Do vitamin c supplements give insomnia?

Answer 1

My answer to that would be...maybe.

William Sears, MD, says, " Vitamin C improves the absorption of calcium. This is why calcium-fortified Orange Juice makes sense." So in this way Vitamin C may actually help you sleep.

But if you take Vitamin C in the evening it could cause insomnia, especially if you are fasting, and maybe even when you don't eat a snack after dinner. Because hunger is one trigger for the flight-or-fight, neurotransmitter hormone adrenaline. And one of the many ways the body needs Vitamin C is to make adrenaline.

Adrenaline raises heart, blood pressure and breathing rates. It signals the heart to pump extra blood to the muscles, readying them for action.

Definitely not conductive to restful sleep!

It is useful to keep in mind, too, that a Vitamin C deficiency can cause insomnia. Without this vitamin the body can't convert the essential amino acid, tryptophan, to the neurotransmitter serotonin. And serotonin is major in regulating the sleep/wake cycle.

Getting enough sleep is important. Extensive research shows that insomnia adds to depression, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and other ills. There is more than a grain of truth in the saying, "We all need our beauty sleep."

Side note: It is rumored that the acidic form of Vitamin C can deplete the body of calcium causing sleeplessness. This rumor originates on a chiropractic site, perhaps to bring traffic. Either way, this claim and other dubious assertions in the article are not documented by even a single cite.

Answer 2

Supplements seem to cause me insomnia. But, I seem to be pretty sensitive to food and drink, for example, small amounts of caffeine and many wines also cause me insomnia. When I take supplements (or wine) I wake in the middle of the night feeling like my skin is warm, and I have trouble getting back to sleep. If I'm careful not to eat or imbibe these things I usually sleep very well.

I did look around, and there are a couple of small studies from a few years ago that find a correlation between supplements and sleep disturbance.

Answer 3

B6 definitely does for me. I can't take it, even in the morning, or I won't sleep at all that night.