Vitamins are compounds that provide the body with nutrients necessary for proper functioning. Vitamins can affect chemicals in the brain that affect the sleep and wake cycle. While low levels of certain vitamins, known has hypovitaminosis, can lead to feeling jittery, anxious or overly sleepy, vitamin toxicity can have the same effect. Symptoms of sleepliness depend on the type of vitamin and whether your blood serum levels are too high or too low.
Types
There are certain vitamins that can help you sleep better, which, for some, translates to helping you feel more sleepy so you can fall asleep and stay asleep. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine website, called YourSleep, says that multivitamin products that contain a mix of the minerals calcium, niacin, iron, magnesium and vitamins A and B-12 have an impact on sleep quality. High blood levels of vitamin A have been linked to feeling sleepy, sluggish and irritable. Vitamin B-12 has been linked to sleep/wake cycle maintenance. Too much calcium may increase insomnia in kidney failure patients. Taking iron may reduce or eliminate symptoms of restless legs syndrome and allow patients to get a better night’s rest. Magnesium also plays a role in melatonin production, a hormone that regulates the sleep cycle.
B Complex
You may find many multivitamin products specifically designed to improve sleep that contain B complex. According to Dr. Michael Breus, clinical psychologist and board certified sleep specialist, many B vitamins, such as B-3, B-12 and B-6, regulate chemicals in the brain that affect sleep. Vitamin B-3 may improve deep sleep, called REM sleep, reduce depression and decrease the number of times you wake up during the night. Vitamin B-6 helps regulate serotonin, a calming hormone that may help induce sleep. People with a B-12 deficiency tend to be lethargic and weak. Reversing low levels of the nutrient may increase daytime energy.
Vitamin D
Getting appropriate amounts of vitamin D may improve your sleep, according to Breus. DoctorOz.com, the website of celebrity physician Mehmet Oz, says that vitamin D boosts immune function, reduces inflammation and improves neuromuscular function. Vitamin D has also been linked to reducing chronic pain. Some patients with low levels of the nutrient tend to suffer from fatigue and exhaustion and one expert believes that restoring your D levels could reverse fatigue. Dr. Breus refers to one case study in which a patient with at least four months of excessive sleepiness saw consistent progress two weeks after starting a 50,000-IU weekly vitamin D regimen. In 2010, the journal "Arthritis Care Research" published a study indicating that vitamin D supplements could reduce fatigue in patients with autoimmune diseases, including lupus.
Vitamin Toxicity
According to MedlinePlus, vitamin D toxicity can cause excessive daytime sleepiness. One sign of overdose toxicity for vitamin E is fatigue, according to the American Pregnancy Association. Vitamin toxicity is a condition that occurs when you take too much of any vitamin. Also known as hypervitaminosis, toxicity is most common when you get your recommended daily intake of vitamins through diet but also consistently take vitamin supplements over a long period of time. This can be especially risky in fat-soluble vitamins that are stored in the liver. Only small amounts of these nutrients, including vitamins A, D, E and K are needed for maintaining good health, according to Jennifer Anderson, Ph.D., R.D., professor and director of The Food Friends Program. Because they are stored in the body, you do not need to replenish them daily and vitamin supplementation may not be necessary.
References
- YourSleep; Sleep Education; September 2005
- HuffingtonPost: Vitamin D for Sleep?; Michael Breus; January 2011
- MayoClinic.com: Researchers Link Vitamin D and Chronic Pain Relief; Bryan Anderson; March 2009
- DoctorOz.com; Daily Dose: Vitamin D; October 2009
- ScienceDaily; Vitamin D Deficiency Associated with Chronic Fatigue in Brain Injured Patients; April 2010
- MayoClinic; Vitamin D; August 2011
- MedlinePlus: Vitamin D; February 2011
- "The New York Times"; Restless Legs Syndrome
- "The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society"; The Effect of Melatonin, Magnesium, and Zinc on Primary Insomnia; Mariangela Rondanelli, et. al.; January 2011
- Dr. Michael J. Breus; Clinical Psychologist, Board Certified Sleep Specialist
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