Insomnia and ED's

Although every symptom of my eating disorder was distressing, the insomnia that came with it was one of the most life-altering for me. At my worst moments, I was working 13 hour shifts and returning home exhausted, but totally unable to sleep. Many hours were spent sobbing into my pillow, hungry, tired, afraid and desperate for some peace.

Difficulty sleeping is a recognised symptom of an eating disorder. I think there are several potential reasons; it may be linked to the depression which so often runs alongside an ED, hormonal disturbances, increased anxiety, the use of sleep-inhibiting behaviours such as caffeine loading and, put simply, a lack of nutrition preventing the body from switching off. My exercise level was too high, my carbohydrate consumption too low, and when I wanted to sleep my body spent the time screaming 'Get up and find me some food!' instead. Prior to my ED, I vividly remember the times that I went to bed hungry, or woke up ravenous at 2am, and was unable to fall asleep; if you're hungry, more often than not the body just won't rest until it is satiated. It's a natural response.

Everyone has nights where they just. can't. sleep. but for me, my insomnia started to drift away when I did 2 main things:

1. Started eating a nourishing diet throughout the day.
2. Began having a substantial night snack 20-30mins before going to bed (something like toast, a toasted teacake, cereal and banana etc)

For some, eating before bed has always been a no-no, but I find myself unable to nod off and, if I do, waking up hungry if I don't have a good snack. I can't tell you the difference that eating well has made to my sleeping, and if I happen to have a bad few days food-wise, the effects always show up in my sleep. Definitely an incentive to keep eating!

As for the much touted theory that eating late makes you gain weight, well, here's my stance on that - if the body shut down entirely overnight, it might make sense. But while we sleep, our body is still functioning; our heart is beating, our lungs are working, our brain is working, our skin and hair are growing and repairing, our liver is active, our stomach is digesting, our kidneys are still going etc etc. All of these processes require energy, and energy is the same whenever you give it. My mother, for example, has 2 snacks each evening and has been the same weight for years. The National Sleep Foundation even recommend a good snack:

I've also found some other, non-food related things really useful in helping my sleep:

• lavender essential oil is brilliant sprinkled on a tissue or on my pillow - it plays a huge role in helping me relax.
• making sure I'm not too hot or too cold - lately I've been taking a hot water bottle for my feet which is nice.
• getting into a good routine - I always read a chapter or two of a good book before trying to sleep, and I find it helps me unwind and stop thinking about everything going on in my head.
• practising mindfulness in bed can be really helpful if I can't drift off.
• I use a Lumie body clock which gives an artificial sunset before I sleep, and I really like it; it's also a much kinder way to wake up in the morning and stops me from being grumpy and thrashing an alarm off in a rage!