So many improvements, but still cold and sleepless

[Satan]

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I'm a 20 year old dude who has been interested in health for a little over a year. It was hair loss that got me started, where I went paleo and said goodbye to sugar and happiness and began to spend more money than I had on supplements. Eventually I realized there was a lot more wrong than just hair falling out, and after suspecting many things that don't actually exist, I've come to the conclusion of good ol' hypothyroid or general adaptation syndrome.

My diet is mostly orange juice, white sugar, salt, cocoa powder, refined coconut oil, a few eggs, liver, a small portion of ground beef for protein, and gelatin. I was drinking milk for a while until it gave me bad diarrhea one day, so I use eggshell calcium. I tried coffee just yesterday with breakfast and lots of sugar but left me feeling pretty bad all day. I was taking dessicated thyroid for a while but the small positive effect stopped after a few weeks.

I pretty much reversed male pattern baldness months ago, but what gets me is that the hair around all the "donor regions" of my head is completely ravaged. Typical dark eye circles you would expect here, and my eye whites could definitely be less veiny. My extremities are always cold, no matter how much sugar and salt I pound down.

I've been a problem sleeper for years, and some nights it can take up to 5 hours to fall asleep. When I do finally get to sleep, chances are I'll wake up 3 hours later. I'll eat something but I usually just end up laying there until I decide it's time to get up. Prior to bed I have sugar, salt, coconut oil and gelatin.

Regardless of these lingering issues, what has Peat eating done for me? I have MUCH more energy. I almost never get mentally stressed or annoyed over anything and can keep my personality and humor regardless. I'm actually happy to go to work. I once again feel the motivation to exercise creativity and DO things. When I do mindless tasks, I always sing; but on previous diets I got winded from it very fast, now I can belt out at the top of my lungs for hours while doing physical labor. Libido has skyrocketed and it actually takes willpower for me to not "take care of it". I'm just happier in general.

The only remaining problems are what I listed. I have a great tolerance to cold weather but my hands/feet are always cold to the touch. When I try to go to sleep, I just lay there feeling very calm and relaxed but my mind seems over active and all I want to do is think about space ships, movie ideas, how cool I am, etc. Just goofy things. I have been recalling dreams though. I seriously forgot that we we're supposed to dream in our sleep.

What have you guys done that fixed these problems? If I can get them sorted out I am completely set.

P.S. - Here's some faces. Everyone loves faces. :2cents

 

[j.]

Welcome. Out of curiosity, how long have you been avoiding PUFAs?

 

[Dorito Loyalist]

Nice name.

 

[cbar09]

I recommend experimenting with a daily raw carrot salad. It can improve intestinal health which I find is tied to a lot problems like dark circles, sleep, etc.

How is your Vitamin D/sunlight exposure? I've found getting adequate bright light (and conversely avoiding blue-light from computers/electronics) helps me to get to sleep.

I've also had several years of MPB and it does get better if you stick with it. Good luck!

 

[Satan]

I've avoided PUFAs for a while. Back in May/June I did a short run on Peat followed by that awful 80 10 10 thing. Although after that I tried GAPS and chicken broth was my staple. That diet stopped when I didn't poop for almost two weeks. I forgot to mention I do the raw carrot regularly. I grate it and squeeze it out in a potato ricer to remove as much of the carotene as possible. Also supplementing vitamin D.

I do spend a lot of time in front of a computer which might have some significance. Now that I think about it, the last time I got a really good sleep was New Years Eve. Didn't drink, just spent time with family for a few hours instead of sitting in front of the computer before bed.

 

[jyb]

I share some of your problems, I'm 26 and started Peating six months ago.

What are you temperatures? If you have done the diet all right for months and things lag, then you might want to do more thyroid diagnostics with temperature and pulse, and then decide whether you need thyroid supplements to help recovery. Pregnelonone too.

Other things to try before these supplements would be high amounts of gelatin during the day and near sleep time, and ensure you get enough protein (100g). RP relates these issues to insomnia. RP suggests hypothyroidism can be cause of insomnia, so fixing your thyroid should be the direction.

