Pounding Heart Takes Me Two Hours To Fall Asleep

[SelfHelpster]

So I'm getting my sleep in order, going to bed earlier at 10pm, turning lights off, topping my glycogen stores off. But I can feel my heart start to work harder and it feels like its moving me a bit each pulse, like anxiety. I'm also trying to correct my breathing habits and I feel a need to breath more than I think I should when I lay down. I'm trying to correct my posture because maybe its causing compression in my chest making my heart work harder; or maybe its only when I try to lie still I notice an anxiety was there all along? Even if my sleep quality could still use work, losing two hours of nighttime waiting to sleep is the worst culprit right now.

Any thoughts on the cause of this? I'm actually sleepy but it takes a couple hours to fall asleep. Oh and laying on my back is a hell no, unless I want apneas again.

Edit: Here is generally what I'm consuming. 4+oz of liver twice a week with coffee, bananas, some cooked veggies, coconut oil, whatever meat I can find like canned tuna, chicken, beef. Plenty of white sugar, trans dermal magnesium, vitamin D, thiamine, vitamin k. I think lack of calcium causing some anxiety? I only eat egg shells for calcium but maybe not enough if that's supposed to help me relax.

 

[whodathunkit]

2x/week liver may be too much. Over consumption of liver negatively affects the thyroid. I know because I've experienced it, but there is also other anecdotal evidence around on the web. Maybe try 1x per week. Also maybe try supplementing low dose thyroid (T3 + T4). A few drops T3 every few hours, and a few drops of T4 at night. Thyroid in the dosage strategies recommended by Peat helps me.

Supplemental calcium carbonate may also help you, as you have already intuited.

Now for the heresy:

White sugar + coffee is evil. Period.

May take a while for the evil to show up if you're in pretty good health, but the using this combo regularly is very bad for health.

Both coffee and sugar take much more energy, minerals, and vitamins to metabolize them than they give back. The net result is "acidifcation" of the body's pH, which causes a whole bunch of problems (including increased BO).

Plus neither offers vitamin C, which is needed in extra quantities when the diet is heavy with white sugar.

The ultimate result of using these two things, especially in combo every day, is a deficiency state of many of the key nutrients we need for health .

If you're already in good health you can go for a while using coffee + sugar. If you're already tipping towards poor health, the problems shows up right away. Pounding heart and sleep disturbances being among the symptoms.

I know this because I'm living it. That's my "proof". I've tried incorporating both sugar and coffee into my diet in every possible dosage and combination for the last three years. I go fine for a while and then the problems kick in. So, IT DOESN'T WORK. Please nobody quote me rat studies that show how beneficial the "vitamin" caffeine can be when used daily. Or white sugar.

Both of these substances should be confined to occasional use in extremis, like a drug. Or when we want the occasional treat.

Worth noting is that supplementing with mag carbonate and calcium carbonate, and extra vitamin C can ameliorate the deficiencies caused by daily use of coffee and sugar, but if not very strict with the supplementation the problems come back quickly.

Much better to get sugar from fruit, and skip the coffee altogether.

Nobody "needs" caffeine. Period. Many of us try to justify ingesting it because we like the way it makes us feel. I personally think that Ray, being human, falls into this category.

Likewise, nobody needs white sugar.

Proposed strategy: Liver 1x per week, add mag carbonate oral supplement and calcium carbonate oral, skip the coffee, skip the sugar, dramatically increase fruit intake (especially on empty stomach right before bed).

Just my $0.02. Good luck!

 

[Constatine]

Vitamin k can cause heart palpitations

 

[SelfHelpster]

2x/week liver may be too much. Over consumption of liver negatively affects the thyroid. I know because I've experienced it, but there is also other anecdotal evidence around on the web. Maybe try 1x per week. Also maybe try supplementing low dose thyroid (T3 + T4). A few drops T3 every few hours, and a few drops of T4 at night. Thyroid in the dosage strategies recommended by Peat helps me.

