Does Vitamin D Help Sleep? Yes and See Exactly Why

Do you have trouble sleeping? You may be missing this natural ingredient in your life. In this video, I talk about the importance of vitamin D for sleep and offer some tips on how to get more of it.

References
Nair R, Maseeh A. Vitamin D: The "sunshine" vitamin. J Pharmacol Pharmacother. 2012 Apr;3(2):118-26. doi: 10.4103/0976-500X.95506. PMID: 22629085; PMCID: PMC3356951.

Religi, A et al. “Estimation of exposure durations for vitamin D production and sunburn risk in Switzerland.” Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology vol. 29,6 (2019): 742-752. doi:10.1038/s41370-019-0137-2

Wacker, Matthias, and Michael F Holick. “Sunlight and Vitamin D: A global perspective for health.” Dermato-endocrinology vol. 5,1 (2013): 51-108. doi:10.4161/derm.24494

Martinaityte, Ieva et al. “Vitamin D Stored in Fat Tissue During a 5-Year Intervention Affects Serum 25-Hydroxyvitamin D Levels the Following Year.” The Journal of clinical endocrinology and metabolism vol. 102,10 (2017): 3731-3738. doi:10.1210/jc.2017-01187

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Disclaimer: All of the information on this channel is for educational purposes and not intended to be specific/personal medical advice from me to you. Watching the videos or getting answers to comments/question, does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. If you have your own doctor, perhaps these videos can help prepare you for your discussion with your doctor.

[VerryLongName]

Sleep hygiene can be a very nuanced concept that I wish I would’ve had figured out when I was in middle, high school, and even part of community college. But when you grow up using escape habits to cope with school stress such as excessive gaming and binge eating, one might not notice that their life and development is going down the drain and not get enough sleep as a result

[emeraldangelle]

ive been taking vitamin d3 for years!! got me out of a depression period, just started my 16 yr old daughter on it as she was complaining of not sleeping properly and stress due to school ! thank you Doc !!❤❤❤❤❤❤

[ThoseHappyHips]

This is a great video. I have a vitamin D deficiency every time my Dr runs my bloodwork no matter how much time I spend outside (I live in Virginia on the coast so we get plenty of sun here). I always end up getting the prescription to sort it out. It has been like that for ages and no Dr has been able to figure out why I don't seem able to store it!

[marcinx]

Dr. Marks, could you make a video on a subject of sickness behavior?

I noticed that whenever a flu or simillar sickness kicks in my anxiety related behaviours become stronger (loss of focus, pointless web browsing).
Appreciate video cover on that in the future.

Also, would meditation be a good practice I should introduce?


One last topic - how to be productive when flu kicks in?


Thanks!

[christophergrow]

You might want to mention the importance of taking Magnesium when taking Vitamin D. Liquid Vitamin D tends to work better than pills. Lots of videos about this and information you can find with google. As a note, Taking D3 and Magnesium really helped improve my mood.

[drewc]

I'm living in Michigan, where we have at least partial cloud cover everyday. Some years we will have a month or more with no direct sun at all, overcast all day everyday. Seasonal depression is mostly just accepted as a normal part of life. Every doctor I've seen here has asked if I take D3, and say the whole state is deficient. I've been taking 5000 iu supplements every other day in the winter for a few years now, and it really does make a difference.

[chris_losin_it]

Thank you Dr Marks for this in depth information on Vitamin D. You have explained it much better than I’ve heard before and it’s truly appreciated🙏🏼. I’m able to get most of mine from diet (keto) and sun exposure. However both my sister and husband had deficiencies showing in their lab results. I always love your videos and shorts. They help me more than you know. ❤

[lovelightcontinuum]

Well presented without hype or drama, factual and professional. As are the other videos I've seen from Dr Marks. Very much appreciated, she is doing a true service.

[sylvia.s.s.]

Well, this explains a lot. I've had insomnia and depression for years, took a lot of different stuff, didn't really work, and a doctor prescribed me Vit D3 this year since I spend most time indoors due to my job... I confess I haven't being constantly taking it, but I'm changing that drastically now!

[portabella]

It’s funny, one month ago I told my husband that sun helps with my insomnia, he doesn’t believe me of course😀

[guriacosmica]

I follow you here from Brazil and I love your videos. 💚💚
Thank you so much for so many teachings.

[seventheaven]

The way you explain more and more into the depth slowly and steadily made me hope that all teachers are like you.

[seabeepirate]

Your videos have helped me identify my dysfunction and get my life on a path that accounts for my divergence. I can’t explain how much that is worth to me.

[reinaldopereira]

I had been suffering from a severe vitamin D deficiency until my psychiatrist told me to take it every day. I take 1000mg every day and my last blood test showed the deficiency is over.

[gypsypath]

This also seems to imply that we, generally, really need much more than is typically recommended.

[catwhisperer]

Doctor, is there a recommended way of actually taking a vitamin D supplement? I take a vitamin D3 supplement and its packaging recommends taking it with food. However, I've read, that it is best taken with fatty foods. Can you shed some light on this and when is the best time of the day to take the supplement? Thank you so much for your amazing content and I look forward to your reply.

[lunarribbon]

Dr. Marks, do you think the high rates of depression/bipolar/sleep disturbances have to do with this mass enforcement of the idea that sun is harmful for the skin, leading people to overuse sunscreen and avoid the sun at all costs?
Also, cultural ideas of beauty standards to be light skinned lead people to avoid sun exposure, thus leading to vitamin D Deficiency.
I would love to hear your thoughts on this!

[vladig]

Hi tracy, your videos have helped me alot when I was going thru a marijuana induced psychosis. I was prescribed olanzapine for a year and gained 50 pounds, then my psychiatrist switched me to abilify and still the weight wouldn’t come off. I felt trapped thinking I will have to be on those meds for life. Until 6 months ago I started to taper down the abilify and I fully came off it with no withdrawals. The weight I gained has came off and the psychosis I had before using the antipsychotics never came back.. Thank God I’m healed, and thank you for sharing your knowledge..

[justinrogers]

There aren't enough bloody vitamins in this world to help me have 1 single good night's sleep.

[mehdizj]

I heard somewhere a low cholesterol diet can cause vitamin D deficiency. Because cholesterol is the base for vitamin D synthesis in the skin cells. Cholesterol is also the base for testosterone and estrogen hormones production.