T Nation

Sleep, or the Lack Thereof

Supplements and Nutrition
#1

Anyone else just have problems going to sleep at night? Anything to take for it? I’ve tried melotonin and plenty of other over the counter type stuff to no avail. Only thing that seems to knock me out is whiskey or beer and well I can’t be doing that with my training.

I’ve tried taking a hot shower before attempting to go to bed, just zoning in front of the TV, pretty much everything. This morning 3 AM rolled around and I still wasn’t tired so I just stopped trying, made some burgers and chicken, had a pre-workout meal and now I’m headed to the gym since it opens in 15 minutes. 2 days in a row with no sleep, training doesn’t seem to be effected too much, my lifts are still going up.

Thoughts? Help? I feel like I’m back in college and am jacked up on adderol during finals week or something…and I don’t even drink coffee anymore.

#2

are you going low carb? that can mess with sleep. if so, you may want to add 15-20g before bed and see if that helps.

#3

Tried having ZMA 30 mins before bedtime? If that doesnt work, try 60 or 90 mins before bedtime.
That sure helps for me. The effect isn’t extreme, but it definitely aids me getting to sleep faster.

#4

I often have issues sleeping. I have tried melatonin, ZMA, valerian, passion flower, etc. They occasionally help me to relax but can’t say if is a cure for my insomnia. It is better to find out what is causing the lack of sleep. I have found most often it is stress or something in the diet.

On those sleepless nights I spend a lot of time thinking about what I may have done in my diet to cause issues. In the last two months I decided to experiment and weed out the likely culprits. Diet sodas and anything containing artificial sweeteners…my protein drinks contain sucralose which I think is the main offender. Search the web for sucralose sleep and you will find a host of problems. Any way, since I have taken these items out of my diet( I do have one diet soda in the am and if I have protein with sucralose it is first thing) my sleep has improved dramatically. I sometimes even sleep 7 hours straight without getting up.

Other things in your diet that can impact your sleep are caffiene, and stimilants in your energy drinks.

#5

nyquil? you’ll have that hangover drowziness…but it works.

rub one out. two birds, one stone.

take a shot or whiskey? glass of wine? (red wine has reservitrol in it or however you f’ing spell it.)

#6

Ya i’d say ZMA aswell, helps me but i need to take it at least an hour before bed…

#7

Man, I’ve been battling insomnia my whole life. I’ve been using marijuana medicinally (Hell, and for fun) for about 5-6 years now to help me get to sleep. Unfortunatly, until Prop 1 actually becomes of use here in Michigan I’m probably going to have to stop because it’s TOO FUCKING EXPENSIVE!

#8

^^I know that eating hash will send anyone off to sleep.

Don’t ask me how I know ;o)

#9

Yep.

Smoke a bowl. Sleep tight.

#10

ZMA helps, also taking a decent amount of fish oil spreadout consistently throughout the day also seems to help. Meditation (see breathing mediations) for 30-60 min a day seems to be the most effective for myself though, it calms the racing thoughts.

#11

I’ve been using the Z-12 sold here. I really like that stuff, as it quickly relaxes me which helps me get to sleep and I feel rested beyond belief. Its also helped me use less stimulants/caffeine.

-Matt

#12

There’s several threads on this topic so you can probably get some good info there also.

As for me, I take a low dose anti-anxiety pill called trazodone and it does the trick. It’s non-narcotic and I’ve taken it for years now. It’s not a knock out pill like ambien…more of a chill out pill

#13

I started taking “Sound Sleep”

http://www.gaiaherbs.com/product.php?id=36

and it works great (for me).

I don’t know where you live, but I can buy it locally at Henry’s here in San Diego. If you can’t and want to spend less you can always get a trial size too.

Good luck!

#14

I have the same problem as well, in fact I once went four straight days without any sleep at all. I find that the only thing that helps is watching tv or reading a book until I can hardly keep my eyes open.

#15

[quote]JMoUCF87 wrote:
are you going low carb? that can mess with sleep. if so, you may want to add 15-20g before bed and see if that helps.[/quote]

I’ll give this a try. I’m pretty much zero carb other then my PWO shake.

#16

[quote]pinkponyz wrote:
Tried having ZMA 30 mins before bedtime? If that doesnt work, try 60 or 90 mins before bedtime.
That sure helps for me. The effect isn’t extreme, but it definitely aids me getting to sleep faster.[/quote]

ZMA hasn’t helped anytime I’ve tried it. Sometimes it even makes me more alert and less tired.

#17

Thanks for all the other responses. I’ll try some of the products suggested (not the pot, I’m searchin for a job right now). Unfortunately I think I’ve narrowed it down to just being a huge stress problem in regards to me being unemployed.

Just graduated in june and this economy blows. So hopefully this will go away with time. Also cutting out all artificial sweetners.

Thanks for all the help everyone!

#18

I wish I was sleeping right now…

#19

2 ZMA, 2 Z-12…works like a champ. Plus the sleep quality is phenomenal. I wish that Z-12 wasn’t so pricey. I keep hoping it’s going to drop soon.

#20

[quote]LiquidMercury wrote:
JMoUCF87 wrote:
are you going low carb? that can mess with sleep. if so, you may want to add 15-20g before bed and see if that helps.

I’ll give this a try. I’m pretty much zero carb other then my PWO shake.[/quote]

I almost guarantee that’s the problem then. too low carbs = too much circulating cortisol + impaired serotonin levels, both wreck havoc on sleep quality.