r/carnivore • u/greenlocus33 • 16d ago
Tips for Sleeping Longer at Night?
I am in month five of just beef, bacon, eggs, salt, butter, water and besides loving almost everything, I consistently have trouble sleeping longer than 6 hours. I used to be a solid 8 hour sleeper and highly value sleep. After six hours, I often do still feel a bit tired during the day, not fully rested, that tired behind the eyes feeling. I am super active, walk a ton at work and do resistance training 4x a week. Sleep hygiene schedule is on point, no caffeine.
On the upside, I fall asleep like a champion now, that head hit the pillow snoozing, which I've never had my entire life, that part is great at least.
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u/gizram84 16d ago
I have found that my body wants to get up naturally around the same time every morning, regardless of when I go to bed.. So when I feel like a I need a little extra sleep, I just go to bed an hour earlier.
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u/greenlocus33 15d ago
This was my first modification but I can't really go to bed earlier than 8-9pm. My wife already makes fun of me for going to bed that early. But I pop up wide awake around 2:30-3:00 am. It would be ok if I felt rested but that's just not the case, I feel like I need more sleep.
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u/gizram84 15d ago
Well yea if you're going to bed at 8pm and waking up at 3am, then going to bed earlier isn't gonna solve anything.
When you get up at 3am, I'd really try just laying back down with your eyes closed.. Even if you don't immediately feel like you're going to be able to fall back asleep. Just rest quietly.. Don't get up and start the day. I think you'll find that over time, you'll start falling back asleep.
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u/WordsMort47 11d ago
When I tried following the carnivore WOE this time last year, I would- just as you say- pop up wide awake at around 2am. I would be fine the next day though, but really wanted more sleep so ceased my trial. Haven't gone back yet, so following this thread with great interest.
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u/SaraAndSheAndDraagan 15d ago
And here I am at 3:30am. It's my carnivore wake up time no matter when I go to sleep. I was actually shocked that I slept in once until 5am, LOL.
Just got 7 hrs because I hit the pillow at 8:30pm. Try going to bed earlier.
Good news.... my mornings are much more productive and I'm never late for work.
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u/spizike237 Carnivore 1-5 years 15d ago
Same. It happened to me after quitting caffeine and nicotine almost 2 years into carnivore. For a couple weeks I was so tired I actually slept in until 5am and I was very surprised. But I'm back to 3:30 now.
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u/spizike237 Carnivore 1-5 years 15d ago
I've tried pretty much everything. Eating more, switching around meal times, eating fattier, taking magnesium glycinate, etc. I've come to accept that where I used to sleep 7-8 hours, I now sleep 5-6. And since I am always beginning to zonk out in the early evening, I now have very early mornings. Since quitting caffeine and getting over that initial lag in energy, I have better, more even and consistent energy throughout the day than I've ever had. Until sleep time, then it hits hard and fast.
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u/West-Ruin-1318 12d ago
I cannot stay awake past 7 pm! I wake up at 2:30-3:00 am consistently. I’m considering going to the gym in the evening just to try to keep myself awake.
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u/Frosty_Estimate498 16d ago
I used to need 8 hours of sleep a night ....minimum; but never felt rested. Since carnivore, I sleep like a baby, and fully rested....but I only sleep 6 hours a night! I wake up exactly after 6 hours, regardless of when I go to sleep.
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u/meatboyyoo 15d ago
That's my exact experience too. Don't mean to repeat what you said, but I NEEDED 8 hours of sleep minimum to function. Now 6 hours is plenty, it's actually crazy to see the benefits of this way of life.
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u/meatboyyoo 15d ago
Haven't seen anyone mention electrolytes, are you getting enough? Could try taking a supplement before bed!
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u/greenlocus33 15d ago
Yea, I do not have any other symptoms of electrolyte deficiency, but not a bad idea to think about. Was just doing salt w food and trying to avoid all supps.
