DISCLAIMER: I’m not a medical doctor nor any other form of officially labeled health practitioner. What you try to help yourself is as anything else in your life based on your own choice and you therefore you are fully responsible for any issues which might arise from your own choices. I will not take any responsibility for you not knowing the limits of your own body. Please be aware that this is a blog post and not a medical journal.
DISCLAIMER ABOUT THE DISCLAIMER: I’m an engineer and the only thing I’m interested in are things that work. Therefore I have abadoned the scholastic medical system for most of my issues as they rarely found a solution and only suggested threatments for eternity or until my current body dies(so my trust in the medical threatment system is fairly low). The only reason above disclaimer is placed here is because we currently live in a society where we have a small amount of people who like to not take responsibility for their life choices and rather bring people to the court because they were not informed that they have to double check the information they have consumed from a blog post. Anyway, lets get to the article.
Do you know that issue that you are working on an important design, development or other project that you want to finish soon, and you started to have issues with sleeping?
I had issues with sleeping since I was 14 years old, from not sleeping at all, sleeping only 2-3 hours/night for years to waking up in the middle of the night with severe pains over my body and cannot fall asleep again.
From all that I learned some major things:
- Sleeping not enough can cause a lot of additional issues.
- Sleeping issues can have a whole lot of different causes.
- The average doctor will not help you except for prescribing drugs(that have unwanted “side”-effects and can cause other problems)
Here is a list of things I started to make for myself, that can as well help you finding solutions to sleep better. As I’m an engineer, I suggest you do some trial and error and keep what is working for your system configuration(body, mind, soul) and throw away what is not working for you, it’s up to you if you want to discuss it with your doctor first. For any health related issues, I made the experience that changing the diet has the best effects on health in general. From an engineering perspective, it’s what kind of fuel your are using for your body. If you put saltwater into your car instead of petrol, you might end up with a machine that is not running. For my system, fasting and ketogenic diet have a really good impact on my well being.
I will also link some references to youtube videos in the list, where you can get more details. Mainly I will link explanations from Dr. Berg, as he is one of the best health engineers I know, he explains the stuff easy and his advices normally caused a positive impact in my case.
Supplements
Following are the supplements I take to improve my sleep. Seems like a lot, but it’s not that much when you consider that our food is containing much less nutrients compared to some decades ago.
- Dr Berg Sleep Aid (or Good Night Formula):
https://shop.drberg.com/products/sleep-aid-regular-formula-90-capsules?srsltid=AfmBOooWLMNL1KENTOjhWswIiV4Zu5O8AqNLReMr6V1IKjtSSMVFveiY - Vitamin B1 4 x 250mg during the day (1000mg/day):
https://www.gandgvitamins.com/vitamin-b1-thiamine-250mg.html - Vitamin D3 & K2 (20’000 IU/day):
Dr. Berg: https://shop.drberg.com/products/d3-k2-vitamin
iHerb: https://uk.iherb.com/pr/california-gold-nutrition-vitamin-d3-k2-as-mk-7-180-veggie-capsules/124745 - Cal-Mag, In the evening with Chamomile tea: https://www.gandgvitamins.com/cal-m-500g.html
- Dr. Berg Electrolytes: https://shop.drberg.com/collections/electrolyte-bundles
List of Factors
| Key | Short Description | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep on Right Side | Sleep on your right side. Reason: The liver will not lie over the heart and not compress it. | Dr. Berg(1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3rGIIFdAVA |
| Slow Breathing | Helps calm down the body, reduces stress and nervousness. | Dr. Berg(1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3rGIIFdAVA |
| Bed by 22:30 | Go to Bed before 22:30. The body has hormonal cycles, if you miss the right time to go to bed you might end up taking much longer to fall asleep. | Dr. Berg(1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3rGIIFdAVA |
| Low Potassium | If you have a lot of stress or eat a lot of sugary foods, you might be low in potassium. You might your pulse in your ear when you lie on your pillow with your ear. Solution: Eat more salad and veggies, eat less sugar, take potassium supplements. | Dr. Berg(1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3rGIIFdAVA |
| Massage Tool | Dr. Berg promotes his massage tool in his video. Solution: I have used the tool and it works for me quite well. (I do not get sponsored) | Dr. Berg(1): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V3rGIIFdAVA |
| More Darkness | A bright environment will suggest to your body that it is still daytime. Having a darker environment will caus that your body will produce melatonin/serotonin, hormones that are important for good sleep. Light from displays like TVs, computer screens phones are as well keeping your body in daytime mode. Solution: What I do is to stop looking at all those screens(phone, TV etc..) 1 hour before bed, also I reduce the light in the room. If I sleep where I cannot shut off the light or it gets bright early before I stand up I use a sleeping mask. | Dr. Berg(2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX5Zdlm_2OI |
