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Last night I had a type of sleep that I've experienced periodically when eating a very low-carb diet. I woke at one point in the night feeling like I had "blacked out" - I was lying in a position that surprised me, and I had no idea how I got there, or how long I had been like that.

(Normally I'm not surprised about the position I wake up in. I'm often semi-conscious when I shift.)

When I first experienced this while eating VLC I was excited, presuming I was sleeping deeper. However, I've had a mixed-bag experience with VLC, better complexion and more calm digestive tract, but also drier skin/eyes, and much worse body odor.

These days I try to have a moderate amount of "safe starches" which don't normally exacerbate acne or gut problems, but helped with the dry skin and body odor. I don't seem to get the "black out" feeling when eating more carbs though.

Yesterday I ate lower carb to resolve an unsettled gut, and also turned my shower cold for a few minutes, which I was also doing the last time I was getting this kind of sleep, and then felt the "black out" feeling last night. I did get a whiff of the unpleasant body odor a few days ago as well, so I may be skating close to the edge.

Does anyone have any insight into this "black out" feeling? Should I be trying to foster or avoid it? Perhaps a Zeo sleep monitor would provide some insight, but I don't have much disposable income.

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One other dietary change that affected my sleep - I've found that I have much more vivid dreams when eating lots of rich bone broth. As I've had nothing but good results from bone broth I'm pretty confident this is a good thing! – Arrowsican Jan 24 2012 at 16:43
VLC increases HGH production (human growth hormone) especially at night, which is linked to vivid dreaming, but imo it's a good think :-) – Thomy Jan 24 2012 at 16:58
What is your salt intake like? Low blood pressure can cause things like this. – Bread-Eating Beelzebub Jan 24 2012 at 17:43
Arrowsican, what amount of carbs are you designating VLC? – PaleoGran Jan 24 2012 at 18:11
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 Yes, VLC can lower blood pressure significantly, and salt can help mitigate it – Bread-Eating Beelzebub Jan 25 2012 at 14:51
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3 Answers

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"Blackout sleep" as in the hit the pillow fell asleep, woke up disorientated or drifted to sleep, woke up disorientated? I remember looking at charts of sleep deprivation for a course, and people who were exhausted from lack of sleep or lack of energy (exerted too much ie exercised or didn't take in enough ie didn't eat enough), and they both showed an increased REM, but decreased "deep" and "very deep" sleep (some textbooks don't distinguish between those two, mine did). They usually fell asleep very rapidly (couldn't remember "drifting off", just hit the pillow and were out) and woke up feeling like they had slept very solidly. The deep sleep cycle is an important part of the sleep cycle, as it is important to have the full "store memories" and "recover" process. Have you been feeling physically exhausted? You said you get plenty of sleep, but is there anything that has been stressing or tiring you out?

The other thought would be blood pressure, have you had it checked recently? This will effect your sleep, as well as some of those disorientated feelings you mentioned.

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Whether this kind of sleep is good or bad, it isn't ongoing. I was just curious what might have been going on. I wasn't emotionally stressed during those two periods, but I was stressing my system by eating very low carb, some intense exercise, and, during the second period, cold showers etc... Melissa also suggested low blood pressure in a comment, and I think that's the most likely hypothesis. – Arrowsican Feb 13 2012 at 16:36
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I think very few of us truly have ideal sleep available to us regularly so it's hard to know what's normal. I can't see how it could be bad though, my guess is that you just really need to sleep! A calmer digestive tract should mean better quality sleep. How often does it happen? And what are you normal sleeping times etc?

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I don't think it's related to a lack of sleep. I normally get around 8 hours, I've gotten a little less than that this week, but I'm not especially sleep deprived, and I almost always take a 20 minute nap immediately if I do feel tired (I work from home :)). This happened reliably every night during two periods - the first time that I went VLC, and then a period when I was eating VLC and experimenting with longer fasts and regular cold showers. I was getting the same amount of sleep, perhaps even a little more, but perhaps my body needed more sleep? – Arrowsican Jan 24 2012 at 22:50
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I too am VLC (practically all-meat) and haven't experienced "blackout sleep." I've only been doing it for a few weeks now, so this could be a factor in me not having experiencing it yet. However, I personally wouldn't worry about it. As long as you feel rested, you should be fine.

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