If you’re feeling salty about your lack of sleep you may need more sodium in your diet.
Dr. James DiNicolantino, a cardiovascular research scientist, shared video on Instagram about why too little salt in your diet can make you toss and turn at night.
“People that were put on a low salt diet, because of the activation of the sympathetic nervous system, had a worsening in their sleep,” he explained in the video with over 3,000 likes.
He said that this activation of the sympathetic nervous system is a “stress response” that can affect sleep.
He also said there have been several studies that have shown consuming a low-salt diet consisting of about 2200 milligrams of sodium was enough to lead to sodium depletion.
When the body is low on sodium, it will pull sodium, magnesium, and calcium from the bone to the detriment of someone’s health, he explained.
The Post reached out to the doctor for additional comment. DiNicolantino isn’t the only medical expert to warn about low sodium and poor sleep.
An article in Ageist explained that when sodium levels fall in the body, a person’s adrenals respond by creating more adrenaline because adrenaline helps the body. Adrenaline triggers the body’s fight or flight response and isn’t conducive to a relaxing night of sleep.
When someone has low sodium they’re also more likely to have more trips to the bathroom, potentially in the middle of the night. When a person is low on sodium, they don’t produce as much antidiuretic hormone, ADH. ADH helps people retain their pee when they sleep.
The American Heart Association recommends that someone consume around 2,300 mg of sodium a day. The average American consumes 3,400 mg.
Diets too high in sodium are detrimental to health, experts warn. High sodium can lead to high blood pressure, heart attack or stroke.
