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I have sleep problems myself and I think it's age related. I rarely eat sugar as others are suggesting. I'm female and my sleep issues started when I entered my 40's. Via facebook, I've noticed my female cousins have the same issues. I think my issues are hormone related? I sleep best when I drink a few beers or take some Costco sleep aid pills.
I have sleep problems myself and I think it's age related. I rarely eat sugar as others are suggesting. I'm female and my sleep issues started when I entered my 40's. Via facebook, I've noticed my female cousins have the same issues. I think my issues are hormone related? I sleep best when I drink a few beers or take some Costco sleep aid pills.
Just a suggestion, beer contains lots of sugar. Visit a health food store and ask about something that will help you. Good luck to you
Good ideas about trying to get rid of processed carbs, and sugars. I'd be the that makes all the difference. You might keep a food fiery of what you eat, and when, so that you know what helps, or hurts.
You might look up sleep apnea as well as getting rid of sugars (especially in the afternoon). Maybe discuss getting sleep testing with your doctor. A cpap helped me to finally get better sleep, and I had no outward signs like napping during the day, or snoring.
I just knew my sleep was a problem. That led me to finding out all of my health issues.
The low carb, or gluten free section will not help with sugar, or with refined processed items. Shop around the outside of the aisles (fresh foods are best). The key is to learn to read labels.
A friend of mine had a lot of luck with the very simple books called "eat this, not that" in her journey to teaching herself.
Four years ago I went gluten free for my auto-immune thyroid disease. And it has helped me immensely - for that issue.
Just a peeve of mine regarding marketing, and not education ourselves:
Eating items that are "gluten free" is NOT healthier. Don't buy into it unless you need to be gluten free, and go all in 100%.
They even make gluten free cookies, pasta, crackers, etc.... not a good choice. Now manufacturers label regular sugar, syrup, jam, ice cream, etc.... as gluten free.
I can't tell you how many of my friends say "I'm getting better about not eating so much gluten". It is not a bad thing for everyone, and eating gluten free everything, but wheat bread every morning is wasted time, $$, and energy. There is no point in eating 1 single gluten free item unless you are 100% gluten free.
Someone mentioned a few beers, definitely not a good plan. Before I really realized I had an issues I would have 2 glasses of wine to help me fall asleep, but it definitely did not help me to stay asleep. I could tell it was breaking down to sugar a few hours after I fell asleep. Now I don't touch it, except for breakfast, j/k!
And another thing, really do anything else you can in the afternoon (especially having nuts, (good fat), or any protein as a snack to give you slower energy), just try to not nap if you have sleep issues.
There is a definite connection between simple carbs and fatigue, for me. When I eat sugar or bread, for example, i feel sluggish and sleepy.
I would do as others have suggested. Try eating no sugar or flour for one week. Try staying up until 9 pm, without the nap. This means nothing but meat, eggs cheese, and vegetables. Shoot for under 25 carbs a day. No bread, fruit or fruit juices, rice, and nothing with sugar in it. A small amount of dairy is ok and most cheese is ok.
I have sleep problems myself and I think it's age related. I rarely eat sugar as others are suggesting. I'm female and my sleep issues started when I entered my 40's. Via facebook, I've noticed my female cousins have the same issues. I think my issues are hormone related? I sleep best when I drink a few beers or take some Costco sleep aid pills.
Wow - now THAT'S a great long term solution! Maybe you should look into fixing your hormones...or just about anything else?
I start to have sleep issues as the summer winds down and fall turns gray. I find that having at least an hour outdoors exposed to bright light (preferably in the morning) resets my waning circadian rhythm. Vitamin D supplements help also. Additionally you will never ever be awake at 3pm until you start to eat more whole foods, the 3pm crash is something that many people feel after a "lunch" of junk. If you avoid refined carbs for lunch and log how you feel you will be persuaded to continue.
I have sleep problems myself and I think it's age related. I rarely eat sugar as others are suggesting. I'm female and my sleep issues started when I entered my 40's. Via facebook, I've noticed my female cousins have the same issues. I think my issues are hormone related? I sleep best when I drink a few beers or take some Costco sleep aid pills.
Yikes...beer (which is high carb, btw) with sleeping pills?!
How much exercise do you get every day? Go for a nice brisk 4 mile walk, or ride a bike for an hour, or take an aerobics class or go to a yoga class. Do SOMETHING active. Oh, and see your doc about hormonal issues.
That is far better than mixing alcohol with sleeping pills. Yikes.
Sugar is in almost everything; it's in fast food and processed food. It's in canned food, and, yes, it's in dessert. What's your suggestion? I could start shopping on the low-carb gluten-free isle. That might offer lower sugar options?
Gluten free is NOT sugar free nor carb free. It's actually worse for your purposes because it's mostly rice, which has very little fiber.
You can get a can of tuna in water, a jar of low fat mayo and some bread with at least 5 grams of fiber. You can go to the deli department and get a pound of turkey breast and again, eat it on HIGH fiber bread, a high fiber pita pocket, put plenty of fibrous veggies in it (NOT iceberg lettuce, that has little nutritional value, get Romaine) and get some Baked Lays. You don't have to go extreme, just have to read labels and go into the market with a list and a plan and make better choices every day. It's not about drastic diets or going gluten free or carb free, it's about a healthy lifestyle for the next 50 years so it has to be something you can live with long-term.
There are tons of websites with ideas for healthy lunches and how to understand nutrition labels (for instance it's not enough that a bread says "whole grain" or "high fiber", they mislead and you must read the label and make sure it's 5 or more grams) The Snack Girl website is a good resource, as is the Nutrition Action Newsletter, a very quick read put out every month by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and costs about $15 a year to subscribe to.
So no easy fixes, but hard choices, willpower, and deciding what you want out of life is more important than indulging a craving.
Again, you seem to think you are unique in craving carbs and fast food....guess what we ALL do, we just let the adult in us make the decisions rather than the child. If you want to be healthy and sleep good and have nicer skin and energy and just generally feel better, you'll gather the will power needed to override immediate gratification, if not you will come back with excuses why you can't eat right and can't sleep and feel like crap and sleepy all the time.
Exercise and diet are THE most important factors in how you feel day to day and how well your body operates. Think of it as a car engine, and instead of putting fuel in yours, you're filling it with sludge and wondering why it won't run right and seems so sluggish going up hills.
I have sleep problems myself and I think it's age related. I rarely eat sugar as others are suggesting. I'm female and my sleep issues started when I entered my 40's. Via facebook, I've noticed my female cousins have the same issues. I think my issues are hormone related? I sleep best when I drink a few beers or take some Costco sleep aid pills.
I was starting to have these very severely, waking up every two hours (as well as loss of libido which was really depressing) but started bio-identical hormone therapy and that took care of both. You have to go to the right doc though, as my labs always came back "normal" and so family docs and GYNs sent me on my way saying they were fine. It took me several years of not giving up to find the right person but it's well worth it.
I want to say though, lest OP cling to this as a possible sole solution, that if I ate like she did and didn't exercise I would STILL feel like crap and be sleepy despite the hormones....it's about the body as a whole.
OP, have you had a complete physical recently or had a sleep study done? Perhaps there is a medical issue, vitamin deficiency, or sleep apnea that is causing, or adding to your sleep problems.
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Maybe you should look into fixing your hormones...or just about anything else?
. You have to go to the right doc though, as my labs always came back "normal" and so family docs and GYNs sent me on my way saying they were fine. It took me several years of not giving up to find the right person but it's well worth it.
