Posted by Lao Tzu on November 23, 2010, at 15:04:00
In reply to Re: Five-Way Concoction to Mild Depression and Anxiety, posted by Chan Fook on November 23, 2010, at 8:39:42
What I find about B6 is that it helps with anxiety and to some degree depression. About 100mg per day would probably do you fine. It's worth looking into. Very good vitamin to take each day. What has helped me with sleep is to take 500mg of a very good magnesium supplement (say, magnesium citrate or glycinate) plus a good chelated calcium supplement, also around 500mg. That way, you get a 1:1 ratio of calcium to magnesium and this does go a long way to improving sleep in a lot of people. I can't say for sure what the exact dosages of calcium/magnesium will help you, but I find that magnesium alone (taken at bedtime) is not sufficient for sleep. You really need to take an equal portion of calcium as well. That's been my experience. Also, a little melatonin each night may improve your sleep. I take only 1mg at bedtime. For me, the melatonin alone doesn't work well. You need to address other deficiencies like the magnesium and calcium along with other potentially beneficial nutrients.
As far as the NAC, I don't know the chemistry of why it disturbed my sleep. It just interfered with a restful sleep, and I guess some people aren't affected by it in that way. I just never liked it. I almost felt as if it made my depression worse. But I am a special case. Look at the basics first. Are you deficient in any B vitamins. Those are very important. B1, B2, B3, B5, B6, folic acid, B12. Sometimes, if you are deficient in any of the B vitamins, you may not sleep as well. It's difficult to know why you have insomnia. The stress from school is definitely a factor. I know. I had problems when I was in college many years ago. My problem was that I was bipolar and I didn't even know it and wasn't even diagnosed until years later. The problem with mental illness is that it usually isn't diagnosed until symptoms are severe. There's no blood test for it like other illnesses. The question you have to ask yourself is, Am I stable enough to function in everyday life, or is something about myself troubling me? If you're troubled by symptoms that don't seem to resolve naturally, then look for reasons why they might be happening to you. Maybe it's as simple as being stressed out from your studies. Maybe it's something else in your life that hasn't been resolved. I remember when I was in college, the bipolar wasn't so severe and I was actually able to sleep very well despite the stress. Today, however, sleep is an issue for me, but since I've been using the vitamins, I do sleep a lot better.Maybe it's just a good idea to make sure one gets the proper amounts of nutrients before a condition gets any worse. One thing I read about was how early use of FISH OIL could possibly prevent more serious mental health issues later on. That means taking like, 1,500mg of fish oil everyday, which is no big deal and it's unlikely to have side effects. Fish oil, I believe, is a good investment in your health, including mental health. I take three 500mg fish oil capsules in the morning everyday, and it really does help me. I use a brand called Eskimo-3, which is a very good fish oil without the contaminants. There are so many good brands, and it's not necessarily expensive. It sounds like you are getting some good nutrients. You might look into B6, zinc picolinate, B12, folic acid, vitamins C and E, and fish oil as well, and also other B vitamins. I like to take the individual B vitamins, but getting a good B-complex everyday would also be a good idea if that's what you choose to do.
For myself, with the NAC, I found that 300mg in the morning didn't necessarily cause insomnia. When I increased it to 600mg per day, it did cause restless sleep. However, some people can take much more than that without a problem with sleep, so it really depends on your individual biochemistry. A lot of these supplements on the market are useless, in my opinion, if they don't jive with your individual chemistry, and supplements just like medicine have side effects. Maybe the insomnia will resolve itself naturally. Stress reduction with yoga is a great idea. Maybe that's all you need to help with your sleep. If not, you may look into a bedtime regimen of a 1:1 ratio of calcium and magnesium. If so, get good quality magnesium and calcium and preferably, chelated minerals. It might just relax you enough to sleep well. Again, I discovered that magnesium alone taken at bedtime was not sufficient to help with sleep. I need to take an equal amount of calcium with it. They kind of balance each other out.
I hope you figure it all out, and there is a lot of good information out there, a lot of which I wasn't privy to years ago.
Lao
poster:Lao Tzu
thread:969387
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/alter/20100930/msgs/971095.html