Greetings:

OKAY--this is my last post for today. I will not normally post so much but I do have a few thoughts to share. Once I get the hang of it I will reduce--sorry!

Here is my question:

I have been told by my doctor as well as others that lack of sleep does indeed prevent weight loss.

I am one of those people who normally gets less than 5 hours of sleep per night and of those only 2-3 are deep restful sleep.

I have taken herbal teas, milk (although that is now out), cold showers RIGHT before bed (but that just stimulates me more so I have changed that to one hour before), meditation and finally sleeping pills.

The sleeping pills normally work but If I take them regularly they loose their potency. I alternate between tylenol pm, unisom, prescription lunesta, benadryl nighttime.

I do not like getting addicted to them so I am trying to avoid them.

What do you guys think? Will lack of sleep really affect LCE or is my dr. overstating the facts just a little? Any remedies...I mean ones that I have not yet tried?

SheShe

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SheShe
Height:5'-9"
My weight today is: 260.5
My immediate goal is:254.5
My long-term goal is:130

hello, sheshe. you go ahead and post away. we're glad to help if we can!

just so you know, i moved this from "diet and health news", which is a moderated part of the forum with news stories, to the newbies area.

you may be interested in this article from our site that talks about sleep and metabolism - To Lose Weight, Don't Lose Sleep! | LCE

i don't routinely have trouble sleeping, but have been known to use melatonin when i do, as it works for me and seems gentler than to my system that the OTC stuff. i also sometimes take hot baths a little while before bedtime, and try to journal or meditate a bit if any of my sleep issues are related to daytime worries sticking in my head, which sometimes happens.

good luck with your sleep!

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Fat Baggage- Is Yours Packed?

Yes, don't hesitate to ask questions. This is a very helpful bunch who loves to help.

Hope you get that sleep you need.

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sheshe, my experience is that a cold shower stimulates me rather than relaxes me. When I don't want to stay awake, I take a hot shower and DON'T follow it with a cold shower. If I want to be refreshed and ready to go, I follow a hot shower with a cold one.

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Henry

Hmmm, I've had alot on my mind lately. As a result been waking up for long periods in the middle of the night.
Last night I tried something that I'd heard of...
I went to my computer, sent and email to my work address. That took care of the work thoughts.
I then put on a tablet those thoughts (To-Do list) that I had running around for home. It took me less than 1 hour. I fell soundly back to sleep. It really did remove the clutter that was keeping me up.

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To think is to create!
So What? Now What?
Tom
295/245 (restart)/229/200
Updated: 4/07/08
Goal- below 210 by 4/23/08 for my new knees.

tom, i think those are very good ideas when thoughts are keeping your from sleeping. i've also journaled before going to bed for the same reasons. something about writing it down sort of "dumps it", be it to do concerns or emotional ones.

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Fat Baggage- Is Yours Packed?

Thanks!
These are actually great ideas. I will start trying them alone or in combination! Wish me luck!
SheShe

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SheShe
Height:5'-9"
My weight today is: 260.5
My immediate goal is:254.5
My long-term goal is:130

you got it! consider yourself "luck-wished."

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Fat Baggage- Is Yours Packed?

Sheshe,

I LOVE the suggestions given above & I believe they can really help you, but I wanted to encourage you in another way:

Before I began eating low-carb (when I was still eating a lot of junk), my sleep habits were horrible.
When I FIRST started Atkins induction, they got worse! (stay with me here!)

Apparently, moving into ketosis OFTEN causes insomnia, but it's usually short-lived. If you stick with the induction (STRICTLY), you may be rewarded as I was: DEEP, VERY REFRESHING SLEEP!
After the first day or two of ketosis (usually after about 2 days of induction level eating), I usually experience 2 really bad nights of insomnia.
After that, I sleep like a baby for as long as I stay true to plan.
I have been doing this for so long that I have nearly gotten it down to a science.
As soon as I start allowing "cheats" back into my daily eating, the great sleep disappears and I find myself back in my old habits of tossing & turning.

Getting enough sleep definitely does help aid weightloss, but don't think your insomnia is going to hurt your LC efforts... it may just be that LC will cure your insomnia!
Good luck!

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Summer

What an interesting subject! I used to be a very deep sleeper, until perimenopause, and then insomnia hit, and even though I'm now post-menopausal, I still have bouts of insomnia. Eating low carb does help. Taking melatonin helps, too, but it's something that doesn't work immediately. I also find that sometimes just having a few bites of protein before bed helps with sleep. Not a lot, just a bit of a snack, perhaps a bit of cheese, or a protein shake, or even a few nuts.

I also found that watching some tv, not movies or anything exciting, but stuff like The Food Network, HGTV, or DIY, can make me really drowsy, no matter how interesting the subject is. Or reading something technical. If you really want to fall asleep, try reading the Federal Register, (the Code of Federal Regulations, the actual laws dealing with anything Federal) it'll put any insomniac into a deep, deep sleep!

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Nita

Dr. Briffa's blog this morning is about melatonin and insomnia. Very interesting reading.

| Dr Briffa's Blog

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Nita

that was interesting. i knew melatonin was implicated in the natural sleep/wake cycle from my old days in school.

i also noticed in the study they used 2mg. the 3mg that i've got sometimes is too much...it can make me feel kind of lightheaded. doesn't take a lot!

thanks for the interesting link, nita!

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Fat Baggage- Is Yours Packed?

Hi everyone-I realize that this thread is a couple of weeks old but I just had to add my 2 cents worth. I've had trouble sleeping all my life and I've tried everything but prescription drugs to try to help with the ZZZZ's. Nothing worked and going through menopause just added to my night time tossing and turning. But my doc told me about an herbal formula that helped her and I'm using it now and it really works.

It's called Deep Sleep by Herbs etc. and I pick it up at the New Seasons market here in town. They do have a website also. It takes 3 or 4 days to kick in. This is the olnly thing that has ever helped me. Some of the ingredients are California Poppy herb ("poppies will make her sleep..."), Valerian root, Passionflower and Chamomile.

Hope this info helps some of my fellow insomniacs.

("poppies will make her sleep...") Love that, Dorothy!

Valerian root works really well to relax you. I use it when I have a lot of muscle pain. In fact, I need to buy some! Thanks for the reminder.

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Nita

here's the link for the deep sleep kat was talking about...thanks for sharing the idea!

Deep Sleep - Herbs Etc. herbal remedies

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Fat Baggage- Is Yours Packed?