Does Coconut Oil help you sleep?

Can Coconut Oil be used as a Sleeping Pill

Simple answer: No! It would be good if it did but I can testify by accident that coconut oil definitely won’t work like a sleeping pill! The good news is coconut oil gives you buckets of energy which is just what you need through the daylight hours just not at 1 am in the morning.

However if taken correctly and at the right time then Yes! – coconut oil can help with correcting sleep patterns including insomnia. Are you confused yet? There is a lot of information out there in cyber world that mentions coconut oil and sleep in the same article that some people may find misleading as it’s not clear on when to take coconut oil, when not to and how much in order to get the benefits.

Taking coconut oil, full of energy boosting MCFAs, is not only going to give you energy to burn throughout the day but will help provide all the necessary building blocks for correct hormone production. Because hormone production is vital to good sleeping patterns it only goes to say that if your hormones are not regulating or secreting at the correct rate, your sleeping patterns are going to be disturbed. Sleep patterns can be disturbed for a number of reasons. Whether you are a new mum, working long hours and managing family life, in the midst of perimenopause or later, or suffering with illness our sleep patterns can be affected sometimes temporarily as well as long term.

Not long after having my 3rd consecutive miscarriage, and careening into years of illness with systemic candidiasis my sleep became one of fitful stages throughout the night. At the beginning, I could still easily fall asleep but then couldn’t stay asleep and would often be awake for long periods during the night (quite a horrible place to be). Eventually though, I stopped being able to fall asleep and would spend most nights having restless and endless hours of tossing and turning, often resorting to getting up and reading or doing some quiet activity to try and ease my distress over not sleeping. I eventually was diagnosed with PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder) and was given a prescription drug to treat my anxiety but that also acted as a mild sedative in order for me to sleep. The dose initially was high which I wasn’t happy about but I got the rest that I needed and after about 12 months I managed to scale it down to smaller doses to where it is today. I still take a minimal dose while working with natural remedies to correct the problem.

Does Coconut Oil benefit sleep patterns

When I first starting taking coconut oil, I noticed that even though I was still taking the small dose sedative to get to sleep, I was waking a whole heap fresher than before. Considering that for the last 6 years of my life I had been dragging myself out of bed each morning, this was a refreshing change to say the least. I became so enthused about the affects that coconut oil was having in my body, an aid to cold sores, fungal toenails, alleviating skin conditions, oil pulling that I made the mistake of taking more coconut oil. Well I learn’t the hard way that taking more of a good thing is not always the best thing. Coconut oil is remarkably good for you, but taking more than your body requires will give you some troublesome side effects, like nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea, excess calories and sleeplessness. However taking the correct amount of coconut oil for your body will reap endless benefits, especially when it comes to altering your hormones and adjusting sleep patterns.

The Correct dose for taking Coconut oil

While there are articles out there outlining dosages as per weight per person, it seems that people often run into problems if they are slightly smaller or larger than the weight/coconut oil ratio. Bruce Fife ND and a long time advocate of coconut oil recommends the following dosage.

Weight                                  Daily Coconut Oil Dose

175lbs+ (79kgs+)                   4 tbls

150lbs  (68kgs)                      3 1/2 tbls

125lbs (56kgs)                       3 tbls

100lbs (45kgs)                       2 1/2 tbls

75lbs (34kgs)                         2 tbls

50lbs (23kgs)                         1 1/2 tbls

25lbs (11kgs)                         1 tbls

For most people 3-4 tablespoons a day is enough. Don’t forget you can get your doses not just from the oil but also from coconut milk, meat and cream.

When to Take Coconut Oil and When Not To

Because coconut oil increases your metabolism and energy levels, IMO it is not advisable to have it after 7pm at the latest. The best way to take it is divide your dosage up throughout the day, according to the chart above. Spread it out over breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Other Natural Treatments to Aid Sleep

In addition to taking coconut oil here are some other natural remedies that may aid or correct sleep patterns.

Passionflower Tea: Known for it’s calming and sedating effects on the nervous system, passionflower tea can ease restlessness and sleeplessness if taken on a regular basis. Drink up to 3-4 cups of the tea during the day with the last one at night 30 minutes before bedtime. If pregnant, check with a naturopath or doctor for safe usage doses.

Magnesium: There are several ways that you can use magnesium in order to aid sleeping. Since most of us are deficient in magnesium, then it will reap many more benefits in your body than simply aiding sleep but it’s how you take it that’s important. The best results come from either a magnesium body butter rubbed into the skin, a magnesium spray rubbed into the soles of the feet or soaking in an Epsom Salts bath for approximately 20 minutes before bedtime. Magnesium is absorbed best through the skin and can often give instant results especially for things like leg cramps or restless leg syndrome.

Do you suffer from insomnia or inability to fall asleep? Have you tried any natural remedies that work?

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