I never sleep enough

[Mr. PC]

EDIT This thread was split off from another thread /EDIT

I never sleep enough. 3-5 hours a days. I really just cant fall alseep, because I think / worry too much. My sis says she doesn't sleep much but often she'll say things like that to emulate me, who knows?

If it were genetic could being on the diet 100% get rid of it? I'm on it I feel like 80% right now, maybe 90%.

People always tell me I look tired.

[RRM]

Is it hard for you to fall asleep, or to keep sleeping?

[Mr. PC]

To fall asleep, but on the occasion I do fall asleep early (12:30 - 1:00am), I'll wake up constantly, like last night, although the bags are still there. Although I feel great today, but I think I might be bipolar; it feels mostly like adrenaline, not like a calm focused energy. I've tried sleep drugs, they don't really work, and what I read is that you don't benefit from the kind of sleep they give you. I find I generally just can't stop thinking / worrying about things, and when I'm 'down' I just feel too lonely to sleep.

[panacea]

be careful with thoughts like 'I think I might be bipolar', in my experience (and I've had a lot of *personal* experience if you know what I mean) those kinds of diseases are left for really, really, malnourished/psychologically stressed to the point of paranoia, etc kind of people. All of the normal people just 'talk their minds into it' in a sort of self-fulfilling prophecy, when really nothing like that is wrong with them in the first place.

[RRM]

How many egg yolks do you consume, on average?
Are you taking any supplements?

[Mr. PC]

I usually eat 6 yolks a day and about 100 grams of salmon. I don't take any supplements.

[RRM]

You are a small/thin guy, right?
You might consider consuming less protein (preferably less fish) for a while, to see what the effects are.
Of course this needs to be compensated (regarding energy) by drinking more juice, for example.

[Mr. PC]

What could be the side effects for me consuming too much protein? I was hoping to increase my strength but I guess sleep/health is going to be more important for my goals than muscle. It would also be quite a bit easier and cheaper if I didn't have to eat the fish. Would 6 yolks a day be enough? I'm 120lbs and 6'1", I think that translates to 8.9 stone and 185cm.

[panacea]

Protein absorption is capped. There's absolutely no need to take large amounts. Focus on supplying your body with all that it *needs* (no nutritional weak links) and then if you want to bulk up - simply use your body in a way that requires you to take that form, short, intense bursts of needed energy. For instance if you wanted aesthetic bulky muscles you wouldn't run 7 miles everday, as that would require your body to be lean and slender like a gazelle. You'd try pushing a car or something for 10 seconds, or trying to explode and take off using all of your weight etc. Basically just be a short-term powerhouse type of guy even if you're not and if you have the necessary nutrients in a broad scope your body should adapt to your new lifestyle 'needs'. just from what I've read.

[RRM]

What could be the side effects for me consuming too much protein?

Your blood amino acid pools growing bigger and bigger (up to 900%!)
Serotonin is essential for good sleep....

http://www.waiworld.com/waisays/disease ... ssion.html
- To transform tryptophan into serotonine, vitamin B6 is required. Consuming more protein than you need, requires extra vitamin B6 (and B2 and folic acid). Consuming too much proteinous food inhibits serotonine production.

- Consuming too much increases blood-amino acid levels, making it harder for the brain to specifically pick up tryptophan.

- Consuming too much protein increases blood-phenylalanine level. The amino acid phenylalanine inhibits serotonine production, through inhibiting decarboxylation of 5-hydroxy-L-tryptophane into serotonine.

- Consuming too much protein increases blood-leucine level. The amino acid leucine enhances tryptophan-pyrrolase, irreversibly decomposing tryptophan. Unfortunately, the liver cannot decompose leucine, tissues like muscles can.

You can find a balance between good sleep and the protein stimulating muscle growth.
You just need to find it. You can have both.

It would also be quite a bit easier and cheaper if I didn't have to eat the fish. Would 6 yolks a day be enough?

Its best to alternate fish with yolks. You can eat fish twice a week and yolks on the other 5 days, for example.
I would recommend to eat about 8 yolks (5 days) or 130 grams of fish (2 days) daily.
Thats still high enough to stimulate muscle growth in someone of your build,
and it may be low enough to reduce blood protein levels.
You may consider 1 day of consuming no yolks or fish at all to jump start a decrease.
If, after 2 weeks the lower intakes still dont work, you can try 7 egg yolks or 115 grams of fish daily.

[Mr. PC]

Well, this is all on the assumption that the protein is the antagonist here. Thanks for moving my thread so I don't derail that other thread btw. Yesterday and today I only had 6 yolks, should I still go a day with no protein to jumpstart it? Or would going a few days with little protein be as good?

To panacea, my reason for wanting to build strength is so that I can play piano for longer amounts of time. I've also been toying with the idea of learning to fight, because I know a few people (adults and kids) who are bullied by some assholes, and I feel like I might be able to do something if I were a fighter, (one woman even told me I might be able to do something if I could fight). Although I don't think that would ever really happen, I really have a hard time with violence. But I thought maybe if I was a little stronger and spent a long time reading about an efficient fighting method, I'd be able to do it. Anyway the point is I want utilitarian strength, not aesthetic strength. But I guess taking your logic I should just do what I need to do and build that strength naturally, but the problem is, I'm not able to play piano extensively because of situational factors as well as my nerves, and I don't want to build fighting strength by fighting because I really would not want to do that. Even friendly fighting. I hate getting hit and I'm not really able to hit my friends even if they tell me to.

I did read that section about too much protein, I'd just forgotten about it. I was under the impression when I read it though that this was caused by people eating too much unusable protein from cooked / low-quality proteins. I guess I just assumed it didn't apply to me.

The fish I buy (frozen salmon) comes in packages of 1 lbs (450 grams) cut into 4, which are about 115 grams. So should I just have the 115 grams on fish days? Or could I do that plus 1 eggyolk?

Also, I'm afraid that if I use too much muscle during the day, and don't have enough protein to rebuild properly, it'll have some serious affect? What would be the affect of not getting enough protein because I over-used my body during the day?

[Oscar]

On the subject of fighting: the people who get bullied can learn how to fight themselves too, if they choose.
Most people need to learn how to hit someone else, and even when trained in a martial art.
It's your choice to learn how to fight or not. There are several ways to deal with situations; the famous Chinese general Sun-Tzu has said: "winning without fighting is the highest victory".

[RRM]

Well, this is all on the assumption that the protein is the antagonist here.

Exactly, its just an assumption; one of the possibilities.

would going a few days with little protein be as good?

yes

The fish I buy (frozen salmon) comes in packages of 1 lbs (450 grams) cut into 4, which are about 115 grams. So should I just have the 115 grams on fish days? Or could I do that plus 1 eggyolk?

sure.

Also, I'm afraid that if I use too much muscle during the day, and don't have enough protein to rebuild properly

Im far more physically active than you, 1.90 tall and 80 kg, and i can maintain muscle mass with 130 g daily,
so you will be perfectly fine regarding this.