went out one night since I started but alternated each drink with a 12oz water Cheese has been pretty much an assortment mix of swiss/pepperjack/colby & cheddar in my eggs (1-2oz) but this last week I've been having bacon guac on my eggs instead. No flour or sugars.

My daily carbs are generally between 11 & 16 with it pretty rare to actually hit 20. Some days I'm more "awake" than others but like this Saturday, I woke up at 3:17a and just got up for the day. WTH am I supposed to do at that time of the morning lol We'll be joining Planet Fitness in January so that's where I'LL be!

"I often do that and console myself that it is "natural". Yeah, I'm kinda thinking that's what I'm going to need to do more of too It's makes a huge difference having that bit of sleep be solid and not all tossing and turning.

Quietone, I wasn't aware this could be a menopause thing? I'm actually in chemopause lol or peri-menopausal for about 3 years now. I think simply menopausal now (I'm 46) but chemo put me here. My onc doc STILL thinks I should be practicing birth control lol but I can't take the meds type and the alternate is a pita . There will be no babies other than our 4-legged ones.

I've been taking magnesium morning & night but maybe will just double dose it before bed instead.

Thanks all

You & others who can take magnesium are lucky. I've tried several different kinds & all cause diarrhea - the bane of my existence. Sometimes it seems like everything causes diarrhea. I think yesterday's bout was due to anxiety - I have a deadline tomorrow & yesterday I hadn't even started writing. Got the first draft done (which is why I'm rewarding myself here), so no more anxiety.

I've read that Epsom salts may (just may, not will) be absorbed thru the skin, which is why I put them in my bath. If I am getting some magnesium that way, at least it doesn't cause diarrhea!

I've been using magnesium oil, which does seem to absorb through the skin -- I get foot cramps and I put the oil directly on the soles of my feet. The cramps seem to dissipate really quickly.

I get insomnia during transition into ketosis, but other than that I sleep very well. I do have a couple of thoughts though as I've had sleep issues prior to low carbing it.

I'm wondering if you are supplementing vitamin D? The reason I'm asking is that I have noticed if I'm supplementing Vitamin D it disrupts my sleep in a major way. I've found that as long as I supplement my D with Vitamin k-2 (in the form of Mk-4) I sleep very well AND I start feeling some of the supposed benefits from my D supplementation. I use the Carlson brand of k2. In Japan, women supplement 45 mg/ per day. Unfortunately, in the US, k-2 (in the form of Mk4) is not as well known and the Carlson brand only comes in 5mg. I take 15mg (3 capsules) in the morning after breakfast and 15 mg right before bed.

My other sleep issue was from stressed out adrenals. That was, I think, primarily a magnesium deficiency. There have been two kinds of mag that have not given me diarrhea. I don't think the other ones were absorbed well enough to have any effect. The one I have found the most benefit from is Mag Taurate (taurine). The other one is really expensive. It's called Magnesium l-threonate. One last suggestion if you think it might be stressed adrenals - you should be taking a probiotic if you're not already. I take the Now brand that needs to be refrigerated, but Culturelle is supposed to be good too and there are often coupons that you could pair with a sale of it.

I also use magnesium oil on inflamed areas. It's like magic. Even my husband (who is highly suspicious of all my alternative medicine quackery) will have me put mag oil on his back when it's aching. Also, my son, who is a varsity rower, has quite a few kids on his crew team using it now and their moms have told me how much they like it for tennis elbows, sore knees, etc. The only caveat I'd give is that when you first start using it, it will have a little bit of an itch or sting in the area you've treated. But that goes away and there's no denying it's an excellent treatment for aches and pains.