Vitamin D, B, sleep and pain

I recently participated in a virtual conference where I learned a lot of great new information and was exposed to some new perspectives on managing pain.  One speaker in particular really stood out and offered a lot of brand new information on the complex interactions of Vitamin D and Vitamin B, gut health, sleep, and pain.  She has a website that is full of great information and resources to learn and explore more.  Dr. Gominak is a neurologist and has spent years helping people sleep better to heal better.  The information was especially relevant to me as I just had some bloodwork done that showed my Vitamin D and B levels were low.  I’ll keep you posted as I try and raise my levels and report on what happens but here are some key take-aways from her lecture.

• Sleep is when our body has a chance to make repairs

• Vitamins are needed to help make some of these essential repairs

• Low levels of Vitamin D can cause poor sleep.  (She recommends levels between 60-80ng/ml and testing 3-4X/year to monitor)

• A healthy immune system requires good sleep, adequate Vitamin D, and a healthy microbiome.

• The combination of low Vitamin D and B’s can contribute to increased pain and inflammation in the body.

I can’t wait to learn more but in the meantime I’ve started supplementing with Vitamin D and B50 and hope to improve my own sleep!