Insomnia and adrenal fatigue

[Lyanne]

Hi everyone, I am a new member excited to learn about this new lifestyle!  I have adrenal fatigue and have suffered from insomnia for the last 2.5 years.  I have decided to give Paleo a go in effort to improve my health.  I have been paleo for about 4 weeks now.  I have a couple of questions regarding insomnia.  It seems to have gotten worse since I started eating paleo.  Has anyone else experienced this?  If so what has helped you with it?  Is there something in particular that I should be eating before bed (night time snack)?  I worry I am not eating enough but like I said I am new to this.  thanks for any feedback.

[eveheart]

If you mention what in particular are you eating (and when), perhaps there are some clues there. Also, how's your sleep hygiene? Do you keep regular hours, keep lights off after sunset, etc? How about sleep patterns - when does your waking happen (can't fall asleep, can't stay asleep, etc.)

[cherimoya_kid]

High-fat, low-carb tends to improve sleep quality while reducing the need for sleep.

What does your daily diet look like?

[Lyanne]

My normal day looks like this...breakfast fruit shake with 1 cup berries, half a banana and scoop of protein powder.  snack...piece of fruit and almonds.  lunch 2 eggs and large chopped vegetable salad. snack...veggies or/and nuts.  Dinner about 6:00...chicken, beef or fish and vegetables.  I am usually in bed by 10pm but admit not great with putting my phone down.

[Brad462]

Would cold showers be good for adrenal fatigue?  Just trying to think outside the box here.

[eveheart]

So, 4 weeks raw paleo... just thinking aloud here, but what raw protein powder are you using? How are you meat and egg sources? Are you getting plenty of fats? How old are you? What kind of diet got you in this state?

[raw-al]

I experienced a bit of a transition period to a raw diet as I had been a cooked vegetarian for 23 years. Gut bacteria has to change to digest properly.

Having said that, I personnally have trouble with a lot of fruit, so I might consider having less.  Also salad tends to make you wide awake.

What happened 2.5 to 3.5 years ago ?

My understanding of adrenal fatigue is that too much adrenaline is being produced, whichputs you in fight or flight so much that your survival instincts tend to kick in. Stress is not a bad thing but too much wears you out. Or stress that seems endless or unwinnable.

How old are you?

[cherimoya_kid]

Reduce the fruit, eat some more wild-caught fatty fish and shellfish. Drop the chicken altogether, and make sure any beef you eat is grass-finished, not just grassfed and grain-finished. Also, it goes without saying that your food should all be raw or very lightly steamed.

[svrn]

definitely reduce the fruit if you have insomnia. Increase fat. Try to get adrenal glands if you can.

If you are smoking pot to medicate your insomnia then stop. I know they say it helps go to sleep but i think thats bullshit. Cannabis gives me terrible insomnia. The reason people think it helps sleep is because if you are addicted to it then you cant sleep without it at all.

INSOMNIA is the inability to sleep soundly characterized by frequent
waking and restlessness.
For those who had raw milk available, slowly drinking a blended
mixture of 1 cup warm raw milk and 1-3 tablespoons unheated honey
immediately before bedtime relaxed them for the night. For those who
did not have fresh raw dairy, a smoothie made with 2-3 raw eggs, 1?2 to
1 whole unripe raw unripe banana and as much unheated honey as
desired usually took them through the night. If bananas were not
appealing, another fresh unripe raw fruit mixed with 3-4 tablespoons
unheated honey worked. (Do not make a smoothie with berries or
apple. Berries mixed with raw egg often causes drugs and toxic
minerals to detoxify from glands, and apple excites adrenals. Either
combination may interfere with sleep.)
For people who felt wired, eating raw fish a few hours before
bedtime, and then drinking one of the suggestions in the paragraph
above near bedtime got them through the night.
Another choice was a piece of toast with plenty of raw jam made of
equal parts fresh raw berries and unheated honey. (Berries, especially
raspberries, eaten with the Nut Formula made without egg, or eaten with
unheated honey and toast supplies minerals that relax the body, and do
not cause detoxification as berries do when eaten with egg or coconut
cream.) -aajonus, we want to live