Supplemental calcium carbonate may also help you, as you have already intuited.

Now for the heresy:

White sugar + coffee is evil. Period.

May take a while for the evil to show up if you're in pretty good health, but the using this combo regularly is very bad for health.

Both coffee and sugar take much more energy, minerals, and vitamins to metabolize them than they give back. The net result is "acidifcation" of the body's pH, which causes a whole bunch of problems (including increased BO).

Plus neither offers vitamin C, which is needed in extra quantities when the diet is heavy with white sugar.

The ultimate result of using these two things, especially in combo every day, is a deficiency state of many of the key nutrients we need for health .

If you're already in good health you can go for a while using coffee + sugar. If you're already tipping towards poor health, the problems shows up right away. Pounding heart and sleep disturbances being among the symptoms.

I know this because I'm living it. That's my "proof". I've tried incorporating both sugar and coffee into my diet in every possible dosage and combination for the last three years. I go fine for a while and then the problems kick in. So, IT DOESN'T WORK. Please nobody quote me rat studies that show how beneficial the "vitamin" caffeine can be when used daily. Or white sugar.

Both of these substances should be confined to occasional use in extremis, like a drug. Or when we want the occasional treat.

Worth noting is that supplementing with mag carbonate and calcium carbonate, and extra vitamin C can ameliorate the deficiencies caused by daily use of coffee and sugar, but if not very strict with the supplementation the problems come back quickly.

Much better to get sugar from fruit, and skip the coffee altogether.

Nobody "needs" caffeine. Period. Many of us try to justify ingesting it because we like the way it makes us feel. I personally think that Ray, being human, falls into this category.

Likewise, nobody needs white sugar.

Proposed strategy: Liver 1x per week, add mag carbonate oral supplement and calcium carbonate oral, skip the coffee, skip the sugar, dramatically increase fruit intake (especially on empty stomach right before bed).

Just my $0.02. Good luck!

Banana is my staple carb. I take liver with coffee when I do, and magnesium trans dermaly. I'll have to say though, I feel it has been helping, and I don't think it was a stress response, as adding sugar to my coffee or at least a meal really puts a stop to it. I forgot it drains vitamin C. All I had was this Bulk Supplement C thats been sitting on my shelf so I'll whip that out in small doses. My choice of food really became limited to aid with digestion stress and sleep and I must say I'm slowly improving; even feeling my testosterone slowly rise the last couple weeks have been a big morale boost.

I know stress can make a person feel great before they crash back down, but I really feel 1. There weren't that much energy reserves left to begin with, say except for the last several months, 2. My body actually feels more young and properly healing: warm hands all day, 2-3 bowel movements, fluid joints, libido etc. The total is typically two table spoons of sugar, and two of gelatin for every mug of coffee for a total of two to three a day. I apply even more magnesium if I feel a headache after sugar. The only wrong time to take sugar I realize now is right before bed, so that was one problem last night as I was trying to top off glycogen for the night. I didn't want to sound like I'm running on sugar and caffeine, I use it only to supplement. Your probably right anyhow, its just that this is working better than anything I've tried so far in the past, and I actually feel like a normal human mentally and physically more each week. I'll keep you posted and adjust my diet as time goes on. I really do appreciate your advice though.

Back to the calcium, I eat maybe 2 - 3 eggshells a day which is probably jack**** but I have calcium (carbinate I think) coming in the mail in the near future. Dairy is still off the table for the time being.

And I take vitamin K Triple Play 100mcg K1 400 mcg K2 once midday so thats ten hours before bed time.

And any recommendations on thyroid? Never played with that so I'd rather start with a smaller container to try out. Also everything is meant to be commented on of course. Have a good Sunday.

 

[ddjd]

So I'm getting my sleep in order, going to bed earlier at 10pm, turning lights off, topping my glycogen stores off. But I can feel my heart start to work harder and it feels like its moving me a bit each pulse, like anxiety. I'm also trying to correct my breathing habits and I feel a need to breath more than I think I should when I lay down. I'm trying to correct my posture because maybe its causing compression in my chest making my heart work harder; or maybe its only when I try to lie still I notice an anxiety was there all along? Even if my sleep quality could still use work, losing two hours of nighttime waiting to sleep is the worst culprit right now.

