Waking up hungry at 3am

jnklheimer

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Jan 9, 2021
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For awhile now I wake up in the middle of the night, usually once but sometimes repeatedly with a ravenous hunger. I’ll usually drink salt and sugary milk or juice and go back to bed. Sometimes I’ll eat but I’ll feel gross in the morning if I do because the hunger is so strong that once I start eating it’s easy to go overboard.

Wondering what’s going on. Stress hormones? I tried some phenibut and I slept through the night and woke up feeling great but the tolerance to it meant that it sort of stopped working after a couple weeks and coming off of it sucks.

Maybe I should try ice cream (a bit expensive these days, unfortunately) or cheese and fruit before bed? It’s a little creepy being up at 3am, the witching hour.
 
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S-VV

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The witching hour, and the hour where most abductions are alleged to occur... Anyway, it is probably a hypoglycaemic response. No need to feel gross about it. Increasing liver health and glycogen should help.
 
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jnklheimer

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The witching hour, and the hour where most abductions are alleged to occur... Anyway, it is probably a hypoglycaemic response. No need to feel gross about it. Increasing liver health and glycogen should help.
I mean if I go for food I’m liable to eat a Half loaf of bread and it doesn’t feel healthy. Luckily the milk or juice does the trick. Maybe I’ll leave some cheese by my bed too.

Getting up at that hour is creepy tho.
 

Epeatcurious

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Jun 9, 2021
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I'm in the same boat and I have realized that actually eating before bed makes it worse. If I eat a good solid meal 3-4 hours before bed and and dont snack before bed I actually can sleep better.
 

BodhiBlues

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Jun 22, 2021
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Maybe I should try ice cream
I tend to have this problem too and ice cream before bed is very good for giving you a steady supply of sugar to prevent your liver from running out of glycogen in the middle of the night. Basically anything with a decent amount of sugar and fat as the fat will slow absorption of the sugar, giving you enough to last the night. In winter I make porridge that has loads of dried fruit, butter, honey and an egg added.
I tried some phenibut and I slept through the night and woke up feeling great but the tolerance to it meant that it sort of stopped working after a couple weeks and coming off of it sucks.
Phenibut is very good for keeping you asleep, a small dose right before bed can be very good at keeping you asleep as the effects peak after about 3 hours. If you don't want tolerance, only use 2 - 3 times per week. Though if you use small doses in the region of 200mg you *may* be able to use it more often.

Weed is also very good for staying asleep, though I wouldn't rely on it too much as withdrawal can lead to not sleeping well for weeks.

L-Theanine is good for falling asleep at the beginning of the night or if you wake up, but I find that it has a rebound effect and I will often wake up 4 - 5 hours after taking it.
 
P

Peatness

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Salt might be the missing link look at this quote on insomnia by Dr Peat

RP: Very practical thing is warm milk with 1 or 2 ounces of sugar or honey in it. The milk makes the sugar or honey absorb more slowly. The sugar lowers your adrenaline. The older a person gets, the more problem a person has with sleep hypoglycemia causing increased adrenaline and blood sugar problems. Old people who are told to take a blood pressure drug will often get worse insomnia as their blood sugar falls and their adrenaline goes up and sometimes just by eating enough sugar and salt during the day and a little extra at bedtime, sometime they can not only cure their insomnia but sometimes also their blood sugar is corrected enough that their blood pressure issues clears up. Milk keeps sugar in the blood for longer, or ice cream too.
 
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equipoise

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Ice cream works best for me. Ice cream literally nukes the stress response before bed I sometimes get if I underate during the day / overworked. And don't take much aswell, a couple of spoons. Also have a spoonful of honey and that makes me sleep really good. If it's a particularly stressed night, few hundred mg's of aspirin is the last nail in the coffin
 
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Salt might be the missing link look at this quote on insomnia by Dr Peat

RP: Very practical thing is warm milk with 1 or 2 ounces of sugar or honey in it. The milk makes the sugar or honey absorb more slowly. The sugar lowers your adrenaline. The older a person gets, the more problem a person has with sleep hyperglycemia causing increased adrenaline and blood sugar problems. Old people who are told to take a blood pressure drug will often get worse insomnia as their blood sugar falls and their adrenaline goes up and sometimes just by eating enough sugar and salt during the day and a little extra at bedtime, sometime they can not only cure their insomnia but sometimes also their blood sugar is corrected enough that their blood pressure issues clears up. Milk keeps sugar in the blood for longer, or ice cream too.
Should that bolded word read hyPOglycemia?
 

Birdie

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Aug 10, 2012
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I had the waking up thing for a long time. Had been using ice cream, but I remember that Ray once recommended salty tortilla chips at bedtime. I tried salty popcorn and slept through. I wish the popcorn were masa but not to be. I tried salt on my bedtime ice cream for a while, but the popcorn worked better.
 

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