Waking at night, during sleep, means too little of these nutrients
From my personal sleep journal today: If you wake up during sleep at night, your body has run out of one or more of these sleep nutrients:
- melatonin
- serotonin (precursor to melatonin)
- tryptophan (precursor to serotonin)
- blood sugar
- acetylcholine
Q: After it puts me to sleep, how does my melatonin get used up?
A: Melatonin is a major antioxidant. It also helps little blood capillaries to grow (angiogenesis). If during sleep, you have problems your immune system wishes to address, it very likely is using up melatonin.
Q: After I’m asleep, how does my blood sugar get used up?
A: Your mitochondria need glucose to make cellular energy (ATP). If you are used to feeling depressed, it’s easy to ignore when you blood sugar falls.
Q: How does my acetylcholine get used up after it puts me to sleep?
A: It’s more like this. B5 is needed to make acetylcholine. If your gut microbiome runs out of B5, then your body can’t make acetylcholine to keep you asleep.
For more on B5, acetylcholine and sleep, listen to Dr. Stasha Gominak’s podcast or join her Right Sleep Program, DrGominak.com.