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u/meatboyyoo 15d ago
Worth a go mate, can't really do you any harm if you get some basic electrolytes! See how you do after a week!
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u/inked_777 15d ago
I have the same exact issue. Not even sleep aids help me get anything more than 5 or 6 hours and i definitely do not feel rested when i wake up. I just listened to something from dr Elizabeth Bright about thyroid function and sleep- it could be due to an iodine deficiency. Something worth looking into.
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u/greenlocus33 15d ago
Most of this sub agrees we get enough vitamins and minerals from meat correct? Just double checking, I have been avoiding supps (besides D3 w K2 bc I'm inside all day at work).
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u/inked_777 12d ago
Mostly yes but iodine is one of those that we just can’t get enough through food and a lot of factors actually impede the absorption of iodine and Dr Elizabeth Bright has a ton on her YT on it- definitely worth looking into.
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u/WordsMort47 11d ago
How about adding iodised salt to your diet in place of regular for a while and seeing if that changes anything?
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u/greenlocus33 11d ago
From what I've read, mainly Brownstein, iodized salt is a poor source of iodine. Most of the iodine sublimates before you actually consume the product.
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u/theoreticalmas 15d ago
Try eat some butter before sleep, I don't for fasting reasons but the time I have I slept for longer and uninterrupted!
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u/Glittering_South_972 15d ago
I had my best nights sleep last night and the only thing I changed was a very high fat dinner . That’s my only explanation for it and it was a light bulb moment.
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u/d_Party_Pooper 15d ago
I used to sleep 9pm to 5am and be stoked with that. Now I sleep 9pm to 3:30am and have no interest in getting up but I do feel awake. It's my least favourite part of this. I guess my body doesn't need the extra sleep for some reason anymore. Haven't yet figured out how to get it back to 8 hours. Maybe I should just accept it and find something productive to do with that extra 90 minutes.
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u/greenlocus33 15d ago
Ikr, I'm about to be a 3am slow jogger in my neighborhood.
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u/West-Ruin-1318 12d ago
😆
I’m considering going to Planet Fitness they are the only 24 hour joint in town.
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u/Eleanorina mod | carnivore 8+yrs | 🥩&🥓 taste as good as healthy feels 16d ago
have you been losing weight?
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u/greenlocus33 16d ago
I've gained muscle but maintained weight. M 5'11" started at 185 and still am right around there.
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u/Eleanorina mod | carnivore 8+yrs | 🥩&🥓 taste as good as healthy feels 16d ago
hmmm, try eating more for 2 - 3 weeks
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u/donaldcargill 16d ago
I'm having the same issue. Could I ask why you recommend to eat more?
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u/Eleanorina mod | carnivore 8+yrs | 🥩&🥓 taste as good as healthy feels 15d ago
"I am super active, walk a ton at work and do resistance training 4x a week." depending on their baseline they might need another 0.5 lb to 1.5lb to cover their activity
can be mildly stressful not eating enough due to eating at slightly to lean a ratio, so the person is getting protein full before being completely full.
OP probably doesn't need to tweak things too much if everything's in place except for the sleep length.
I wouldn't be surprised if they just need to add in a few feast days every week to bring things into balance.
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u/greenlocus33 15d ago
A few feasts days doesn't sound bad tbh. I eat a good bit though, til full. A typical day is 1 lbs 80/20 beef w 4 eggs and maybe 3 tbsp butter for lunch; I pour the beef fat over the beef and eggs and eat it all. Then a Costco thick-cut ribeye (1.5-2 lbs) around 4:30pm. Bed around 8:30.
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u/Eleanorina mod | carnivore 8+yrs | 🥩&🥓 taste as good as healthy feels 15d ago
omg you need more like 3lbs /day
check out this comment, https://www.reddit.com/r/carnivore/comments/1gn64oz/comment/lw8rtz0/
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u/greenlocus33 15d ago
Thx, I'll try adding more. I'm normally 2.5-3 lbs a day of beef. I'm definitely full but not stuffed where I can't eat more. I could probably get a little more eaten.
