Do Omega-3 supplements disrupt sleep?

Vic · 10-03-2010, 11:32 AM

I've been taking Nordic Naturals Omega-3 and now Ultimate Omega and recently I've been taking the two pills a day at once and I try to do this before the early afternoon.

Now, I'm wondering if it's affecting my sleep as last night and a few nights earlier I seemed a bit wired and active mentally and couldn't really sleep well. Has anyone else experienced this and do you have any suggestions? Becky, I believe you once mentioned that Omega-3s and fish oils, in general, may do this. Today, I'm only going to take one Ultimate Omega and do it before noon.

Vicki

imdavidson · 10-03-2010, 01:33 PM

Vic,

I was taking Nordic Naturals right before bed and it was keeping me up as well, so I switched to taking it in the late afternoon where I figured I could use that jump in energy. That must be early enough for me because I'm sleeping better.

Idelle

caya · 10-03-2010, 05:08 PM

Thanks for bringing this up. I had no idea Omega 3's could disrupt sleep, and I don't sleep well to begin with. I will definitely make sure I take this supplement by noon.

That's what I love about this site - sharing all kinds of little "tidbits", as well as major ones.

all the best
caya

Jackie07 · 10-03-2010, 05:45 PM

OK, here's the experiment. I just popped an Omega-3 - let me see what happens tonight...

caya · 10-03-2010, 06:31 PM

Jackie I will be waiting for your update tomorrow. It will be interesting...

all the best
caya

Laurel · 10-03-2010, 06:50 PM

Never bothers me. The worst sleep disruptor after the 'roids with chemo was Tamoxifen.

Vic · 10-03-2010, 06:52 PM

Jackie,

I'm doing the same experiment and will also advise. I only took one and it was at 11:30 a.m.

Sweet dreams,

Vicki

ElaineM · 10-03-2010, 08:41 PM

I take anything that might keep me awake before noon. I take things that may make me drowsy later in the day.
How about a cup of warm milk before bed to relax you and help you sleep?

Cal-Gal · 10-03-2010, 08:48 PM

I take Cod liver oil (Nordic Naturals) in the a.m. right before breakfast--I take Melantonin (Life Extension) at night--in addition to being a great sleep aid--there have been studies that Melantonin can be effective against bc--and especially my type ILC.

Rich66 · 10-03-2010, 08:56 PM

Hmm...
Of all the things in mom's supp list...never considered the fish oil.

Jackie07 · 10-04-2010, 02:55 AM

So this is why I'm still wide awake at 4:53 am...

Conclusion: no fish oil after10 am...

caya · 10-04-2010, 06:55 AM

And I slept better because I had taken only one Omega 3 in the morning.... okay I think we may have solved the problem.
It's just before 10 a.m. here - I will be taking that supplement pronto!!

all the best
caya

Becky · 10-04-2010, 07:21 AM

Omega 3 can disrupt sleep but isn't as much of a culprit as the CoQ10. Make sure you take that by noon or so.

imdavidson · 10-04-2010, 02:29 PM

Becky,

Do you know the reason why omega-3 and coQ10 disrupt sleep? It would be interesting to find out.

Idelle

R.B. · 10-04-2010, 03:58 PM

Hi all,

My reading would suggest that overall Omega 3s would improve sleep for a variety of reasons.

There is very little experimental work on Omega 3 and sleep but I am aware of one trial that is being done at the moment, one suggesting that babies whose mothers had high DHA in breast milk slept better, another suggesting it may improve sleep in children, and just found this one.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/582688

Omega-3 Fatty Acids Inversely Related to Sleep Apnea Severity

DHA is also important to melatonin production, and which suggests it will improve sleep.

There are other mechanisms by which DHA may contribute to sleep.

However I had never considered if time of intake would affect sleep.

Does it happen with ordinary bottled fish oil? I have historically found taking fish oil before bed may improve sleep. but that is only an impression. However I took some last night and did not sleep for a while. I am now wondering if its effect late at night depends on your Omega 3 status. If you cell membranes are already at capacity it will be metabolised differently I suspect. Thanks for the observations, food for thought (-:

C0Q10 falls at night, and I can think of reasons why COQ10 supplementation would alter cellular function in ways that would reduce sleep. Insomnia is listed as an effect of C0Q10here.

http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/p...allpages/print

Re Omega 3s I had a quick look at nordic naturals, and could not see anything else in them that would explain sleep loss. I do not know if gelatin affects sleep.

I would be really interested to hear your observations on fish oil and sleep.

jhandley · 10-04-2010, 11:49 PM

Both Q10 and DHA cross the bbb. Q10 provides energy to every cell so it stands to reason it will perk you up..I take it only in the morning. otherwise no sleep!
jackie (down under)

Vic · 10-05-2010, 01:06 PM

Well I've been sleeping better now that I've taken the capsule before 11 a.m. I slept much better last night and wanted to mention that Becky brings up a good point about CoQ-10 being a possible contributor to a more sleepless night. Now that I think of it, I've been taking Solaray's Red Yeast Rice with CoQ-10 (and it has reduced my cholesterol from 217 to 198. Yea!) and I was splitting those two pills in the a.m. and midafternoon, so that could also have been part of it. Thanks, everyone, for joining in on this. Making a simple adjustment in the time of day I take these two supplements is helping.

Vicki

caya · 10-09-2010, 10:02 AM

I've also been taking my supplement before 11:00 a.m. the past few days and the effect has been nothing short of miraculous - I've had 7 - 71/2 hours of basically uninterrupted sleep. No trouble falling asleep either.

all the best
caya

R.B. · 10-10-2010, 03:07 AM

HI Caya

Thanks for the observation.

Have you been taking Omega 3 for a while?

Does the oil have any Vit A or D - I have no idea if vit A or D are factors but used to be present in greater quantities in fish oil.

caya · 10-10-2010, 09:16 PM

R.B.

I have been taking Omega 3 for about 2 years. It is a 1000 mg. capsule, -EPA 300 mg. DHA 200 mg. No vitamin A or D in the capsule, but I take a multivitamin daily which has 1,000 IU Vit. A, plus 500 U of Vitamin D3. I take an additional 4,000 units of Vitamin D3.
I also take Glucosamine Chondroitin, Calcium, Magnesium,Vitamin C, Cranberry Supplement, Curcurmin, Potassium (due to low potassium because of a diuretic I have been taking for about 25 years).

all the best
caya