Any thoughts on the cause of this? I'm actually sleepy but it takes a couple hours to fall asleep. Oh and laying on my back is a hell no, unless I want apneas again.

Edit: Here is generally what I'm consuming. 4+oz of liver twice a week with coffee, bananas, some cooked veggies, coconut oil, whatever meat I can find like canned tuna, chicken, beef. Plenty of white sugar, trans dermal magnesium, vitamin D, thiamine, vitamin k. I think lack of calcium causing some anxiety? I only eat egg shells for calcium but maybe not enough if that's supposed to help me relax.

sometimes when peating you lower nitric oxide too much and if you also have low co2 it can cause palpitations. everything that increases eNOS will vasodilate and reduce palpitations. so Progest-e (natural progesterone), taurine, minocycline, charcoal. walnuts also work.

the alternative is to raise co2. bag breathing or holding your breath for 1-2 minutes will work well to raise co2 and vasodilate

 

[whodathunkit]

I like haidut's Tyronene (T3) and Tyromax (T4) products. Very good, IMO.

Glad you're feeling better but IMO you've still got a problem as evidenced by your sleep symptoms. The sugar and caffeine I know from experience will cause problems. Sorry. I love them, too. I LOVE coffee + sugar + gelatin combo. But it's deadly. Nobody needs caffeine and nobody needs white sugar. They are STRESSORS and without strict and adequate supplementation will at some point cause a deficiency state of vitamins and minerals in the body. Which means that for most of us, they are a big problem because we're not strict. That's the bottom line. Whether or not we choose to believe this is up to us. But it's a fact.

FWIW, I get better result from "Peat style" without the sugar and caffeine. I follow many of the guidelines, but not all, and I feel consistently better without all the white sugar and coffee.

You might try decaf to mix with your gelatin. Gelatin is fabulous and I eat bone broth or gelatin every day. But the sugar is just a no-no. Decaf + sugar + gelatin ultimately causes the same problems for me, albeit in a longer timeframe without the extra stress of caffeine.

Eating extra fruit does NOT cause me the same problems as table sugar. I've found eating a bunch of fruit about an hour before bed to be very, very helpful with my sleep. Key is to eat it on an empty stomach, not mixed with any other carbs or protein.

I don't like bananas, though. I agree with Peat that they're estrogenic...my experience bears this out. I eat oranges or mangoes or apples or melon or something sweet with some water content. Bananas very heavy, and again, estrogenic. They're another thing that I love the taste but don't eat cuz they cause me problems. If those are your staple carb then that might be part of your problem right there.

 

[Dave Clark]

I am not sure how Peaty it is, but I have read that kudzu root has nice calming properties. I have not tried it yet, but I know it is used in recipes as a thickener, and can be used in capsule form. Supposed to be good for anxiety as well. The most famous properties of kudzu are for helping people reduce or quit alcohol, but I also read testimonies of people getting help with insomnia if used at night. Maybe worth checking out, it isn't very expensive. Also, for the people that have gerd, it also calms and protects the stomach and intestines.

 

[SelfHelpster]

I like haidut's Tyronene (T3) and Tyromax (T4) products. Very good, IMO.

Glad you're feeling better but IMO you've still got a problem as evidenced by your sleep symptoms. The sugar and caffeine I know from experience will cause problems. Sorry. I love them, too. I LOVE coffee + sugar + gelatin combo. But it's deadly. Nobody needs caffeine and nobody needs white sugar. They are STRESSORS and without strict and adequate supplementation will at some point cause a deficiency state of vitamins and minerals in the body. Which means that for most of us, they are a big problem because we're not strict. That's the bottom line. Whether or not we choose to believe this is up to us. But it's a fact.