 

[John Eels]

Try to wear blue light blocking glasses in the evening: http://www.amazon.com/Uvex-S1933X-Eyewe ... +gogglespc . They help stabilize the circadian rhythm if worn regularly. Ideally you put them on at the same time each evening a few hours before you want to go to bed. The glasses help mitigate the effects of blue light emanated by computer screens, desk lamps etc. If you think the glasses are too cumbersome you may consider the software f.lux (http://stereopsis.com/flux). When the sun sets the program turns the screen yellowish.

I agree with cbar09. Gut health is central. I realize that myself. If my gut is clean and happy I am too. The daily raw carrot is helpful. Maybe an antibiotic (penicillin) might help you. Right now, I am excluding lactose and fructose from my diet b/c I get digestive issues with those sugars. I focus on glucose instead.

I have seen Cliff suggest to someone over at Peatarian.com an anti-histamine drug. It's called Benadryl (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benadryl). Peat has supposedly recommended it to people. I haven't tried it.

 

[Satan]

Does that f.lux program actually make your monitor produce less blue light? I just installed it. Seems nice. I definitely notice a huge difference when I turn it off.

 

[John Eels]

Here's a review of the software that goes a little bit behind the science of it: http://appaholic.co.uk/2009/08/03/flux-helping-you-sleep-better-with-the-power-of-light/. Maybe some blue light is necessary but much less is used than otherwise. The screen turns warmer. Warmer light is less of a sleep disruptor. I don't know if that means that no blue light is used. I highly recommend the blue blocking glasses that I linked to above.

 

[charlie]

Satan, welcome to the forum!

+1 on the glasses. They really help.

For shutting down the mind, look into meditation, mindfullness. That will help.

I notice when my metabolism is working good its easier to fall asleep. If your hands and feet are cold I think its safe to assume that your metabolism is not up to par.

 

[Satan]

I'm gonna post an update here. Last night I was finally able to get a good night's sleep. It (only) took me an hour to fall asleep and I woke up about 6 hours later around 4am. I remembered several dreams pretty clearly and didn't feel so wired like usual. I did wake up too early though, but just having a couple tablespoons of sugar was able to get me back in a deep sleep for another 4 hours. I think you know you'll be able to sleep well when you don't have to "get comfortable", because any position is already good.

I don't know whether to credit this towards turning the computer off ~2 hours before bed (along with using that f.lux prior), or the fact that I feel like I got enough protein yesterday. I had my usual eggs, 4oz ground beef, lots of gelatin; but it also happened to be liver day so that gave me a boost.

 

[John Eels]

The fire on your hand and hair kept you up, Satan. Archangel Gabriel visited you in the night and turned you into a lamb. Congratulations on your success.

 

[jyb]

On the note of lighting before bed: my understanding is that blue light does interfere with your circadian rhythm by interacting with melatonin, contrary to infrared. Actually, lighting the face with a powerful IR lamp seems to help sleep in my experience.

 

[Ray-Z]

Welcome, Prince of Darkness.

My :2cents about getting quality sleep...

(1) Your pre-sleep snack sounds excellent. It may be helpful to experiment with the amounts, if you haven't already.

(2) I find aspirin helpful for reducing stress hormones at night.

(3) If you have problems breathing at night, an anti-histamine before bed can be valuable. Independent of its other benefits, benadryl knocks a lot of people out, including me.

(4) The suggestions above about getting enough light are important. The UV-blocking sunglasses are helpful, too.

(5) It's useful for your mind to associate your bed with sleep (and perhaps a certain delightful team sport). If you are not sleeping, falling asleep, or participating in said team sport, it may be helpful for you to get out of bed rather than tossing and turning and feeling frustrated (a great source of stress!). For example, if you never sleep more than, say, 6 hours, then forcing yourself to spend 8 hours in bed is probably not a great idea.

(6) Ray Peat has recently emphasized the adverse effects of electromagnetic fields from common household electronics. Might want to consider moving that stuff out of the bedroom, or at least making sure it's all turned off at bedtime.

