A lack of iron in your body can lead to several problems, including sleep issues. It can disrupt your sleep cycle and lead to problems like periodic limb movement disorder and insomnia. A lot of people tend to overlook the signs of iron deficiency or anemia, but it is vital to keep its level in check.
Having an iron-deficiency may not cause insomnia or sleep problems but it can make you feel exhausted and overtired, which in turn may hinder your efforts to fall asleep in the first place!
Current Knowledge/Study Rationale: Iron deficiency is associated with restless legs syndrome, periodic limb movements, and newly recognized restless sleep disorder in children. The adverse effects and intolerance to oral iron therapy remain a challenge especially in children.
Effects of iron supplements on sleep
Results showed a significant improvement in the severity of symptoms for restless leg syndrome, fatigue, and sleep quality. Additionally, participants experienced a significant decrease in headaches, dyspnoea (shortness of breath), and heart palpitations.
As the name implies, iron deficiency anemia is due to insufficient iron. Without enough iron, your body can't produce enough of a substance in red blood cells that enables them to carry oxygen (hemoglobin). As a result, iron deficiency anemia may leave you tired and short of breath.
People lacking enough iron in their blood often feel sluggish, weak, and unable to focus. Though fatigue can be the sign of numerous conditions, if it does not go away with adequate rest, consider having your iron levels checked.
Specifically, iron plays an important role in how your body makes the neurotransmitters called serotonin, dopamine and norepinephrine – all of them important in mental health. Research suggests a connection between low iron levels and symptoms of depression, anxiety, and schizophrenia, Levin and Gattari write.
Taking the supplement before bedtime also ensures increased iron absorption, as your stomach will most likely empty before bedtime. Eating your meal at least two hours earlier before sleep would help increase iron absorption.
Left untreated, however, iron-deficiency anemia can make you feel tired and weak. You may notice pale skin and cold hands and feet. Iron-deficiency anemia can also cause you to feel dizzy or lightheaded. Occasionally, it can cause chest pain, a fast heartbeat and shortness of breath.
In general, patients with iron deficient anemia should manifest a response to iron with reticulocytosis in three to seven days, followed by an increase in hemoglobin in 2-4 weeks.
You may also find that low iron causes weight gain. There are a couple of reasons for this; firstly, your energy levels are low and so your exercise levels reduce; secondly, iron is essential for thyroid function, and an underactive thyroid will lead to weight gain.
Common causes of chronic insomnia include: Stress. Concerns about work, school, health, finances or family can keep your mind active at night, making it difficult to sleep. Stressful life events or trauma — such as the death or illness of a loved one, divorce, or a job loss — also may lead to insomnia.
Iron plays a pivotal role in the healthy functioning of the body and when in short supply, can lead to myriad sleep-related conditions such as restless leg syndrome, constant fatigue and sleep apnea.
Some individuals find magnesium supplements to promote sleep, and a few studies have demonstrated a sleep benefit. Consult with your doctor before adding any supplements to your diet.
It may take one to four weeks (after you start your iron supplement) before you start to feel better.
“If you're mildly low on iron, or slightly anemic, you can experience frequent fatigue, weakness and take longer to complete tasks,” says Mary Ann Skoures, M.D., a family medicine physician with Henry Ford Health. If you're chronically or severely low on iron, it can lead to several side effects: a pale complexion.
You have odd cravings for things that aren't food
While researchers are still trying to figure out why, people with severe iron deficiencies often crave non-food items like dirt, clay, cornstarch, paint chips, cardboard, and cleaning supplies, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute.
Although you won't feel the benefits of taking ferrous sulphate instantly, it won't take too long to show its effects. In most cases, people begin to see signs of improvement in iron deficiency symptoms after around 1 week. The full effects are likely to be felt within 4 weeks of taking the supplement.
In most cases, iron and magnesium are safe to supplement together. However, be careful with the form of magnesium you choose. There is some evidence showing an interaction between iron and antacids, including magnesium oxide 8.
According to a specialist, you should take iron early in the morning to have a good effect, because at this time the body has just undergone a long sleep and this period is when the calcium and iron levels in the body are at a low level. best. Therefore, every day taking iron in the morning is what experts recommend.
In the brain, disruption of iron homeostasis significantly impairs oxidative metabolism of neural cells, with dramatic consequences for synaptic plasticity, myelination, and synthesis of neurotransmitters [4,5].
Sometimes iron deficiency will present as anxiety, depression, irritability, and even poor concentration and general restlessness.
Stress Causing Anaemia
Anxiety, hyperventilation and even panic disorders are the reactions that your body produces against stress. When we are under stress, our body undergoes specific chemical changes which might cause anaemia.
Eye symptoms of low iron can include a pale coloring of the inside of the lower eyelids. In moderate or severe cases of iron deficiency anemia, the inside layer of the lower eyelid is very pale pink or yellow instead of red. Rather than low iron, one common cause of blurry vision is dry eye.