Help with insomnia issue

[wildflower]

I have experienced three nights of insomnia during my 60 days of raw with 'caffeine like' feelings -elevated heart rate and inability to sleep. (I was extremely sensitive to caffeine during my SAD days). On the insomnia days I had only whole, raw veggies, nothing unusual except a LARABAR (cashews/dates); 2nd day a handful of cashews; and on the 3rd day 5 Brazil nuts.

Do you think it was something on the nuts? Has anyone had similiar experiences? I gave away the Brazil nuts because I had never purchased from that particular store and they did not say 'raw', although packaged by the store. The cashews are labeled raw and but not sure whether they are organic.

Could it be from the nuts or something I am lacking? I do tend to have low blood pressure but the insomnia feels exactly like 'caffeine induced insomnia'.

I am really puzzled. Do you have any thoughts? Thanks.

[Coconutcutie]

I had this same type of insomnia while I was going through some major detox/cleansing periods. I would go to bed at 11PM, wake up wired at 3AM, and finally pass out again at 7AM, just in time to wake up with my kids. It was awful. I hope it passes for you quickly. My inclination is that you are detoxing...

[steveoregon]

Cant explain it but . . . .

If you are acclimated to green juice, I've found Romain lettuce juice to be as good as any sleeping pill.

Juicing two bags of prewashed Romain lettuce (that's about 16 ounces) will make you drowsy within 45 minutes. It's never failed to put me to sleep when I'm hyped up about something. Juicing even one bag will help - if your not used to that much green juice.

Davis Wolfe mentioned somewhere in one of his books that Romain lettuce has some kind of natural chemicals that calm you. I can personally verify that.

.

[HolyGuacamole]

Cant explain it but . . . .

If you are acclimated to green juice, I've found Romain lettuce juice to be as good as any sleeping pill.

Juicing two bags of prewashed Romain lettuce (that's about 16 ounces) will make you drowsy within 45 minutes. It's never failed to put me to sleep when I'm hyped up about something. Juicing even one bag will help - if your not used to that much green juice.

Davis Wolfe mentioned somewhere in one of his books that Romain lettuce has some kind of natural chemicals that calm you. I can personally verify that.

.

You know, I struggle with insomnia, too. I think I will try your lettuce juice idea.

Reading your post reminded me that in The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies, Beatrix Potter writes, "It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is 'soporific.'"
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a214/ginahardy/image004.jpg


...and here, too:
"Because lettuces are owned by the moon, they cool and moisten what heat and dryness Mars causeth. The juice of the lettuce mixed or boiled with oil of roses and applied to the forehead and temples, procureth sleep, and easeth the Headache proceeding of an hot cause."
--Nicholas Culpeper in The Complete Herbal (1653)

Cool!

[Veganforlife]

Well, you can either fret over it, try to overcome it, or go with it. I go with it. Nights I can't sleep, I get up and do stuff. I feel your body is adjusting/detoxing/transforming, whatever label you want to put on it.

[Zaphirah]

my guess is detox. When I detoxed from Ambien I was awake for 37 hours or something like that. I downloaded a yoga nidra mp3 and it works INCREDIBLY well. I even had my 10 yo listen to it when he couldn't fall asleep the night before school started. He was completely asleep in 5 min!!!

[HolyGuacamole]

Romain lettuce has some kind of natural chemicals that calm you. I can personally verify that.

Veering somewhat off topic, but I was having some pretty hardcore anxiety this morning. I juiced a head of romaine and drank it down, and it definitely helped.

Thanks for turning me on to that, Steve!

[tanishamarshall]

This happened to me just last night I woke at 2:50am. Next time I plan to clean my house, keep busy.

[Raine]

This happened to me just last night I woke at 2:50am. Next time I plan to clean my house, keep busy.

When I water or juice fast, it's not unusual for me to get some days where my energy is off the charts. Since I'm big into feng shui and keeping things decluttered my last water fast was insane.

.

[jacsam]

I wonder about if your body is trying to get rid of years of caffiene. When the body is healthy enough it will start to deep clean and send all that old stuff back through the bloodstream and out of the body. Hope it ends soon for you.

[rawstrength]

I agree with all of the above. Lettuce juice really helps. Always keep a mason jar of lettuce juice in the fridge, in case you wake up in the middle of the night and can't get back to sleep.
I also agree that it is related to detox.

[Zaphirah]

This is exciting stuff. One of my twins has always has a difficult time sleeping. He sleeps for a couple of hours, then roams the house and eats for an hour or two then eventually falls back to sleep a couple hours before he has to get up for school. I'm going to try this lettuce trick before he goes to bed tonight and have some made up for him in case he wakes at midnight, as usual.

[Emma-Liza]

I am always wakeful if I have eaten very lightly during the day. With raw, I eat lightly often, just out of preference and because I get less hungry. It also happens if I've had alcohol (not since I went raw!), when I travel, or if I'm really busy. I'm sure it's a form of stress, just not sure how to prevent it.

I have the same kind of insomnia several of you describe--go to sleep fairly easily, wake up at 3 or 4 and fall back asleep less than an hour before I have to wake up for good. It's really debilitating, but fretting about it makes it worse. I get up and read or do something quiet. After a day or three, it stops and doesn't come back for awhile.

Besides all the things one can take, I find it imperative not to go to bed before 10:00. 11:30 pm all the way up to 1:00 am are good bedtimes for me NOT to wake up partway through. After 1:00, it's almost a guarantee I won't have insomnia, but it's not enough sleep.

Last advice, I have a whole list of topics I'm "not allowed" to think about at 4:00 am--retirement, death (mine or anyone else's), my weight, conversations I had during the day where I might have said something different, money, old boyfriends, unfinished projects,

[tanishamarshall]

When I water or juice fast, it's not unusual for me to get some days where my energy is off the charts. Since I'm big into feng shui and keeping things decluttered my last water fast was insane.

.


I seem to be having some really good steady energy since making more changes in my diet. I can imagine how fasting would cause some energy spirts(sp??), because when I don't eat breakfast(Mini fast) I feel more intuned and more energy and clarity.

[Inca_faerie]

You could try taking some valerian root till the raw "buzz" wears off. It's a natural calmer/relaxant. you can get it at pretty much any health food store, even some drug stores that have natural products carry it. Sleep well soon.:)

[souldanzer]

Romaine/lettuce eaten in "juicing quantities" contains a lot of tryptophan as well as omega 3 fatty acids.
Tryptophan is used in the brain to make serotonin, which is a calming "feel-good" neurotransmitter. Serotonin is then broken down into melatonin, a sleep chemical in the brain.
The omega 3 fatty acids assist in this chemical pathway.

--> lettuce = nature's sleeping pill :)

Souldanzer:o

[steveoregon]

The quote from David Wolfe was in his book "Eating For Beauty", p 139:


The old raw food "cure" for insomnia is fresh lettuce juice. Lettuce contains soporific compounds and opiates that in the concentration of a juice have a calming sedative effect.

[bsqmurphy]

Tryptophan is one of the essential amino acids & leads to serotonin product in the brain, which makes us feel good, relaxed. Crimini mushrooms, bananas, kelp, cucumber, celery, romain lettuce, and any dark leafy greens are all good RAW vegan sources of tryptphan.

Hope it helps,
Bri.

PS Tryptophan is the same amino acid in turkey responsible for so much of the drowzy feeling after the traditional SAD thankgsiving dinner (along with the overeating of SAD of course), and in milk - why warm milk (breastmilk or otherwise) helps babies/children sleep.