The FastDay Forum

Another fasting insomniac here. Even though I save my 500 cals for supper I still lye awake thinking about breakfast lol. It also doesn't help that I don't exercise on fast days, so my body misses that too.

I have had some bouts of insomnia again (sleep instantly, wake at 1,2 or 3 and that's me finished)- I take magnesium orotate and sleep well...but keep forgetting to take it, esp after sleeping well! The other thing that has been affecting me - thyroid meds too high and when I cut back it was good, but am adjusting to get it right at the moment. So essentially my body was hyperthyroid and tracieknits I know u have thyroid issues. But in relation to 5:2...I have friends who have bfst...1 has lunch...then nothing till next bfst - they both say they have never slept so well! interesting.
Minumonline I lauighed at u saying insomnia wakes u at 5am...I get up at 5am every day ;>)

I once heard a really interesting interview on the radio with someone who was researching the history of sleep. Apparently in the past, before electric lights, it was common for people to refer to first sleep and 2nd sleep. You would go to bed early and have the first sleep. Then you would get up in the middle of the night, go visiting, do robberies, have sex, or whatever until you were ready to go back to bed for the 2nd sleep. My body seems to fall into this pattern, especially if I go to bed early. Only I feel abnormal and don't occupy the time between first and 2nd sleep so productively.

I wake up at ridiculopus times on the morning after a fast. Ridiculous being 7am, when you don't get to bed till 3am it's not much sleep. (I am my hubby's carer, and when he can't sleep because of pain, I can't go to bed either as he needs help at nights).

I once heard a really interesting interview on the radio with someone who was researching the history of sleep. Apparently in the past, before electric lights, it was common for people to refer to first sleep and 2nd sleep. You would go to bed early and have the first sleep. Then you would get up in the middle of the night, go visiting, do robberies, have sex, or whatever until you were ready to go back to bed for the 2nd sleep. My body seems to fall into this pattern, especially if I go to bed early. Only I feel abnormal and don't occupy the time between first and 2nd sleep so productively.

I remember reading about this once and it makes so much sense really. I guess in the past people would go to bed so much earlier when it got dark so couldn't always sleep all the night through. Maybe this is where many of our modern 'insomnia' problems lie - because we are forcing our bodies into a rhythm that is not as natural. Although my problem is usually getting to sleep in the first place.

Sounds quite exciting all that stuff going on in the middle of the night!

3:17am. Yup. I just need sleep. My body is not tired, or my over active brain won't switch off.

[Debs]

Yes, I too don't sleep very well after a fast, but at the moment with other things going on, house selling, job hunting etc., as soon as I lay down I wake up! Plus peri menopausal all makes for a very grumpy Debs.
I may try the magnesium and see if that helps as sleepy tea etc. haven't worked too date.

Another one here but it has nothing to do with fasting in my case. I never sleeps more than 5 hours (and it's already a lot for me) so, even if I fall asleep really early (like saturday, I was sick, took a painkiller and fell asleep at 10:30PM) I wake up after 5 hours (I woke up at 3:30AM). Usually I fell asleep really late (around 2:00AM, somtimes even later)

I don't want to take sleeping pills. First, because my body reacts badly to them (they give me eczema) and second because my mum take them for 30 something years and she couldn't do without them. I don't want to become a slave to that thing.

I think an attitude of acceptance is the thing. If I really can't get back to sleep, I get up and knit, or read or write down the problem which is keeping me awake. I find that the day still goes ok after a sleepless night and then the next night, I sleep like a baby. Doing this helped me to stop worrying about not sleeping and that is much better than not sleeping and then worrying about not sleeping.

I tend to need less sleep in the night following a fast day. I thought I was either starting to be an insomniac OR it was because I was excitedly anticipating the scales after a fast OR it was because I was hungry and wanting my brekkie.... but actually I can't really say it is any of these things as I'm never hungry and I never feel tired later in the day when I've been awake from anthing after 1.30am...... I just accept it now and get on with things...

I usually stay in bed for half an hour to one hour and when I am sure I won't fall back to sleep, I get up and do things around the house. But it doesn't change the fact that I won't sleep more than 5 hours the next night. Even if I am exhausted and up since 4:00AM. I won't fall asleep before 1:00AM to wake up at around 6:00AM so my days are around 20 hours no matter what.

Also in my case, the insomnia has nothing to do with worrying, it's just my nature. So yes, I accepted it for years now, no choice anyway and, as it's better from the time I slept 2hours a night and did 300km a day all is "good" or could be much much worse

I used to be a night owl before 5:2, needing at least 7 or 8 hours of sleep and rarely getting it. Now when I've lost all this weight everything has changed, I usually sleep about 5 hours and it's certainly enough, I don't need to take naps like I used to, and I'm not tired anymore.

The only problem is I wake up really early and have to get out of bed, disturbing my girlfriend. This morning I woke up at 4 am after four hours of sleep, and sneaked off to the gym instead of just lying there. Staying awake in bed is a bad thing, you should get up and stop trying too hard.

It's probably the fact that I stopped snoring, which has improved my quality of sleep, which has helped improving my exercise habits, which has improved my sleep and so on. I'm amazed, I don't recognize myself.

I found this a problem at first because I had sooo much energy on my fast days but settled down now

Hi Tracie i have periods of insomnia too
Now that i am retired tho i try not to let it bother me..
I just think,well at least you dont have to go to work today
I quite enjoy the quiet night hpurs in some ways..by nature have always been a night owl,but overall,it does affect my quality of life
I have periods where i do sleep well several nights in a row and that makes things easier..
Seems totally random ..
Off to read that article now,thks for the link x

I don't sleep well , last night was not good ,I was awake at 3.30 for about an hour then wide awake at 6.30 so I did my usual weigh in an lost another pound ,very pleased as now I am within healthy BMI only just I have started walking a little each day it does help I think

Well done Carol on yr healthy BMI !