Generally speaking, I’ve always been a very good sleeper. So why am I suddenly unable to stay asleep despite being exhausted? Let’s find out together. 

If you’ve followed along with any of my articles, you’ve probably learned that on the whole, sleep is not an issue for me. Sure, I’m prone to short term disruptions from travel or changes to routine, but they’re generally just little blips on the radar of my slumber story. 

That said, I’m in the midst of one of the worst sleep stretches in recent memory, and I’m at a loss for what’s going wrong. 

Long, Sleepless Nights

So here’s the gist of what’s been happening: 

• Become exhausted by about 9:30PM
• Get in bed by 10:30PM, and immediately fall asleep
• Wake up by 2AM and struggle to fall asleep again for more than 15 minutes at a time until I get up at 6:30AM

Now, I don’t normally go to bed this early – I usually go to bed right around Midnight. But I’ve been pushing my bedtime earlier and earlier for about a week now because I’m so freaking tired from the terrible sleep I’ve been getting. 

What’s Different?

I’ve tried to identify any major lifestyle or routine differences since my sleep went to hell, and I’m at a loss. 

• My family recently ditched ultra-processed foods and eating out for homemade, whole-ingredient meals, but that change predates the sleep issues by at least 2 months. 
• I’ve been lifting weights as heavy as possible as often as possible, but I’ve been on the same basic schedule and protocol for, again, 2 months or more. 
• I have started taking two new supplements (Dihydroberberine and MSM), but they were both started about 30 days before the sleep issues came upon me. 

Other than those recent-ish changes, everything else is basically exactly the same! I still sleep away from my phone, I use my trusty fan every night, and I’m still drinking my evening coffee. So what gives? 

My Hypotheses 

Looking at all the variables, I think these are the two most likely scenarios:

• My new supplement routine took a while to take effect, and now it’s wreaking havoc on my sleep
• My less-recent dietary changes have somehow impacted the way I process caffeine

I feel like the second option is the less likely option, since it’s a change I adopted so long ago, so let’s look a little harder at the supplements. 

Dihydroberberine & MSM

I started taking both of these supplements at roughly the same time, about a month ago. On the Dihydroberberine front, I was attracted to Berberine for its reported ability to help your body improve insulin resistance, reduce bad cholesterol, and generally help with inflammation. Here’s the kicker: it’s also supposed to help insomniacs find better sleep – something I didn’t know until after I started having my sleep issues. 

I ultimately went with the Dihydroberberine variant as it’s supposed to carry the same benefits but without the potential side effects of “gastrointestinal discomfort.”

On the MSM (Methylsulfonylmethane) side of things, I decided to give it a shot after hearing about its ability to help with inflammation, especially tendonitis – something I’ve been dealing with a lot more since I started my harder, heavier workouts. Very little has been written about its potential negative side effects, but after doing some research specifically for this article, I have seen limited, anecdotal reports of: INSOMNIA!

Testing, Phase 1

Now that I have a lead, I’m going to keep everything exactly the same MINUS my daily MSM dose – starting today. I’m not expecting an overnight miracle, so I’ll stay the course on this test for at least 3 days before making further adjustments. 

Stay tuned to discover whether or not that was the culprit, or if I’ll need to shakeup my testing further to solve this hellish sleep situationship.

UPDATE: Solving My Sleep Problems