Sleeping Problems - Waking Up in Middle of Night

[JoelW1lls]

Hello,

So I've had a repeated problem for a few months now where I keep waking up in the middle of my sleep and can never go back to bed, I feel like this could be because of my gluten free diet, does anyone else have this problem?

Thank You.

[BuddhaBar]

Yes, but in my case it's not related to the gluten free diet. Waking up in the middle of the night is the most common stress-related sleeping issue. It's more common than difficulty falling asleep. If it's stress related, it's because the body and mind is always in alert-mode and what awakens people is the sudden rush of stress hormones during the night.
I'm in the process of recovering from burnout and I still have this problem some nights. A year ago it was every night. 
However I think that the gluten free diet contributed to my burnout. It wasn't the whole cause (former overachiever, health care worker etc), but a part of it was the stress of getting glutened as I am that type of celiac who can't even handle a gluten molecule without getting sick. Internal stress is way more harmful than external and sometimes you don't even notice you have because it has become so normal.

[Scott Adams]

I've not heard of this symptom being related to going gluten-free, so I agree with @BuddhaBar here, and think that it could be caused by stress or other issues. For myself I notice I always sleep best when I exercise during the day, and avoid caffeine after noon. 

[BuddhaBar]

@JoelW1lls You might need to think about if there is anything in your life causing you stress? Often people make the mistake believing that stress can only be caused by external pressure, deadlines, running late etc. 
How is your inner chatter? Negative thoughts? Low self image? Any addiction (not just substances, it can be internet addiction, social media, smartphone, workout, shopping, video games)? Comparing yourself to others alot? It can be a lot of things and not always so easy to identify. Often those sleeping issues and other stress related symptoms appear years after living with constant stress. By this time it has become so normal that you don't even notice it. 
We all live in a constant storm of information that our brains aren't build for. Our brains hasn't changed much in 40000 years, but our society has changed A LOT in just 25. 

 

[Beverage]

Several vitamins and hormones play a big part in regulating our sleep.  When I fixed some of my B vitamin and acid reflux issues, my sleep improved A LOT.  Also, you need to get sunshine every day, letting it get into your eyes (not looking at the sun of course, but seeing sunshine a little bit without sunglasses on)...this helps our own body to create melatonin.  Also a little melatonin, passion flower, valerian sleep aid can help. Look for Dr. Peter Osborne's videos about it on Youtube, they have helped me a lot.

[M. Martha]

On 3/22/2021 at 3:01 PM, JoelW1lls said:

Hello,

So I've had a repeated problem for a few months now where I keep waking up in the middle of my sleep and can never go back to bed, I feel like this could be because of my gluten free diet, does anyone else have this problem?

Thank You.

I have had the problem of waking up in the middle of the night and not being able to go back to sleep. I’ve connected it to gut dysbiosis and it was also present when I had clostridium difficile full blown. I believe my original gut dysbiosis was caused by a low grade c diff overgrowth since I had recovered on my own without it being diagnosed and when I got it full blown 13 years later (same tooth/failed root canal, treatment with clindamycin) the symptoms were the same. One of those symptoms was sleep problems - waking up after 5 hrs and not being able to go back to sleep. This can recur if I get off the wagon on my no gluten, no dairy, no nightshades, no sugar and no processed food diet. Don’t know if that helps, but I did trace it to my gut as opposed to stress. Stress could certainly cause it, however.

I’ve seen it operate with viruses as well. July, 2020 I had COVID that hit my digestion with intense burning, nausea and bloating. It dragged on - 6 weeks - and 3 months to recover my energy. That was part of it - sleep dysregulation. Was it the COVID virus or was it COVID revealing gut dysbiosis? Hard to know but I did go back to the GI dr and we did treat SIBO again. I don’t think we got rid of it the first time though the xifaxin helped a lot. The first time (2017) I hadn’t dialed in the diet and did not realize that the gluten free baked goods were not my friend. Even when I made them from scratch - tapioca starch and arrowroot flour among others caused problems no doubt feeding the small intestine bacterial overgrowth. I’ve found healing the gut to be a layered process. Gluten is one of the issues but not the only one for me. Identifying the root causes has helped. Take care and be well. 

[knitty kitty]

When I have had trouble staying asleep or getting to sleep, I increase intake of certain vitamins that the body needs to make serotonin and melatonin.