As for the cold hands and feet...I'd experiment with reducing fluid (especially water) and increasing salt.

 

[John Eels]

I wake up in the middle of the night, wet from sweat, and then I notice discomfort around my belly bottom. Sometimes I am agitated. What can I make of that?

 

[jyb]

I wake up in the middle of the night, wet from sweat, and then I notice discomfort around my belly bottom. Sometimes I am agitated. What can I make of that?

Sleep not very deep, you wake up hungry.

I've had cool result with light before bedtime lately, with reduced sleep onset and no hunger wake up. I do a 250W infrared on head and torso for 30-60 minutes.

 

[Dean]

On the note of lighting before bed: my understanding is that blue light does interfere with your circadian rhythm by interacting with melatonin, contrary to infrared. Actually, lighting the face with a powerful IR lamp seems to help sleep in my experience.

About 3 winters ago, I experimented with light therapy for winter sleep and depression issues. It didn't have any noticeable impact on mood as far as I could tell but exasperated my sleep troubles even when only using in the morning. Just starting to read the discussions here about red light caused me to look for and find the light I'd bought and used back then and the box promotes its negative ions and blue light.

The experience turned me off light therapy. I'll have to read more about the red light and Peat recommendations as the discussion I've read so far has me a little confused. Anyway, just thought I'd chime in to confirm that blue light does seem to interfere with circadian rhythms and, at least in my experience, it wasn't a positive development.

 

[jaketthomas]

I'm gonna post an update here. Last night I was finally able to get a good night's sleep. It (only) took me an hour to fall asleep and I woke up about 6 hours later around 4am. I remembered several dreams pretty clearly and didn't feel so wired like usual. I did wake up too early though, but just having a couple tablespoons of sugar was able to get me back in a deep sleep for another 4 hours. I think you know you'll be able to sleep well when you don't have to "get comfortable", because any position is already good..

Satan,

If you could make a list of the symptoms you're currently experiencing, that would help. I have training in Ayurvedic Medicine, TCM (Chinese Medicine), as well as 2 certifications in Western Nutrition. Waking up at 4 AM is a classic Liver Qi Deficiency/Liver Qi Stagnation symptom. I want to see if the rest of your issues are in line with those imbalances.

 

[Satan]

Satan,

If you could make a list of the symptoms you're currently experiencing, that would help. I have training in Ayurvedic Medicine, TCM (Chinese Medicine), as well as 2 certifications in Western Nutrition. Waking up at 4 AM is a classic Liver Qi Deficiency/Liver Qi Stagnation symptom. I want to see if the rest of your issues are in line with those imbalances.

As of late, I feel as though I've been improving. Still not there 100% but I'm getting a better idea of what affects what. If you list some symptoms associated with that, I'll tell you if my own align. I think that'd be more simple than trying to think of everything wrong with me.

 

[jyb]

Satan,

If you could make a list of the symptoms you're currently experiencing, that would help. I have training in Ayurvedic Medicine, TCM (Chinese Medicine), as well as 2 certifications in Western Nutrition. Waking up at 4 AM is a classic Liver Qi Deficiency/Liver Qi Stagnation symptom. I want to see if the rest of your issues are in line with those imbalances.

As of late, I feel as though I've been improving. Still not there 100% but I'm getting a better idea of what affects what. If you list some symptoms associated with that, I'll tell you if my own align. I think that'd be more simple than trying to think of everything wrong with me.

A few things improved my insomnia like red light and gelatin before bed, but it didn't seem to be enough to overcome severe insomnia and I can wake up hungry in the middle of the night. When that happens, I realize that I'm not really sleeping deeply before the wake up. In fact, those nights when it happens its more like a torpor. If I do fall asleep deeply, I never wake up that way. If I do wake up, I won't feel as tensed and will fall back asleep.

Since I've been taking progesterone (I'm a male but pregnelonone didn't fix the insomnia so I tried it at random), this never happened. I'm still experimenting to see if its due to that or other variables, but its quite striking.