Insomnia symptoms will effect up to 70% of Americans at some point in their lives, with between 10-15% of us suffering with chronic insomnia, getting to sleep and staying asleep seems to be becoming increasing difficult in modern life.
There’s a multitude of reasons for this, whether it be modern office work disrupting circadian rhythm, blue light or simply the stresses of the modern news cycle there’s a lot that can impact a good night’s sleep.
Insufficient sleep or poor sleep can wreak havoc on our central nervous system, brain function and cause stresses which ironically can cause trouble falling asleep. And this is really just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the importance of sleep.
While all these issues are pretty common causes for sleep disorder symptoms, we also need to make sure that we’re getting the right nutrients as vitamins and minerals are essential for our bodies ability to product natural melatonin, the hormone which let’s our brains know it’s time to shut down for the night as well as what we need to get a deep and restorative sleep.
There are plenty of sleep aids on the market, but before rushing out to get something more expensive, could a multivitamin be the cure to at least some sleep disorders?
Vitamin D Deficiency And Sleep Disorders
Some studies show that almost half of Americans have a vitamin d deficiency, and the vitamin that we get naturally from sunlight can’t be absorbed properly when said sunlight comes through glass, so it’s not all too surprising. One of the many issues caused by this is an increase in sleep apnea and a decrease in sleep quality for those with said deficiency. In many countries in the northern hemisphere like the UK and Canada, it’s even recommended to take a vitamin d supplement all year round.
Magnesium Supplementation And Sleep
Magnesium is perhaps the most well known vitamin to improve sleep quality, magnesium is required for the body to remove cortisol (the stress hormone) from the brain. This is important to help you fall asleep, as well as staying asleep. There have also been multiple clinical trials which have shown magnesium supplementation to help sleep, with 500mg being the recommended dose, making it one of the best vitamins for sleep quality.
Calcium
When calcium levels are low for any prolonged amount of time it’s very common that people will have difficulty falling asleep as well as having poor sleep quality. According to the USDA, 4 out of 10 Americans are mildly deficient in calcium. This is higher amongst vegan populations, for obvious reasons. Supplementing calcium levels can be a good way to help get a more restful sleep.
B Vitamins And And Sleep
Whilst many b vitamins play a role in sleep, the most important and most studied is vitamin b12 which is essential for the production of melatonin, which as we’ve already mentioned tells your body it’s time to sleep.
Potassium And Sleep Quality
Potassium has been shown to help you stay asleep through the night, with new research suggesting that supplementation could be effective for treating sleep disturbances. Currently the Dietary Guidelines For Americans list potassium deficiency as a “nutrient of public health concern” due to the high prevalence of it’s deficiency rate.
Omega Oils
Omega oils typically from fatty fish are essential for brain health and restful sleep, the type of Omega oil does matter to a point, but that doesn’t mean we’re saying rush out and buy an expensive brand. Omega oils are (mostly) broken up into 2 types, EPA and DHA with one being more important for the brain and the other for joints. Most omega oil supplements are fine, and we wouldn’t recommend rushing out to buy a more expensive option (see example of why omega xl isn’t worth the price) when most store brands will do just fine.
Combined Sleep Aids
The best sleep aids on the market are likely to contain a combination of the above vitamins to help with improved sleep quality, even some melatonin supplements are designed with this in mind. One thing you should check for however, is that many sleep aids don’t contain nearly enough calcium to be effective, this is because it’s a relatively large molecule and for many would mean the dosage would need to be two capsules increasing their costs. In short, look for sleep aids which contain the effective dosages of these vitamins if they’re using them as ingredients. Currently the best example we’ve seen is RestAgain.
Vitamins And Sleep Quality
All in all our diets are just one part of the puzzle when it comes to treating sleep disorder issues, but there’s definitely enough in the deficiency data to suggest that not getting enough important vitamins and minerals is likely to be playing a role in sleep deprivation across the united states. And whilst multivitamins and sleep aids may be part of the solution, we need to start paying more attention to what we put in our bodies as a nation. There are even more vitamins that we haven’t mentioned, such as vitamin c which large studies show people with less of it sleep worse, but there’s still further research being done into this and other vitamins and minerals to see exactly what we need to get the best from our sleep cycles. And let’s not forget these vitamins are important for our bodies as a whole. Making sure you get your recommended daily intake is important, and that can be as simple as a multivitamin for most people as mild deficiencies are the most common.
Alaska Sleep Clinic is a provider of high quality Sleep Diagnostic Testing. ASC was established in 2002 and designed from the ground up to provide the latest in sleep medicine. Our objective is to provide the highest level of patient care possible in both the diagnosis and treatment of sleep related disorders to all Alaskans. Call us today to improve your sleep and your life.