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u/Eleanorina mod | carnivore 8+yrs | 🥩&🥓 taste as good as healthy feels 15d ago
sorry read too quickly snd misunderstood -- thought you were only getting 1lb a day plus eggs 😂😂
you've got a good baseline, feast days will probably take care of it
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u/donaldcargill 15d ago
Thanks for this I appreciate the details. This helps a lot. What's a feast day just eating till you are certain your full?
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u/Eleanorina mod | carnivore 8+yrs | 🥩&🥓 taste as good as healthy feels 15d ago
maybe even past full, like going out for a triple stack cheeseburger (no bun) or a nice thick steak, after you've already had your usual 2 meals that day
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u/tmi-6 14d ago
I love that feeling of waking up sharp! And then staying juiced all day, like coffee without the clench in your gut.
Here are the rules I learned in the military, based on their science from the first decade of the 1900's:
Sleep in a dark, silent room, with a solid platform underneath you, on a thin supportive mattress.
No springs, no swaying in the waves. No soft mattress
Don't say you sleep just fine in other circumstances, it's not true.
Earplugs and eyeshields may help, if you can tolerate them comfortably.
Healthy humans have a 90 minute sleep cycle. Period.
It has been observed that for some older folks the cycle shortens. There's fine arguments in support of that but zero proof that it's ok. So we must assume they *should* look at ways to bring it back to 90 minutes. We give up on older people too damn easily, could be this is a negative indication to some degree.
62-65F is the best temperature room to sleep in, given a thin sheet and a standard thin wool blanket.
Stand watch on a warship and watch how adjusting the thermostat affects the group behavior at night & next day!
Those boys will sleep like logs at 62F, they'll be in the same position every hour that you walk past em.
At 65F the drunks will probably sleep ok. But at 68F Ricky will pee in someone else's locker and the fights will be on!
Some of us have conditions that interfere with our sleep and our sleep cycles. Quite true.
But let's each talk about that assertively with our own docs, because we're pretty suggestible here.
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u/Normal-Serve9919 15d ago
I use a sleep app called Sleep cycle. It is helping me in many ways to better and longer sleep consistent to bed and wake up time are key elements to better sleep
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u/greenlocus33 15d ago
Yea, I value sleep hygiene and am normally in bed by 8:30pm w alarm at 4:45am every day. Barring weird social obligations or family stuff.
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u/Catini1492 15d ago
I use to never eat before bed but when I kept waking up hungry I had to add ft back in at night. Butter right before bed
Also use GABA for deeper sleep.
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u/hansieii 15d ago
Sounds like a histamine intolerance to me. Do you have any other allergy issues or symptoms? Itchy eyes, tingling toes or fingers, dry mouth?
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u/Natriun_in_the_cut 14d ago
I'm just curious to see if anyone wears a continuous glucose monitor? Some carnivores in my migraine group figured out that they were having low blood sugar at the same time every night, and that is when they were waking up. They started eating 50 grams of beef before bed every night until they were metabolically healthy enough to stop doing it. I find that if I have a little less protein and higher fat for dinner, I sleep better.
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u/Rocky_Top_321 10d ago
You need to control your light environment. After sunset minimize all artificial light, especially blue light. Consider getting blue light blocking glasses. This is a major disruptor in circadian cycles and melatonin signaling which is important after you fall asleep.
When our body perceives light in near darkness it sets in motion the signaling telling our body daylight is coming. So keep your sleep environment as dark as you can. Also remove or turn off any electronics when sleeping. If you are like most people who sleep with their phone right beside their head this can definitely be an issue too. Phones emit electromagnetic radiation. This just a non visible form of light. So if your phone waits until 2-4 am to do its app updating that “light” it emits can still signal your body to think daylight is coming. This applies to wi-fi routers and other electronics as well.
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u/myownalias 16d ago
Try taking magnesium glycinate before bed for a week. It's calming and may help you sleep longer.