Vitamin D: The Lullaby of the Sun
I literally stumbled across this recently and I'm so hyped!
Neuro Athletes,
How are you? I am currently writing this from the land down under! I came home to Australia for Christmas and I am literally loading up on all the free form Vitamin D available! I know many of you reading this will enjoy today’s email as it details the findings I have recently stumbled across that show the relationship between Vitamin D deficiency and sleep!
So specifically when it comes to sleep, Vitamin D impacts brain regions involved in sleep regulation and sleep wake cycles. The exact mechanisms by which Vitamin D affects and regulates these sleep mechanistic pathways is unclear, although it has been suggested that there are some areas within the brainstem that is affected by Vitamin D. This is so exciting, I hope you are as excited as me for this email!
Get ready team, we have alot to cover!
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Vitamin D: Let’s Break it Down
The body produces vitamin D in the skin after exposure to ultraviolet light — therefore, it is not technically a vitamin. Rather it is a fat-soluble steroid hormone, similar in structure to other hormones, such as testosterone and estrogen.
Vitamin D is subsequently transported in the blood (bound to vitamin D-binding protein) to the liver where it is hydroxylated to 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-(OH)D). 25-(OH)D is further converted to the metabolically active form, 1a, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1a, 25-(OH)2D), primarily in the kidneys.
Vitamin D, like other steroid hormones, can enter a cell's nucleus and regulate numerous genes. Vitamin D serves as a major regulator of immune function and may play a particularly important role in preventing respiratory tract infections (which is why you have probably heard so much about it since the birth of COVID-19).
Approximately 40 percent of people living in the United States are vitamin D deficient. The increased risks for vitamin D deficiency are likely due to both modifiable and non-modifiable factors.That’s a problem because low vitamin D levels, including vitamin D deficiency, can affect everything from your mood to your sleep quality—yikes. Unless you have access to adequate sun exposure, taking a vitamin D supplement is an easy way to get enough vitamin D (aka the “sunshine vitamin”) every day.
For example, exposure to ultraviolet B light is the primary source of vitamin D, but behaviors or characteristics that block or reduce sun exposure, such as using sunscreen, having high levels of melanin (a dark pigment found in skin that acts like natural sunscreen), exclusive breastfeeding, older age, or being obese can impair the skin’s ability to produce vitamin D3.
Vitamin D and it’s Link to Sleep
It’s so interesting that when we hear of Vitamin D we immediately think of COVID-19. I have actually never heard of Vitamin D deficiency being associated with poor sleep quality until now. I have been doing alot of digging and found so much research linking the association between sleep apnea and vitamin deficiencies- not just D but also Vitamin B. In fact, Vitamin D receptors have been found in the brain regions involved in sleep regulation, and vitamin D appears to be involved in regulating the sleep wake cycle.
Several studies have shown an association between vitamin D levels and different measures of sleep. Low blood levels of vitamin D are associated with decreased sleep time, decreased sleep efficiency, and increased daytime sleepiness. Let's get a better understanding of what these terms actually mean. One study found a positive association between low levels of vitamin D and short sleep duration in a cross-sectional study conducted between December 2003 and March 2005 on a large cohort of men aged 65 years.
Sleep time is simply the amount of time that you sleep
Sleep efficiency is a measure of sleep based on the time it takes you to fall asleep and how many times you wake throughout the night
Daytime sleepiness is a subjective measure of how sleepy/tired a person felt throughout the day
In short, these studies concluded that if your vitamin D is low you might sleep less, and even when you do sleep, it may be less efficient, less restful sleep.
However, vitamin D not only influences sleep duration, but it has been reported to have also an effect on sleep quality.
But why?
Let’s look at a diagram for a moment;
Without getting too far and too deep into the weeds of neuroscience, here’s a quick summary of the science behind Vitamin D and the link to sleep.
The exact mechanism by which vitamin D affects sleep regulation is still unclear, although it has been suggested that some areas of the brainstem, which are involved in sleep regulation, could be the missing link.
The hypothalamus and brainstem are known to be a critical regulators of sleep. In fact, there is a subregion of the brainstem, the sublaterodorsal tegmental nucleus (SubLDT), and this regulates both REM and NREM sleep.
Indeed, in these areas there are pacemaker cells that play an important role in the first stages of sleep and in maintaining sleep.
In 1980, Dr. Walter Stumpf (working in the laboratory of Hector DeLuca, one of the major vitamin D laboratories of that time) published experimental results documenting the presence of vitamin D receptors in the brainstem.
“Vitamin D receptors have been found in over thirty organs”. Dr. Stumpf wrote extensively about the implications of these findings in mood disorders, infertility, immune system disorders, GI tract motility, skin disorders, and other related endocrine disorders such as hypothyroidism.
There are vitamin D receptors in the ovaries, the testicles and the fallopian tubes to help match our reproduction to the amount of food available. As the D level climbs in the fall to 80 ng/ml we sleep better and therefore make more estrogen and testosterone that make us want to mate.
Given that sunlight drives both vitamin D synthesis and circadian rhythms, it is possible that vitamin D is involved in the transduction of light signals that regulate circadian rhythms.
Furthermore, there is evidence that vitamin D contributes to regulating the production of melatonin, the pineal hormone controlling human circadian rhythms and sleep.
What is the right D hormone dose?
For most people the daily supplemental D dose will be 1-5000 IU per day in summer, 5-7,000 IU per day in winter, but if your level is 30 or below and it’s winter, it is recommended that you take 10-15,000 IU for 4 weeks to get your level back above 50 more rapidly. Then check your level again in no more than 4 weeks to be sure it is above 60.
What now?
First step is ordering a blood test and testing for Vitamin D. No need to rush out to the doctors and order this in a frantic, just be mindful during your next check up with you GP.
Secondly, if you decide to take vitamin D in supplement form and you have sleep issues, you might want to try dosing your vitamin D at night or in the late afternoon. I mean, what's the worst thing that can happen? You get no benefit in terms of sleep improving or it helps, right? It's unlikely that it's going to worsen your sleep. I've never heard that from anyone.
Well, I sure hope you got excited about Vitamin D! I’m going to explore this further with a follow up podcast next week so make sure you have subscribed.
Also, if you enjoyed the last episode of The Neuro Experience Podcast, you would have loved the one this week which was a part II with Dr. Ralph Esposito.
We discuss all things nutrition and hormones. We attack this from an athletic perspective and give reference to questions like "what are the hormones that athletes need to know about and what are we doing to mess these hormones up".
Other things discussed in the episode:
Herbs/ supplements
What is oxidative damage and oxidative stress?
How are reactive oxygen species formed and how can they harm your cells if present in high concentrations?
How can you minimize the creation and negative impacts of reactive oxygen species in your body and brain?
What is the best type of diet for your physiology.
You can listen to the full episode here.
That's all for this week!
Have a great sleep, stay hydrated and as always… see you next week!
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CODE: NEURO