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With no sources, and only a second-hand anecdote, I’ve heard that fasting from anywhere between 3-7 days can have some crazy effects on sleep (apparently you have tons of energy at odd times, ketones, etc etc). Anyway, might be worth a shot in the dark if nothing else seems to work for you during those spats, maybe try a bit of a fast and see if it provides a helpful shock to the sleep system?

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Interesting suggestion. I thought I had tried everything, but never tried anything like that. Thx will keep in mind if it ever happens again (god I hope not).

Research seems to support it: "Compared to baseline, a significant decrease in arousals, a decrease in periodic leg movements (PLM) and a non-significant increase in REM sleep were observed at the end of fasting." https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12748412/

Though, personal anecdata: I sleep less during week-long water fasting (<7h instead of usual ~8h). I feel excellent but the total duration is less. Resistance training (barbell) increases the duration for me.

I find when I can't sleep the best treatment is fig newtons and milk, which is about the opposite of this. I also find that food to close to or far away from bedtime is injurious to my sleep.

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