Tryptophan, pyridoxine (B6), and folate are needed to make serotonin.  Tryptophan is needed to make melatonin, as well.  Magnesium helps with relaxation, too.  Vitamin D and sunshine are important, too, like @Beverage said.

Serotonin is made in the intestines.  Small Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth can cause a deficiency in tryptophan because the SIBO organisms will eat up all the tryptophan in the diet and the serotonin made in the gut.  SIBO will also eat up thiamine which is needed to make other neurotransmitters such as GABA and acetylcholine.

Decreased serotonin levels cause depression and anxiety.  

 

[Posterboy]

On 3/22/2021 at 3:01 PM, JoelW1lls said:

Hello,

So I've had a repeated problem for a few months now where I keep waking up in the middle of my sleep and can never go back to bed, I feel like this could be because of my gluten free diet, does anyone else have this problem?

Thank You.

JoelW,

You have a Magnesium problem!

When you have a sleep problem of either too much sleep (Thiamine and Magnesium) from Chronic Fatigue or not enough Sleep you are low in Magnesium.

Here is the best article I have read on the topic.

https://mghealth.org/magnesium-deficiency-sleep-problems/

Read it all when you get a chance but I will link/quote some of their references for easier digestion of the article.

As your Magnesium levels go down….so do your Melatonin levels….which affects your sleep patterns…..causing your early waking…

See this article about it...

Entitled "Dietary magnesium deficiency decreases plasma melatonin in rats"

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17172005/

Supplementing with Magnesium best as Magnesium Citrate or Magnesium Glycinate with meals have been shown to help Insomnia.

See this research entitled "The effect of magnesium supplementation on primary insomnia in elderly: A double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial"

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3703169/

People over focus on the Melatonin which a sign of a Magnesium Deficiency.....instead of taking Magnesium to restore their Melatonin levels they end up taking Melatonin instead...

Leaving people one step short of alleviating their underlying problem with their sleep cycles...

This was proven almost 5 years ago to the month that Magnesium regulates our Circadian Rythm's.

See this research that shows how being low in Magnesium affects your Circadian Rhythm IE how our bodies cells’ keep time…

Entitled "Daily magnesium fluxes regulate cellular timekeeping and energy balance"

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27074515/

This is why when you get low in Magnesium you have Melatonin issues and thus wake up early and have insomnia because you have become low in Magnesium FIRST then you get low in Melatonin....

And why taking Melantonin never gets anyone completely better......Magnesium (and Thiamine best as Benfotiamine or another fat soluble B1) is/are the Cornerstone nutrient for energy, fatigue and sleep issues!

Because they give you enough energy to make it through the day without interrupting your healthy restorative, and restful REM sleep stage.

I hope this is helpful but it is  not medical advice.

Posterboy,

[BuddhaBar]

9 hours ago, Posterboy said:

As your Magnesium levels go down….so do your Melatonin levels….which affects your sleep patterns…..causing your early waking…

Could be, but something is causing his low magnesium levels. Stress could be a cause. Magnesium works as a fuel and a regulator for stress hormones and if your levels of stress hormones are high, your body uses magnesium like crazy. Magnesium deficiency might not be the problem itself, but a symptom. Treating the symptoms is necessary to feel better, but one should not forget to find the cause of the problem. No one just gets a deficiency for no reason. 

[knitty kitty]

11 hours ago, BuddhaBar said:

Could be, but something is causing his low magnesium levels. No one just gets a deficiency for no reason. 

Celiac Disease causes malabsorption which results in malnutrition and vitamin and mineral deficiencies.  The damage to the small intestine, villi blunting, diarrhea and constipation all affect your body's ability to absorb sufficient nutrients.  

Removal of gluten containing foods from the diet means the removal of a major source of vitamins.  Wheat containing products are mandated by law to replace the vitamins and minerals lost during processing.  Food production companies use the cheapest, synthetic, often low bioavailability, vitamins to save cost.  In effect, you have been taking vitamin supplementation in gluten containing foods.

Adding good quality bioactive vitamin and mineral supplements while healing and mastering the gluten free diet will help restore health.

 

[GodsGal]

Just out of curiosity, have you talked to your doctor? Have you ruled out any sleep disorders (like sleep apnea)?

[Scott Adams]

Yes, I have sleep apnea and use a CPAP device. If you have celiac disease or gluten sensitivity, not all of your health issues are caused by gluten.