Do Omega-3 supplements disrupt sleep?

[imdavidson]

Becky,

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

Idelle

[R.B.]

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.