I've known for a long time that B6 could cause sleep problems for me. Once I took a 300mg B6 tablet and didn't sleep for three days. I had thought that when I took vitamins regularly that I developed a tolerance. But recently I'm noticing a strong correlation with insomnia and the B6 that's in my vitamins, pyridoxine hydrochloride. I assume that the activated form isn't an issue, since I don't have major B6 deficiency symptoms, but I also tend to not sleep well after consuming lots of bread or other grains, and the main form of B6 in grains in pyridoxine hydrochloride. The B6 in animal products (pyridoxamine and pyridoxal), on the other hand, doesn't seem to bother me.
Has anybody else had a problem with pyridoxine hydrochloride and insomnia?
Ive recently been taking Betain Hydrocholic acid 650mg tablets (about 4 per meal) as i suspected my stomach wasnt producing enough acid.
My symptoms have improved which i was very surprised only after 2 days although i am now finding it difficult to sleep at night.
The first night i woke up at 4 o clock wide awake and the 2nd night it seemed like i was awake majority of the night.
I have never had sleeping problems in the past im used to falling asleep and not waking up until my alram goes off.
I am now trying to work out why this is happening and seems that it is similar to your situation.
Vitamin B6 is necessary for sleep, since it's involved in the serotonin and melatonin cycles. However there are lots of other things that could throw off sleep cycles too. I've found that there are a number of foods that cause me insomnia because they have a negative effect on my vitamin B6 levels. (caffeine, wheat, chocolate, nuts...). Some plant foods that are supposed to have B6 in them according to nutrition lists actually have pyridoxine glucoside, which is poorly utilized. It seem like in my case that form of vitamin B6 actually competes with the active form of B6 and causes a deficiency.
There also seems to be a connection to the gut microbiome, which could possibly be where your issue is coming from. You would probably be better off trying to improve the health of your intestinal bacteria rather than taking an acid. Probiotic supplements, probiotic foods (yogurt, kefir, fermented vegetables) are something to try. You could also try taking a B vitamin supplement with P5P (pyridoxal-5-phosphate) instead of pyridoxine hydrochloride. I suspect that there's a lot of pyridoxine glucoside (or something else with an anti-nutrient effect) in some pyridoxine hydrochloride supplements. If the acid is actually giving you a B6 deficiency, it's possible that might help. But if it doesn't, continuing to take the betaine hydrochloride doesn't seem wise. Sleep deprivation can give you lots of health problems.
