I have a huge weakness for junk food. Part of my holiday promise to myself was to lay off the added sugar. I’ve been pretty good about it for about a week now and in general feel fine, but my sleep cycle has been super screwy. I’ve been having extremely vivid / bad dreams, and the past few days I wake up at 4am and can’t fall back asleep.
Coincidence? Or is there really something like sugar detox that I can expect to get better over time?
Did you change your sleep schedule at all over the holidays? Any sleeping late, staying up late, etc.? The aftereffects of that seems a more likely culprit than a minor diet change.
Are you still eating carbs in excess of like 200g per day? Or have you cut down to below 20 or so?
When you cut down to Atkins-level carbs (20 or less per day) then yeah you do feel some physical and mental upset for a bit. But cutting down from Way Too Much to Not Really Too Much shouldn’t cause a noticeable change like that.
Did you cut out caffeinated pop, though? Or make a drastic cut in, say, chocolate consumption? Something else you may have been eating with sugar could cause your body to notice, too.
Too much sugar in your diet can cause a wide variety of different imbalances in your body … my first thought here was that this excess sugar was causing your body to need extra sleep overnight … that waking at 4am now is because your body is more in balance and this is your normal time to wake up …
Are you healthy in every other way? … how are your energy levels during the day? … are you having to pee more often and/or are you more thirsty? …
I don’t know what to say about the bad dreams … try a cup of peppermint tea just before bedtime … it’s a surprisingly safe and powerful placebo with the added benefit of not interfering with any treatments your doctor recommends … it’s a holistic remedy that works well with medical science …
Junk food is delicious, and sugar can be psychologically addicting.
Stopping added sugar makes a lot of sense. Fatigue, sleep disturbance, night sweats or waking with a headache can be signs of low blood sugar, or nocturnal hypoglycaemia. If you are still eating starches and adequate vegetables this is probably a temporary thing, but you could check your blood sugar or see your doctor early in the day after not eating for 8-12 hours before.
if you are taking medications or are overweight or (pre)diabetic this may play a role.
But you are making a wise decision. You have my support. Stay strong!
:eek: ! And I thought three carb “servings” (~45g) was cutting back!
I get terrible headaches each time I give up eating sugar.
I had a quasi-detox when I cut out added sugar. I was irritable and had a lot of trouble sleeping on the first and second days. I decided I would have only my evening can of soda for a few days so I could sleep. That worked. I was still irritable during the day, but after less than a week, I had re-adjusted and was okay. Then I cut out the soda entirely. I became irritable again and had trouble sleeping, but those effects were less than before. Again I adjusted after less than a week.
You may be experiencing ketosis. When your body is depleted of glucose (because, for example, you’ve cut out sugar) you can experience headaches, odd sleep patterns, mood swings, fatigue, and dizziness (any or all of these). I’ve done low-carb diets if various kinds and I’m very familiar with the experience. It’s usually temporary though, lasting a few days at most until your body adjusts to your new diet.