Jenny West, the Englishwoman who discovered independently the value of taking Vitamin D3 in the morning, wrote again:
Since reading some of the other D3 stories, I increased my D3 [morning] dosage to 5000 IU/day [from 3000 IU/day] two days ago.
1. I immediately slept even better – no longer being aware of mid-sleep turning-over.
2. I’ve had a large boost of energy and the clarity of thought that both Robin Barooah and Alexandra Carmichael mentioned.
3. A year-long injury – specifically a dislocated coccyx – has suddenly taken a step forward, and I found myself running for the Tube last night – something I can’t remember when I last did it. Is this a direct effect of the D3, or an indirect one resulting from much better sleep?
This agrees with what both Alexandra and I experienced: a dose of 4000 IU worked much better than a dose of 2000 IU.
Interesting posts on Vit D & Sleep, Seth. It would be nice to know optimal 25(OH)D levels and sleep…makes me wonder just how depleted, (or not), they folks are that have positive anecdotes.
Being coeliac, I am almost certainly depleted. Coeliacs don’t absorb fat easily, even when they have apparently ‘healed guts’. I have have been gluten free for 6.5 years, and various other things ‘healed’ at the 2 year point, but the nutritionist warned me that absorption can always remain problematical.
all good but also at least nod to the notion that this could be ascribed to a placebo effect. its well documented that inceasing the dosage of a sugar pill, e.g two pills rather than one, makes a placebo more effective. that’s the problem with relying on anecdotes alone.
I’ve had SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder) every Fall and Winter that I can remember, though it’s been more severe as I became a young adult and middle-aged adult.
I had been trying Vitamin D, in doses of 2000, 4000, and 5000, with very little, if any, effect.
This year I saw a new variety – D3 in 10,000. I figured I’d try it…
And I am going to go down to 5000 again!
I’ve definitely had more energy during the day, less sleepiness (though I’m still tired during the day, if you see the difference between sleepiness and tiredness). But it’s lasted too long, and pushed my bedtime back an hour and a half before I can really feel like falling asleep.
What I didn’t think of was the delivery mode. I’d been taking tablets of D3 before. This much higher dose isn’t just a higher dose, it’s a geltab filled with oil. It seems much, much more effective… too effective.
I’m going to try the 5000 dose also in the same oil-filled gel tab and see if that’s a better fit for me.
Right now I’m trying to answer the question: Is there an effect? Does D3 in the morning make a difference?
How to explain the effect — if there is one — comes later.
I have needed to use a light box for Seasonal Affective Disorder every winter since I self diagnosed myself 10 years ago. I have upped my Vitamin D usage up since Seth began advocating it. This is the first January/Feb I have not felt the need to use or used the light box in 10 years.