The relationship between poor sleep and lactose intolerance

Obviously, during the day I would feel sleepy if I wanted to read a book, I was very tired, had trouble concentrating, and a kind of mental fog that prevented me from thinking clearly.

The strange thing is that there were nights when my sleep was between 7 and 8 hours, which, in a healthy adult, is considered normal. But still, my day was a real ordeal: I would be eager to sleep by 7 in the evening.

I didn't quickly identify that this was a sleep problem until I had a sleep study done (medically called a polysomnography).

The sleep study led to the diagnosis: I had fragmented sleep. Which basically means that I would wake up during the night, although I wasn't aware of it.

What is lactose intolerance from milk

Starting at 28, I began to notice that milk gave me stomach cramps and even excessive gas. The gastroenterologist told me I had lactose intolerance, which is common to appear at that age, but can also manifest at other times in life.

The intolerance got worse over time, I couldn't even taste any snack that had some milk in it, because it made me very sick.

Of course, I started consuming lactose-free products or directly lactose-free. I also bought lactase enzyme capsules, which are taken a little before consuming milk and help your intestines process the milk better.

The lactase enzyme is what the body is lacking and, for this reason, those of us who are lactose intolerant cannot consume milk: we cannot break down the lactose or milk sugar.

For a while, my life was fairly normal, I could consume milk as long as I took the lactase enzyme... although I started experiencing sleep problems at 34.

The least expected enemy: milk

As I said, my sleep problems started at the age of 34. It was getting worse every time. There were days when even my body, my joints hurt.

Of course!, after a hard gym routine, the body needs to rest and recover... as my body was not repairing properly, mysterious pains appeared.

All the doctors I went to pointed out that my health was impeccable. And, regarding my sleep problem, it was anxiety, which was a matter to be resolved with psychological therapy or sleeping medications.

But I found a very particular pattern regarding sleep: there were nights when I slept much better than others. The conditions were the same. What could be happening?

I started researching on the internet and, to my surprise, lactose intolerant individuals often have trouble sleeping.

For example, this study "Nutritional disorders and digestive diseases" published in the National Library of Medicine (NLM) is very clear about it.

You can read more scientific studies showing this issue even in infants, for example: Sleep peculiarities in lactose intolerant infants(also in English).

Any digestive problem can complicate your sleep

There are countless scientific articles that show a link between poor sleep and digestive problems, not only lactose intolerance, but also gastric reflux, inflammatory bowel diseases, liver and pancreas diseases, alterations in intestinal microbiota, and many others.

Here is another article from a respected source that supports this theory: Why food intolerances might be ruining your sleep

In fact, if you enter nutrition forums, you will find people sharing their problems, for example, this one appears on a Reddit forum:

"Some time ago, I followed a special diet, which involved drinking half a gallon of milk a day to help gain weight. Since then, every time I drink milk or dairy products, I am sure to have disrupted sleep, waking up at 3 or 4 in the morning and unable to fall back asleep."

Why does this happen? What can we do?

Unfortunately, lactose-free products are not the answer

Lactose-free products (often labeled as 100% lactose-free or 0% lactose) may seem like the solution at first... but if your lactose intolerance is severe, I must tell you that almost all lactose-free products, even if they claim to be 100% lactose-free, may still contain small traces that could disrupt your sleep.

What I suggest you do, and what I did, is eliminate milk from your life. While milk is a very complete food (I loved it, especially chocolate milk), unfortunately I had to remove it from my diet: a good night's sleep is much more important.

Read the labels of every product you put in your mouth carefully; there are products that contain very little milk or milk derivatives, but could still be disrupting your sleep.

I also recommend that you purchase the dietary supplement lactase enzyme, which I mentioned earlier. You should take it (at least 3 pills of 9000) when you suspect that a product may contain some milk and you must consume it.

Nevertheless, the best general rule is to simply not consume anything derived from milk, even in small amounts: butter, cheese, yogurt, cream.

Never trust food products claiming to be lactose-free: they never truly are.

Initially, from what I have read in studies and a specialized nutrition forum, sleep improvement appears around 4 to 5 weeks after completely eliminating milk. It seems to be the time it takes for the body to recover from the stress caused by lactose.

So, how did I improve my sleep?

My sleep improved a lot after eliminating milk. Of course, I also had to address other issues with therapy, such as anxiety and maintaining good sleep hygiene (avoiding screens before bed, keeping the room cool and completely dark, sleeping at the same time every day, etc.).

Sleep problems are usually multifactorial, meaning there is not just one reason that causes sleep issues.

I provide more details on how I managed to improve my sleep in this other article I recommend reading: I Solved my Sleep Problem in 3 Months: I'll tell you how

How can I tell if I am experiencing this issue?

Well, there are lactose intolerances that are very subtle, that will depend on each person. When you drink milk, you may hardly notice discomfort, some sounds in your stomach, but not much more.

There are several medical studies that you can ask your doctor for that can guide you and know if you could be suffering from lactose intolerance or other food intolerances:

— Lactose intolerance test: Ask your gastroenterologist for the lactose intolerance test, and while you're at it, you could also ask to test if you are celiac; it is very likely that celiac disease also generates sleep problems.

— Cortisol blood test: This requires an analysis of your blood, early in the morning. If the value is altered, it means that your body is stressed, and the cause could be a food intolerance.

— Abdominal ultrasound: In my case, over these years, I had at least three abdominal ultrasounds. In all of them, the gastroenterologist noticed intense gas stored in my intestines in the images. This means that some food I consume produces too many gases in my body: and that can be seen in the ultrasound images! It is a very strong indicator that lactose is not breaking down as it should.

— Some value in your blood test may be altered: for example, my lymphocytes are higher than usual. Of course, this altered value can also be common in other diseases such as leukemia. So, you should consult with a hematologist if any value in your blood test is altered.

Sleep is fundamental for our lives. If we don't sleep well, not only will we be tired the next day, it is very likely that we will also get sick more often and live a sadder and shorter life.

I suggest you keep reading this other article that may interest you: The more you worry, the less you live

Consult your doctor about all of this that I have mentioned in this article! I improved my sleep a lot after discovering that foods could be causing me sleep problems.

I sincerely hope this article helps you sleep better.