Why you shouldn’t eat less

There are some scientific reasons why under-eating can produce sleep disturbances. For one thing, limited human studies show that short-term fasting reduces melatonin production. Whether or not the same effect is seen in chronic calorie restriction is unclear, but it is plausible. And for another thing, even mild chronic calorie restriction can alter hormone levels and patterns, including thyroid hormones, cortisol and adrenaline. One common pattern among those who under-eat is for stress hormones to peak early in the morning causing waking and anxiety or stressful feelings.

Often, sleep disturbances attributed to under-eating can be temporarily alleviated by eating, especially something with easily digested sugar and perhaps a bit of salt in order to suppress stress hormone production. Therefore, I find that eating a bit of honey is often enough to help people get to sleep or return to sleep.

I find that eating a bit of honey is often enough to help people get to sleep or return to sleep

However, in the long run, increasing caloric intake and especially making sure that one isn’t restricting carbohydrates too greatly, tends to be essential in order to improve sleep duration and quality. For most people, that means eating a minimum of 2500 calories a day, though sometimes requirements may be higher [men, young people, pregnant or breastfeeding women, sick people and active people in particular may have significantly higher caloric requirements]. In some cases it is necessary to eat significantly more calories during a recovery phase, sometimes upward of 4000 calories a day for many months, in order to restore balance. So what I have found, again, in my unscientific study, is that people I communicate with tend to sleep better when they eat more rather than less, and many people are surprised to find that they have been eating too few calories.

Increase your carbohydrate intake

Under-eating is a major cause of sleep problems from what I’ve seen, but it certainly isn’t the only nutritional factor in sleep problems. Carbohydrate restriction is another major contributor; carbohydrates help to get some nutrients into the brain to produce the hormones necessary for sleep; they also provide glucose, which is one of the two primary fuel sources of the body, and by most accounts, the preferred fuel source. Certainly, the brain requires glucose and if you fail to eat enough carbohydrates your body will produce glucose from other things to keep your brain alive.

People tend to sleep better when they eat more rather than less, and many people are surprised to find that they have been eating too few calories

The brain is fuelled using glucose that comes from stored energy in the liver. That stored form of glucose is called glycogen, and the liver can only store about 100 grams give or take, which means that if the liver is not well supplied, it is possible that sleep can be interrupted because of the stress of running out of the main reserve of brain fuel. People often find that eating substantial amounts of carbohydrates in the evening benefits their sleep.

There are other factors that are shown to influence melatonin levels, though it isn’t always clear that the effects will be substantial enough to influence sleep. For example, one study showed that eating orange, pineapple or banana significantly increased blood levels of melatonin, but was probably not enough to influence sleep. [Melatonin is present in the blood during daylight hours in small amounts, serving as an antioxidant and performing other functions, but the levels are much lower than at night.]

What to consume for better sleep

Vitamin B6 and folic acid

Vitamin B6 and folic acid are necessary for the formation of serotonin and so might be helpful for sleep when supplied in adequate amounts in your diet. This is sensible, and so adequate amounts are a very good idea, but there doesn’t seem to be any evidence that more is better. So if you eat a varied diet that includes meat [especially some organ meat], dairy, fish, potatoes, bananas, oranges and some green vegetables, you’re most likely covered when it comes to B6 and folic acid. Studies show little benefit from taking supplements, though. Of course that doesn’t mean that some people might not benefit. But most won’t. If you supplement with either of these vitamins, do not take more than the recommended daily allowance and use the active forms, which are less potentially toxic. Still, be cautious when taking supplements, particularly B6, since excess can lead to neuropathic symptoms.

Magnesium and zinc

It has been theorised that magnesium and zinc may also help convert serotonin to melatonin. However, studies don’t show any benefits from taking supplements of these as long as people have adequate dietary levels. If you eat some meat, especially red meat, and/or seafood, you’re likely getting enough zinc. Magnesium, on the other hand, may be more challenging to acquire through food, and, reportedly, many people are deficient. If you eat fish, dairy and green vegetables, you may get enough magnesium in your diet. If you choose to supplement, then you can opt for oral or transdermal supplementation.

• Oral magnesium supplements are often poorly absorbed, leading to gastrointestinal discomfort and loose stools; so look for the well absorbed forms such as magnesium citrate, malate, or glycinate and start with small amounts, increasing slowly to avoid gastrointestinal problems.
• For transdermal supplementation, one of the most relaxing and least expensive options is to soak in a warm Epsom salt bath. Soaking in an Epsom salt bath before bed can be very relaxing for many people and often improves sleep quality.

