Sleep!

[MsCindy]

Hi, I'm new here. I've been using Bredesen's protocol for about 11 weeks, and all is going well on every front except for one: sleep. I'm in ketosis all the time at just the right levels, weight is low-normal, BMI is great, glucose is great, I take almost all the supplements Bredesen recommends, I exercise 40-50 minutes every day and am slowly increasing it, I'm using Brain HQ, Neural Agility, and meditation. I'm trying to really implement this program, and feeling very successful so far, except that I can NOT sleep 7 or 8 hours. I'm lucky to sleep 6 hours.

I use good sleep hygiene, follow all the rules, and really work at this.

I've used melatonin for 25 years to get the 4-6 hours of sleep I manage to get.

I've recently added choline which now gives me 5-6 hours of sleep per night, which feels spectacular for me.

I take gaba and gaba agonists at bedtime (glycine, taurine, L-theanine) to shut down my obviously overactive glutamine.

I have been a raging insomniac (or "short sleeper" depending on how you look at it) all my life, since earliest childhood. I suspect this could be linked to the Alzheimers in my family though, and think I need to try to solve this problem.

Does anyone have any other ideas or things that work for them? I'll try anything!

[SusanJ]

Does anyone have any other ideas or things that work for them?

MsCindy, do you have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep?

[MsCindy]

Yes, I do have trouble falling asleep. Then I have even more trouble staying asleep.

[hill dweller]

LIght is very important:
1. You said you use good sleep hygiene. So that includes a very dark room? No light. If you need a night light to find the toilet, etc, there are motion-activated red lights. Or switch your bed lamp to a red light bulb. Cover the numbers on your clock display, etc with red film. Unplug or turn off any power strips w lights.
2. Use blue-blocker glasses for the last 3 hours before bedtime. You can also purchase Rx glasses with blue-blocker lenses (I like Zenni.com).
3. If you can, crack a window at night so you can hear the night noises (frogs, owls, etc) as well as the pre-dawn bird calls.
4. Wake up at the same time every morning, and use natural light to help you reset your internal clock in the morning. Open up the curtains. Go outside and look at the horizon. Get the morning light into your eyes for a few long minutes.
5. Switch your exercise routine to the morning hours. This may help you adapt to a morning schedule, and it may keep you from being overly-stimulated at night.

[Lucy5]

MsCindy,

I can so relate to your sleep problems. Somewhere in my 50's I developed the same pattern as you, took me quite awhile to get to sleep and then would have that 3am wake-up. What has worked for me for years now, is 1 mg melatonin, 300 mgs ashwagandha (with 7% withanolides) and about 150 mgs of elemental Magnesium, in the form of Magnesium L-threonate (magtein) about an hour before bed. I still do sometimes wake up during the night, but am able to go right back to sleep.

You mentioned taking choline at night. I've found choline - at least in the form of citicoline - stimulating, so I always take it in the morning. But then we certainly don't all respond to supplements in the same way; it's all about trial & error! Hoping with the feedback you're getting from our community you'll find a protocol that works for you.

[optimize]

My gyn says hormone loss causes middle-of-the-night sleep problems. Have you tried increasing those?

[reluctantexan]

Because of my "dry eye" I now sleep with a humidifier. Might that help you? Of course everything depends upon your individual needs. I also use a white noise machine. I have a trick to shut down my thinker so that I can go to sleep: I play classical music in my head, no words.

[Wondering]

I struggle here, too. Not so much with falling asleep, but with staying asleep. I've tried most of the ideas suggested in this thread. Then just this past week, I have slept 7.5+ hours every night but one. The only recent difference in my life is the emotional work I've been doing related to my childhood. Like you, my habit of short sleep and wakefulness was established early. It may be that it was in response to the anxiety/sense of emotional vulnerability that I experienced as a child. My mom passed away a few months ago, which has spurred some emotional shifts and insights about my early childhood. As I work my way (cry my way!) through this, one side effect seems to be the ability to sleep longer before waking.

Since you're already doing "everything right" related to being able to sleep, and since this issue started early for you, too, I wonder if it might be worth looking at was going on in your life/family back when this habit was first getting established? Just a thought. I know how frustrating it is to not be able to "make" your body sleep.

Good luck!

[marthaNH]

This is an old story for me as well, but something in Wondering's post made me stop and think. I have the same pattern. Discipline and hygiene will get me to sleep, but then I wake up and, sometimes, stay up. My eating schedule seems to be tied in here as well. All are improving, and I've just had a pretty good week, but Wondering made me think about the odd way that when I am away from home -- right when you would expect sleeping to be difficult -- I sleep better. Especially when I'm at my sister's house. I think getting away from work and escaping the stress and (often) social isolation of the big city really might be part of my sleep issues. When I'm at my sister's especially it's like I'm in my bed back home and all the problems belong to someone else. Need to work on getting my head straight, I think. Thanks.

[Julie G]

Very intuitive and insightful posts, Wondering and Martha. I definitely think that emotional work contributes to better sleep. Even crying is an excellent destressor. I’m a work-in-progress with my meditation, but when I’m diligent, my sleep is much better.

Lots of love to you (((Wondering))) as you grieve. I’m so sorry for your loss. -xo