Feeling Tired On Your Low Carb Diet? It May Not Just Be The Lack of Carbohy
Many people are opting to use low carb diets in effort to help them reach their weight loss goals. With this though, one issue that often sets in that they have to deal with is an increased level of fatigue.
This is normal as the body progresses on using the lower carb diet muscle glycogen levels will become more depleted (assuming exercise is also taking place), which then increases the fatigue experienced during any given workload.
But, one thing that many people think about with relation to fatigue while on their diet is sleep quality. Sleep is going to play a very large role in how you feel overall while on the diet. If you aren’t getting optimal sleep, this will influence recovery rates, hunger levels, and workout performance as well.
Recently researchers wanted to assess the sleep indices of those who were utilizing a very low carbohydrate diet and those who are utilizing a mixed diet over the short term.
They had two groups divided into groups – one that consumed a very low calorie diet (38% protein, 61% fat, and less than 1% carbs) or else a mixed diet containing 15% protein 12.5% fat, and 72% carbohydrates). Both groups took in 2400 calories each day so the only difference was the macronutrient make-up.
Urine Ketone levels were measured along with blood glucose levels before the evening meals as well as at bed time. Hunger and fullness were also assessed immediately after the meal until bed-time using Likert scales.
The results of the study indicated that the proportion of REM sleep (rapid eye movement where the body is in the dreaming stage of sleep) was significantly decreased for those who were following the low carb diets compared to those who weren’t. Instead, they spent a greater total portion of the evening in the slow wave sleep stage where the body is in deep sleep however tends to feel drowsy and groggy if waken up from.
The influence of these types of diets on the stages of sleep the individual spent most of the night in could help explain why some people really feel tired while utilizing the low carb diet approach.
Reference:
A***hi, A, et al. (2008). Acute effects of the very low carbohydrate diet on sleep indices. Nutr Neurosci. Aug; 11(4):146-54.
