For some time now, I have been evaluating the effects of vitamin D on the quality and duration of sleep in my patients.
I have always recommended and continue to recommend the daily intake of vitamin D at a dose of 2000 units (10-12 drops on a small amount of extra virgin olive oil to facilitate its intestinal absorption, as vitamin D is fat-soluble) or one tablet per day.
Vitamin D supplementation should be performed with a value below 30 nanograms. However, many people do not know the value of their vitamin D in the blood because they have never undergone this analysis. The intestine has a limit in the absorption of vitamin D, and high doses of vitamin D taken in a single intake may not be absorbed. Therefore, I do not recommend weekly or monthly intake of vitamin D but rather a daily intake.
Also, vitamin D may be deficient because we do not expose ourselves to the sun as we should do. Vitamin D is stored in our body fat, and those with excess adipose tissue may have low levels of vitamin in their blood because it is trapped within their adipose mass. They may sleep poorly and snore.
I recommend taking vitamin D at dinner or in the late afternoon to ensure its presence in the circulating blood during the night, capable of acting on sleep centers to improve the duration and quality of sleep.
The feedback of people who have accepted the advice to take vitamin D in the evening are positive for their sleep. The action of vitamin D goes beyond calcium metabolism. I have researched the role of vitamin D in the international scientific literature, finding numerous studies conducted and published on the vital relationship between vitamin D and sleep quality and duration.
Vitamin D intervenes in the biochemical pathways of melatonin production, the hormone involved in human circadian rhythms and sleep. Moreover, vitamin D is active in restless leg syndrome and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Vitamin D is obtained 90% from the action of sunlight on the skin, 10% from foods: fish, eggs, milk, cheese, mushrooms. Taking vitamin D in the evening is a healthy and conscious recommendation for experiencing sleep, a primary event for our physical and mental health.
Extract from an article by Prof. Rossi on the review “The effect of vitamin D on sleep quality: A systematic review and meta-analysis” by Zahra Mirzaei.