| Reduce News | Most news are negative. Consuming news in the evening might get you agitated to a certain degree and give you some extra boost that will not help with sleep. Solution: Stop reading news or read them in the morning, if you get agitated you at least get an extra boost for when you are wake. 😀 | Dr. Berg(2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX5Zdlm_2OI |
| Can’t calm down the mind | Your adrenal glands might be overactive. Solution: There is a remedy in the video with supplements which I have tried too and it worked for me. Also intermittentend fasting, ketogenic diet, being in nature and slow breathing and helps in my case with this problem. | Dr. Berg(2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX5Zdlm_2OI |
| Excess Energy | You have too much energy because your body produces more than you are using. Most probably you did or still do a lot of sports in your life (increases mitochondria activity). Solution: Do some sport every day to use up your energy. For me it works when I go outside(not to late) and do some sprints. | Dr. Berg(2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX5Zdlm_2OI |
| Body Not Challenged during day | (Personal Experience, Not a Fact) One thing I see about my body is when I do not challenge it at least a bit once a day, the flows(breathing, blood etc…) seem to be kinda stuck, having a negative effect on sleep. Solution: Use your body a bit every day.(See details to the right) | More Details: By challenging the body I speak of get it a little bit breathing. What I do for that is to go outside and run a little bit until I start breathing a bit faster. Other people that can’t run might just go up and down the stairs, or do other exercises. The target is to get the blood flowing and the body asking for a bit more air to get that engine started. The target is not to do a whole workout. |
| Digestion Issues | Digestion issues can prevent you from sleeping. Solution: In the video Dr. Berg suggests not overeating, especially not eating to much protein. Add apple cidar vinegar to your diet. | Dr. Berg(2): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EX5Zdlm_2OI |
| Too much Caffeine | If you consume too much caffeine(coffee, tea, chocolate) it might lead to bad sleep(increasing the need for more coffee in the morning, right? 😉 ). Solution: Reduce caffeine consumption. | Dr. Berg(3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Overtraining | Overtraining can cause bad sleep. Solution: Go light on your workouts. (Good sleep will also cause better regeneration, muscle growth etc…) | Dr. Berg(3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Go for a walk | Can help reduce stress and you get a lot of oxygen. Especially when you work on the computer all day. | Dr. Berg(3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Too much acid | If you consume to much acid(e.g. vinegar) your body might get to acidic and your pulse rate increases. Solution: Reduce acid consumption. | Dr. Berg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Too much refined Carbs | Eating too much refined carbohydrates(pasta, bread, sugar etc…) can cause low potassium levels. Solution: Reduce those refined carbs, increase potassium. | Dr. Berg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Carbs in the Morning | Eating a lot of carbohydrates in the morning can cause you craving for carbs in the evening, which then can lead to bad sleep. Solution: Don’t eat too much carbs in the morning. | Dr. Berg: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Potassium and Magnesium | Potassium and Magnesium are the two key minerals for sleeping. Solution: Consume enough of them (found in leafy greens, salad) | Dr. Berg(3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Too much Phosphorus | Phosphorus is an accelerator for the nervous system. Foods rich in protein contain phosphorus(meat, fish, eggs…), so eating too much protein can be the cause for not sleeping. Sodas like cola are often high in phosphorus too. Solution: Do not overeat protein. | Dr. Berg(3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Too much fat | Consuming too much fat in the evening might irritate the gallbladder and lead to bad sleep: Solution: Do not eat too much fat in the evening, eat more of the fatty foods earlier in the day. | Dr. Berg(3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Electromagnetic Fields | Electromagnetic fields put out certain frequencies that might interfere with your sleep. Solution: Move away electronic devices from your bed. Turn the devices off. | Dr. Berg(3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Excessive Thinking | Excessively thinking prevents you from sleeping. Solution: Vitamin B1 (nutritional yeast) can help you. | Dr. Berg(3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Too much Vitamin B1 | (Not a Fact, but Personal Experience) Taking too much Vitamin B1 supplements may cause effects of Vitamin B1 deficiency. Potential Solutions: Take natural Vitamin B1 supplements (e.g. nutritional yeast). Add B-Complex | More Details: As far as I understand this, the body uses up other minerals and vitamins to be able to get the benefits from B1. Taking too much B1 might deplete other nutrients and stop the body from being able to use Vitamin B1. Whenever I ran into this problem, taking B-Complex supplements handled the situation. |