FWIW, I get better result from "Peat style" without the sugar and caffeine. I follow many of the guidelines, but not all, and I feel consistently better without all the white sugar and coffee.

You might try decaf to mix with your gelatin. Gelatin is fabulous and I eat bone broth or gelatin every day. But the sugar is just a no-no. Decaf + sugar + gelatin ultimately causes the same problems for me, albeit in a longer timeframe without the extra stress of caffeine.

Eating extra fruit does NOT cause me the same problems as table sugar. I've found eating a bunch of fruit about an hour before bed to be very, very helpful with my sleep. Key is to eat it on an empty stomach, not mixed with any other carbs or protein.

I don't like bananas, though. I agree with Peat that they're estrogenic...my experience bears this out. I eat oranges or mangoes or apples or melon or something sweet with some water content. Bananas very heavy, and again, estrogenic. They're another thing that I love the taste but don't eat cuz they cause me problems. If those are your staple carb then that might be part of your problem right there.

I'll look into lowering coffee consumption except for when I'm eating liver/high iron foods. I'm reliant on bananas because their so calorie dense and agreeable with my stomach when ripened. I really don't have many other options I feel. I'm definitely increasing testosterone, so better to have a stable mostly safe carb even if a little estrogenic (which I don't say lightly). Do 'organic' bananas have less estrogen or 'stress'? I typically buy these to proceed regular ones as they ripen the fastest and are still cheap. And my sleep issues entirely predate any banana eating unless you can say some bad effects can overlap.

I just noticed if I concentrate sitting still my heart is still pumping enough to make me rock just a minuscule amount. Is that normal? I guess laying in bed can amplify that, plus increasing my need for respiration. It was kinda more difficult last night, and dousing myself in magnesium oil didn't work. My god I think I will try to cut back the sugar and coffee a little. I won't leave calcium or other mineral deficiencies out of question though.

 

[biggirlkisss]

sleep with light on

 

[SelfHelpster]

sleep with light on

I have a red desk lamp I'd assume is the appropriate range but its pretty darn bright after you get used to the dark, even shining away.

sometimes when peating you lower nitric oxide too much and if you also have low co2 it can cause palpitations. everything that increases eNOS will vasodilate and reduce palpitations. so Progest-e (natural progesterone), taurine, minocycline, charcoal. walnuts also work.

the alternative is to raise co2. bag breathing or holding your breath for 1-2 minutes will work well to raise co2 and vasodilate

Noted.

 

[theLaw]

@SelfHelpster

Might consider a pint of Haagen Dazs ice cream before bed as a good test. Just nuke it in the microwave, and drink it melted.

Also, if you consume carrots with it (or with your bananas), it will slow down digestion while having a sleight antibiotic effect for any bacteria issues.

 

[SelfHelpster]

@SelfHelpster

Might consider a pint of Haagen Dazs ice cream before bed as a good test. Just nuke it in the microwave, and drink it melted.

Also, if you consume carrots with it (or with your bananas), it will slow down digestion while having a sleight antibiotic effect for any bacteria issues.

Like I said gonna hold off on the dairy for a while to prevent any more complications.
I'm gonna try to eat more carrots to reduce estrogen but I certainly hope that won't reduce motility too much as I love my new regularity.

Does anyone have a link to something regarding calcium deficiency and stress? I'm gonna try supplementing more of that and see what it does to my sleep in the coming nights. Also going to reduce white sugar especially before bed.

And one more thing so I understand right. Insomnia can involve being drowsy and ready to sleep right? Because I've always gotten sleepy/drowsy, its just that final bridge to sleep is the problem.

 

[fradon]

So I'm getting my sleep in order, going to bed earlier at 10pm, turning lights off, topping my glycogen stores off. But I can feel my heart start to work harder and it feels like its moving me a bit each pulse, like anxiety. I'm also trying to correct my breathing habits and I feel a need to breath more than I think I should when I lay down. I'm trying to correct my posture because maybe its causing compression in my chest making my heart work harder; or maybe its only when I try to lie still I notice an anxiety was there all along? Even if my sleep quality could still use work, losing two hours of nighttime waiting to sleep is the worst culprit right now.

