Can Going Keto Mess With Your Sleep? This MD Says Yes

It's true, at least for those just starting out on the diet: "Keto is definitely affecting your hormones and not always in a positive way—at least not classic keto," says Harvard-trained integrative medicine doctor Sara Gottfried, M.D., author of Women, Food, and Hormones, on the mindbodygreen podcast. As a result, she notes women have higher rates of poor sleep on the eating plan. But don't worry—she offers an easy fix. 

The keto diet can also affect the leptin hormone: Women, generally, have more leptin sensitivity than men1, so they can be more sensitive to when leptin levels decline too low, which can influence low-quality sleep (and make them hungrier, too). 

"It's not that women can't experience the benefits [of keto]," says Gottfried. "It's just that we need some workarounds." To that end, she recommends introducing more carbs into the diet than "classic keto" might allow. "Even though I was told that was not the way to do keto, I found that many patients are able to get into ketosis focusing on net carbs," she says. 

And if you'd like even more of a nudge before bed, you can lean on sleep supplements clinically shown to have a calming effect on the brain. Our very own sleep support+ was designed with leading researchers and physicians to help you fall asleep faster, stay asleep longer, and wake up feeling more refreshed, featuring 120 mg of highly absorbable and gentle magnesium bisglycinate with jujube seed extract and PharmaGABA®.* It's a well-rounded supplement free of GMOs, gluten, dairy, soy, and food allergens, and it can seamlessly fit into any lifestyle.

Cutting out complex carbs does have the potential to mess with your sleep—of course, not everyone experiences this effect (everyone's body is different!), and it does tend to go away once your body gets used to the new eating plan. But if you are starting keto and having trouble clocking hours, you might want to think about slotting in some sleep-promoting, whole carbs. Just one more caveat: You don't want to eat anything too heavy right before bed, even if the foods are inherently sleep-promoting. Other than that, dig in and dream on.