Growing evidence has demonstrated that vitamin D has a role in sleep regulation [12]. Specifically,
Research suggests vitamin D is involved in your body's production of melatonin, a hormone that helps regulate your circadian rhythms and can benefit your overall sleep quality. This means vitamin D might actually improve your sleep quality.
Vitamin D is non-drowsy, but it won't keep you awake, either. However, one study has suggested that taking an adequate amount of vitamin D can help you sleep better at night.
Is there a benefit to taking vitamin D at night? There's been some buzz suggesting a link between supplementing with vitamin D before bedtime and the ability to drift off to dreamland. Some studies have shown that vitamin D is connected to the production of melatonin, which regulates circadian rhythm and drives sleep.
However, increasing vitamin D levels with supplements may suppress melatonin generation, leading to sleep disturbances. For this reason, people should take vitamin D supplements in the morning to replicate how the body synthesizes them from sunlight rather than taking them at night.
Although there is no adequate scientific evidence on how vitamin D supplementation at night may affect sleep, health professionals recommend it is best to take vitamin D in the morning. ⁵ Taking it at night interferes with melatonin production, affecting sleep quality.
Magnesium is perhaps the most important vitamin or mineral when it comes to sleep. It plays a key role in the bodily function that regulates sleep and studies have shown that sleep suffers without optimal vitamin intake.
Recent findings: Low vitamin D levels are associated with increased symptoms of depression and anxiety. For this reason, vitamin D screening should be performed in the prevention and treatment planning of these mood disorders.
Those with the lowest levels should feel an improvement after just a few days, while those who only need to top up their levels may have to wait a week or two before they begin to feel healthier and more energised.
Some side effects of taking too much vitamin D include weakness, dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, and others. Taking vitamin D for long periods of time in doses higher than 4000 IU (100 mcg) daily is possibly unsafe and may cause very high levels of calcium in the blood.
One study of older adults with insomnia found that magnesium supplementation at a dose of 500 milligrams daily for eight weeks helped them fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, reduced nighttime awakenings, and increased their levels of naturally circulating melatonin.
Results showed that after a year of daily treatment of MS patients, high doses of vitamin D significantly suppressed the nighttime melatonin and that there is a negative correlation between vitamin D and melatonin.
Overall, vitamin C is a water soluble vitamin that does not have sedating or stimulating effects on energy levels in the body. So that means you can truly take vitamin C any time of day without worrying about disrupting your sleep.
Symptoms of vitamin D deficiency may include:
Fatigue. Not sleeping well. Bone pain or achiness. Depression or feelings of sadness.
In general, the two main causes of vitamin D deficiency are: Not getting enough vitamin D in your diet and/or through sunlight. Your body isn't properly absorbing or using vitamin D.
Having inadequate levels of vitamin D may correlate with unintentional weight gain. A study on women over the age of 65 found that participants with a lower vitamin D level experienced more weight gain. A systematic review of 23 different studies found similar associations between vitamin D deficiency and obesity.
Common causes of chronic insomnia include: Stress. Concerns about work, school, health, finances or family can keep your mind active at night, making it difficult to sleep. Stressful life events or trauma — such as the death or illness of a loved one, divorce, or a job loss — also may lead to insomnia.
"Adequate levels of magnesium in the body are essential for the absorption and metabolism not only of vitamin D but of calcium as well," Dean states. "Magnesium converts vitamin D into its active form so that it can help calcium absorption.