Eating before bedtime - what is best to stop nocturnal hypoglycemia

[ecstatichamster]

Sugar before bed creates a low blood sugar situation later on during sleep

does sleep slow digestion?

is ice cream the ideal food before bedtime?

 

[youngsinatra]

I used to get that at night too and religiously ate a snack before bed to prevent it.
But somehow it prevented really regenerative sleep for me personally.

Now I space my last meal at least 2h before going to bed and I don‘t get hypoglycemia at night.

Do you suffer from reactive hypoglycemia?
Magnesium and chromium really helped me stabilizing blood sugar.
Also improving liver function with taurine, NAC and caffeine during the day time helped a lot, probably due to improved liver glycogen storage.

 

[Razvan]

Sugar before bed creates a low blood sugar situation later on during sleep

does sleep slow digestion?

is ice cream the ideal food before bedtime?

Cheese,carrots and apple juice is my go to.

 

[ecstatichamster]

I used to get that at night too and religiously ate a snack before bed to prevent it.
But somehow it prevented really regenerative sleep for me personally.

Now I space my last meal at least 2h before going to bed and I don‘t get hypoglycemia at night.

Do you suffer from reactive hypoglycemia?
Magnesium and chromium really helped me stabilizing blood sugar.
Also improving liver function with taurine, NAC and caffeine during the day time helped a lot, probably due to improved liver glycogen storage.

I don’t. I usually sleep great.

 

[mostlylurking]

I'm taking high dose thiamine in the morning and afternoon (before 3:00pm). It has improved my sleep. But I was waking up around 2:00am with hypoglycemia. I've learned that if I take a gram of aspirin plus about 150mg niacinamide I don't have that problem. If I forget to take them, I consistantly have that problem.

 

[Risingfire]

Hi @ecstatichamster I was going to start a post about this the other day. Progest-E(higher doses) and Lapodin really solved my hypoglycemia.

 

[TheSir]

Eat enough sugar with the eggs, no other way around it. I avoid eating protein before bed for this reason. Simple bowl of fruit or starch 1-2 hours before bed is enough to guarantee a full night's sleep.

 

[Sefton10]

I used to get that at night too and religiously ate a snack before bed to prevent it.
But somehow it prevented really regenerative sleep for me personally.

Now I space my last meal at least 2h before going to bed and I don‘t get hypoglycemia at night.

This has been my exact experience too. I tried stuff like honey and milk or ice cream etc before bed and I would always wake up around 2-3am hot and heart racing.

I've gradually worked out I sleep best when I finish eating for the day at least 2 hours before bed and with a lower protein dinner. Fruit, feta cheese, honey, salty bone broth and mushrooms is my go to dinner these days and I've been sleeping like a charm.

EDIT: I should add I upped the amount of magnesium I was getting throughout the day too as I think that has played a role as well

 

[Vileplume]

Thyroid, more than anything else I’ve tried, helped me to stop waking in the middle of the night.

 

[Ignoramus]

I like rice cereal with sweet fruit and goat's milk ?

 

[Jessie]

I think starch works really well for sleep, more so than sugar. I don't know why, just something I've noticed about myself personally. I think it probably has something to do with liver health. If your liver isn't tip top, sugar will be used rapidly and gluconeogenesis will be upregulated. Starch takes longer to clear, so you're able to keep glucose levels higher for longer periods of time, thus keeping gluconeogenesis suppressed for longer periods of time. I think it's also possible to acheive similar effects with famotidine.

 

[Korven]

Thyroid, more than anything else I’ve tried, helped me to stop waking in the middle of the night.

Same. Thyroid has been very helpful for lowering adrenaline and getting more restful sleep, and adding in progesterone has improved sleep even more. I'm almost back to normal sleep now, only wake up once or twice per night. So grateful for Peat's advice and the awesome members here!

 

[YourUniverse]

Sugar before bed creates a low blood sugar situation later on during sleep

does sleep slow digestion?

is ice cream the ideal food before bedtime?

coconut oil allows hunger without hypoglycemia. Ray wrote this in the coconut oil article and it is TRUE in my experience.

 

[bookshelf]

I have been experimenting with different things but a glass of raw dairy whole milk and a bite or two of something sweet, like a few berries, pieces of papaya or a couple of orange sections, seems to be one of the better combinations for me. Milk doesn't make me have to get up during the night to go pee or wake up with an uncomfortably full bladder like juice or water would. I am curious about adding a teaspoon of coconut oil...

 

[Beastmode]

@ecstatichamster
There might be something you're eating earlier in the day that's irritating your gut. I've heard Peat mention this before as a reason why we get woken up in the middle of the night. Might not be hypoglycemia all the time. New supplementation at any point of the day can alter sleep patterns.

 

[ecstatichamster]

@ecstatichamster
There might be something you're eating earlier in the day that's irritating your gut. I've heard Peat mention this before as a reason why we get woken up in the middle of the night. Might not be hypoglycemia all the time. New supplementation at any point of the day can alter sleep patterns.

I generally don't have this problem but I thought I'd ask for your experience.

 

[Beastmode]

I generally don't have this problem but I thought I'd ask for your experience.

I meant to write what I wrote in general, not towards you :).

It's an interesting topic though as I know some people who don't eat for hours before bed and claim to sleep like babies and others who eat a variety of ways and either sleep well or not.

I tend to wake up once at night to pee, but it doesn't seem to impact how I feel the next morning. My sleep has gotten better and better to a point that it's quite consistent now. The additional carbs throughout the day (about 100-150+ grams) have definitely improved sleep.

No specific foods or drink concoctions seem to make a difference.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

How have you applied that advice, just a spoonful of coconut oil at bedtime and nothing else?

coconut oil allows hunger without hypoglycemia. Ray wrote this in the coconut oil article and it is TRUE in my experience.

 

[Jib]

Oatmeal is my favorite. Honey, raisins, banana, blueberries, dates, whatever you want in there. Oats seem to have an extremely calming and stabilizing effect that is perfect before bed.

Atole is another option: Masa harina boiled until it's the consistency you want, and then you drink it. You can sweeten it with anything you like, add some milk, etc. You can also prepare masa just like oatmeal. It's quite good in its own right. Masa harina and quick oats have been my two main starch sources lately. You'd be hard pressed to find anything more affordable. Around here you can get a bag of masa with 66 quarter cup servings for 2 dollars.

Overall, starch seems to work best for sleep for me. Sugar is OK but starch seems to have much more of a sedative effect. Just now I had a bowl of oatmeal with honey, raw sugar and a tiny splash of cream, and an apple. And I'm feeling pretty sleepy already.

 

[Rinse & rePeat]

Oatmeal is my favorite. Honey, raisins, banana, blueberries, dates, whatever you want in there. Oats seem to have an extremely calming and stabilizing effect that is perfect before bed.

Atole is another option: Masa harina boiled until it's the consistency you want, and then you drink it. You can sweeten it with anything you like, add some milk, etc. You can also prepare masa just like oatmeal. It's quite good in its own right. Masa harina and quick oats have been my two main starch sources lately. You'd be hard pressed to find anything more affordable. Around here you can get a bag of masa with 66 quarter cup servings for 2 dollars.

Overall, starch seems to work best for sleep for me. Sugar is OK but starch seems to have much more of a sedative effect. Just now I had a bowl of oatmeal with honey, raw sugar and a tiny splash of cream, and an apple. And I'm feeling pretty sleepy already.

Atole!