| Not Feeling Rested after Sleep Not Enough Deep Sleep | If you do not feel rested in the morning, you probably have low levels of Vitamin D. Solutions: Expose your skin more often to the sun / Take Vitamin D3&K2 supplements (Video suggests 20’000 IU) | Dr. Berg(13): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWl9vsVm3dw |
| Restless Leg Syndrome | If you feel an urge to move your legs it could be that you have a Vitamin D or Vitamin B1 Deficiency. Solutions: Go more into the sun / Take Vitamin D3&K2 supplements (see video) | Dr. Berg(13): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JWl9vsVm3dw |
| Muscle Cramps | You can’t sleep or wake up because of muscle cramps. Caused by either low levels of potassium, magnesium and sometimes salt. Solution: Eat more leafy greens/salads, pickle juice, | Dr. Berg(3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Bloating | Bloating can prevent you from getting a good night rest. Can be caused by not being able to digest certain foods. Solution: See video | Dr. Berg(3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Waking up at 02:00 AM | Can be aused by overactive adrenal glands. Solution: Learn more about adrenal glands(e.g. here), Vitamine B1. | Dr. Berg(3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Bathroom is calling at night | If you wake up because your bladder wants to get rid of some fluids, you might have insuline resistance, enlarged prostate or menopause. Solution Insuline Resistance: Intermittent Fasting and Keto Solution Enlarged Prostate: Avoid dairy products.(milk, butter, cream, cheese…) Solution Menopause: Pueraria Mirifica | Dr. Berg(3): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eu1ldCIdLF0 |
| Right-sided Shoulder Pain | You can’t sleep because of right sided soulder/neck pain. Most probably caused by a gallbladder issue. Solution: Acupressure, see linked video | Dr Berg(4): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8t74XMziP8 |
| Drinking to much Water | I drank for around 8 years between 4-5 liters of water a day, as I was always thirsty. In my case this was caused by eating to much carbohydrates. Drinking too much water causes that electrolytes will be flushed out of your body, what can cause sleeping issues. Solutions: Reduce the amount of water you drink. Reducing carbs can help reducing thirst, increasing fat in diet can help keeping the body hydrated. | Dr Berg(5): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ae4wZ79GzGU |
| Hard to get out of bed | Can be caused by tight psoas muscles Solution: Stretch the psoas muscles. | Dr Berg(6): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsCVJ0xTH1c |
| Do not Train too exhaustive in the evening/night | Training in the late evening or night might cause bad sleep. | Andy Galpin (~53:20): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ78Hpwrt80 |
| Decrease CO2 in Bedroom | Sleeping with closed doors or closed windows might make you sleep less efficient if you are sensitive to CO2. Room size and number of people breathing out matter too. Solutions: Keep bedroom door slightly open. Sleep with open window. Sleep in bigger room. Airing out your flat before going to bed. | Andy Galpin (~1:05:00): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ78Hpwrt80 |
| Keep noise below 35 Decibel | Noise can affect your sleep negatively, this includes “white noise” too. Solutions: Reduce noise in your sleeping environment. Also what I do is to use “silicone ear plugs”. This can also help when you wake early because the bird start chirping and such. | Andy Galpin (~1:09:00): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQ78Hpwrt80 |
| Increase Tryptophan | Tryptophan is something that the body needs to be able to naturally create sleep. Solutions: (See video of Dr. Berg!)Make sure your gut health is good, probiotic bacterias create tryptophan during digestion. There are also supplements. | Dr Berg(7): https://www.drberg.com/blog/tryptophan-is-better-than-melatonin-for-sleep |
| Reduce Tannins (Some Teas) | Certain teas contain tannins, these reduce your Vitamin B1 levels which might make it harder to sleep. Solutions: Watch the video to learn the teas that contain tannins. Replace with teas that are good for sleep. | Dr Berg(8): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrEs0ZKper0&ab_channel=Dr.EricBergDC |
| Drink Tea for Sleep | Certain Teas are good for sleep. Some teas, like Rooibos, help you stay calm/reduce stress and should be consumed in the morning or during the day. Other teas like Chamomile should be consumed in the evening as they can make you rather tired. Solution: You can check if drinking certain Teas might help you fall asleep. | Dr Berg(9): https://www.drberg.com/blog/does-herbal-tea-break-fast Dr Berg (10): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTiUM0AXge8&ab_channel=Dr.EricBergDC |
| Too Much Magnesium | Having to much magnesium might increase your sleeping problems. Watch video to get more details. | Dr Berg (11): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHd3ODiJxyQ&ab_channel=Dr.EricBergDC |
| Stretching | Stiffness and Tensions in your body(you might not feel them) can have a very negative effect on your sleep. Solution: Do stretching in the evening, see Youtube videos for ideas. | Youtube Search Results: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=stretching+and+sleep |
| Nose Breathing | Breathing through your nose instead of the mouth throughout the day, when exercising and sleeping can have positive effects on your sleep and other health benefits. Solution: Get into the habit of breathing through your nose. | Dr. Berg (12): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQz5u71G3js |