Omega-3 fatty acid

Although there aren’t any studies that show that an omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acid ratio affects human sleep, there is reason to suspect that it might. When omega-6 fatty acid levels are high, inflammation can be high. Therefore, reducing omega-6 fats in the diet [corn oil, soy oil, canola oil, and other vegetable oils excluding olive, coconut, and palm] and including some omega-3 fatty acid source such as fatty fish [sardines may be the best because they are lowest in mercury of all fish] may help to improve sleep.

Sleep and your wellbeing

Is sleep a solution to all your problems? It is not. But getting sufficient sleep over time can have surprisingly positive effects. And if health problems were caused by insufficient sleep in the first place—whether those are heart problems, blood sugar problems, mood problems, energy problems, or any other sort of problems—then replenishing your sleep stores and maintaining an adequate quantity and quality of sleep can work miracles in some cases. Even if getting enough sleep won’t solve everything, it can provide a necessary foundation for health and wellbeing.

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In order to maximise the benefits of sleep, keeping to a regular sleep schedule can be useful. In other words, short-changing yourself on sleep during the week and sleeping in on the weekend isn’t ideal. Of course, that is better than short-changing yourself on sleep during the weekend too, but it would be much better to get adequate sleep every night. And for most people, that means prioritising sleep. Instead of staying up until 11pm or midnight doing extra work or watching television, it is better to stick to a regular schedule that will allow you to get adequate sleep every night at roughly the same time.

Respect your body rhythms

Remember that our bodies synchronise their rhythms based on cues from the environment. If you sleep in on Saturdays for an extra two hours, your body tries to synchronise to the new set of cues [later light exposure]. But then on Monday when you try to get up at 6am, you’ll struggle. So if you usually get up at 6am, it is generally better to always get up at that time [except if sick or really in need of the extra sleep, of course]. Therefore, if you require a full eight hours of sleep each night, that means you need to be asleep by 10pm each night. Or if you need nine hours, then you need to be asleep by 9pm each night.

The waking period was historically viewed as a time of increased creativity

Now, of course, all that is assuming that you are a monophasic sleeper, meaning that you strive to sleep in one, continuous block of time. That is the conventional way in which most of us now sleep. However, there is evidence that this has not always been so and that it may not be the ideal way to sleep.

Try biphasic sleep

A number of historians, including, most prominently, Roger Ekirch of Virginia Tech, argue that until the industrial revolution, segmented or biphasic sleep was the normal type of sleep for humans. Specifically, they suggest that normal sleep patterns for humans involve two periods of sleep interrupted by a period of wakefulness in each night. Each sleep period is estimated to be approximately four hours, and the waking period is between one and three hours.

The waking period was historically viewed as a time of increased creativity. Researchers have confirmed that when modern humans are placed into conditions with 14 hours of darkness, they naturally and spontaneously settle into this very pattern of sleep. In most temperate locations, there is a considerable difference in the length of night between summer and winter. It is unlikely that biphasic sleep would occur as regularly during the peak of summer, but in the rest of the year [spring, fall, and winter] biphasic sleep would likely be normal.

Does that mean you should strive for biphasic sleep? Not necessarily. But if you have struggled with sleep or if you find that you naturally wake after about four hours of sleep and find it difficult to get back to sleep, you may want to experiment with this pattern.

If you do shift work, then it seems likely that the very best thing you can do for your health is to work during the day instead

If you work in shifts…

Lastly, when speaking of when to sleep, no discussion would be complete without a mention of shift work. Shift work [meaning work schedules that go into the night or early morning] is a known risk factor for many conditions, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, cancer, headaches, fatigue, and weight gain. In addition, not surprisingly, shift work is notorious for causing sleep disorders. In fact, one such disorder is named ‘shift work sleep disorder’.

If you do shift work, then it seems likely that the very best thing you can do for your health is to work during the day instead. However, if that is not possible or viable for you, there are a few things you can do to help improve your sleep and your health.

First, since you cannot control the natural lighting during your waking or sleeping hours, you can at least take some steps to try to improve your light exposure. However, at the end of your shift, reduce the amount of light exposure. When you get home, make an effort to greatly reduce your light exposure, particularly to blue light. Your sleeping environment, ideally, would be made completely dark, which can be achieved by placing an opaque substance over the windows such as aluminium foil. Then, follow all the other suggestions for ways to minimise your light exposure, including removing lights from electronic devices from the bedroom.

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