Health
If you’re feeling salty from lack of sleep, you may need more sodium in your diet.
Cardiology research scientist James DiNicolantino shared a video on Instagram explaining why too little salt in your diet can make you toss and turn at night.
“People on a low-salt diet, due to activation of the sympathetic nervous system, saw their sleep deteriorate,” he explains in the clip, which received more than 3,000 likes.
He said this activation of the sympathetic nervous system is a “stress response” that can affect sleep.
He added that several studies have shown that a low-salt diet, consisting of about 2,200 milligrams of sodium per day, is enough to cause sodium depletion.
When the body lacks sodium, it extracts sodium, magnesium and calcium from bones, to the detriment of a person’s health, he explained.
The Post has contacted DiNicolantino for additional comment. He’s not the only medical expert to warn about low sodium and poor sleep.
An article in Ageist explains that when sodium levels decrease in the body, the adrenals respond by creating more adrenaline, which contributes to sodium retention. Adrenaline triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response and is not conducive to a relaxing night’s sleep.
When a person has low sodium levels, they are also more likely to go to the bathroom more often, potentially in the middle of the night. When people are sodium deficient, they don’t produce as much antidiuretic hormones. ADH helps the body retain urine during sleep.
The American Heart Association recommends that people consume about 2,300 mg of sodium per day. The average American consumes 3,400 mg.
Diets too high in sodium are harmful to your health, experts warn. High sodium levels can lead to high blood pressure, heart attack or stroke.
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News Source : nypost.com
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