Any thoughts on the cause of this? I'm actually sleepy but it takes a couple hours to fall asleep. Oh and laying on my back is a hell no, unless I want apneas again.

Edit: Here is generally what I'm consuming. 4+oz of liver twice a week with coffee, bananas, some cooked veggies, coconut oil, whatever meat I can find like canned tuna, chicken, beef. Plenty of white sugar, trans dermal magnesium, vitamin D, thiamine, vitamin k. I think lack of calcium causing some anxiety? I only eat egg shells for calcium but maybe not enough if that's supposed to help me relax.

I HAD This same problem a few months back. I would be sleepy and tired but heart would race and worse if i took even a sip of water. I cut the coffee. Now just do decaf or TEA. Also don't eat sugar before going to bed it can speed up your heart.

 

[InChristAlone]

I have had this problem off and on for yrs since chronic stress took it's toll. It's been mostly okay now. Been off the caffeine for a yr and half and never going back. I still eat some chocolate. And also quite a lot of sugar. I also eat at least one banana a day for the potassium. I find potassium to calm my heart. Not necessarily sodium. That can make my heart pound if I get too much. Also I noticed if I get a second wind around 11 pm and wasn't asleep yet my heart would start going like clock work. Now here I am at 11:14 and still my heart is calm. I just had a banana an hr ago. And a few mg of progest-e and I'm off to sleep

 

[SelfHelpster]

Guess I'll order some t3 and t4 while I'm making sure of results. Should have had more carbs last night cause of the need to urinate but at least I fell asleep in about 10-20 minutes. Heart wasn't pounding so much.

 

[xborg]

Assuming stopping all caffeine after 2pm doesn't help, I would try the potassium. When I started with MgCl supplementation I started getting heart rhythm issues. Sometimes that meant excessive pounding at night. I finally found that 200mg of potassium citrate smoothed it all out in about 20-30 min. Works every time too.

Due to its super bio-available C content, my favourite form is now potassium ascorbate, made from 1g potassium bicarbonate + 600mg ascorbic acid. Since I've been using that fairly regularly I have no issues. Regular potassium citrate is fine for this purpose though. It's cheap and easy to try and if it works it will work quickly.

 

[mmb82]

So I'm getting my sleep in order, going to bed earlier at 10pm, turning lights off, topping my glycogen stores off. But I can feel my heart start to work harder and it feels like its moving me a bit each pulse, like anxiety.

Edit: Here is generally what I'm consuming. 4+oz of liver twice a week with coffee, bananas, some cooked veggies, coconut oil, whatever meat I can find like canned tuna, chicken, beef. Plenty of white sugar, trans dermal magnesium, vitamin D, thiamine, vitamin k. I think lack of calcium causing some anxiety? I only eat egg shells for calcium but maybe not enough if that's supposed to help me relax.

Heart palpitations are often associated with lack of potassium and racing thoughts/anxiety are typical symptoms associated with high copper. Based on that assumption, I would increase potassium intake (more bananas, coconut water, honeydew melon) and get rid of white sugar, vitamin D, and liver. My reasoning for getting rid of the white sugar, D, and liver is that the white sugar can probably be replaced with more nutrient (potassium)- dense foods that also provide sugars, vitamin D will lower potassium levels (and magnesium btw), and copper (from liver) will also lower potassium levels. You mentioned taking magnesium and transdermal vitamin K. If you are not already, take those at night before sleep, as they tend to have a calming effect. Lastly, if you are having a heavy or very salty meal as your last, i.e. before bed, try less food volume and/or less salt. I notice that if I have a meal with too much salt, I get uncomfortably hot and can feel my heart pounding, which makes it difficult to fall asleep.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Re.Generate]

Try quitting any and all coconut products for a week or two - can lead to nasty insomnia for some