What is the RightSleep® Program, and How Do I Get Started?
RightSleep® is an educational program that uses over-the-counter vitamins and changes in behavior to improve or normalize your sleep. It has worked successfully in thousands of patients, with all types of sleep disorders, from apnea to insomnia and everything in between. The key to success is being informed!
The basic premise of the RightSleep® program is that when your brain has the resources it needs, it can do its job regulating sleep, and you will experience consistent, restorative sleep. People with vitamin D deficiency develop problems with the brain and the gut that affect sleep. When you’ve restored your brain chemistry and your gut microbiome to normal you can experience consistent healing through sleep.
The primary vitamins used in the program include: a multivitamin with specific B vitamin doses, vitamin D, B50 (a B complex) and B12. The exact timing and dosage of these vitamins will depend on where you are in the program, and what your body needs, as described in the RightSleep® Workbook.
Before beginning the program you’ll test your vitamin D and vitamin B12. Your vitamin B12 level will tell you whether you’ll need to be supplementing B12 throughout the program. Your vitamin D level will tell you how close (or far) you are from the optimal vitamin D for restorative sleep. To ensure you are in a healthy range as you supplement, you’ll need to get your vitamin D checked regularly throughout the program.
“Can’t I just start the program without having to do blood tests?”
No: The blood tests are essential. Healing only occurs when you are sleeping well, and sleeping well is helped by being in the optimal Vitamin D range. Blood tests are an important feedback message that will be used throughout the program to help you stay in the ideal range (without going over).
“Can I use the Vitamin D level my doctor did already?”
If the result you got from your doctor was 30 ng/ml or less within the last month, you can use it to start RightSleep®. But, as you go forward in the program you will need D levels done by the more accurate LC/MS technique. The cheaper, easier immunoassay D test (the one your doctor does) is not accurate above 30 ng/ml.
“How do I get a D level using the accurate LC/MS technique?”
In the United States, you can order the test yourself, without a doctor’s order, using www.ultalabtests.com. (This self-ordering system is not available in NY, RI, NJ. To use ultalabtests there, register online with a physical address in another state and drive into a neighboring state that allows self-ordering, then receive your results online.)
The RightSleep® Workbook also includes instructions for where to get your blood levels done if you live in the UK, EU, and Australia.
“What about B12 testing, how do I interpret my result?”
If your B12 level is < 500 pg/ml you will need an extra B12 pill of 1000 mcg per day. If you are already taking B12 it is usually because you were found to be B12 deficient in the past, so you will continue it and stay on B12 throughout the RightSleep® program. The best time to get an accurate B12 level is when you are not taking B12. If you are on a B12 supplement your B12 level will be ‘’high’’. B12 is not dangerous at a level above normal; the ‘’ high’’ reading for B12 simply means you are taking the supplement.
“How long will it take for me to feel better?”
Each person is different. When the vitamins finally arrive at the optimal levels, your sleep switches will start to repair, but they can only repair themselves during deep sleep. A little repair every night means many nights to get entirely better. You may need months or years of improved sleep to completely return to normal, but most people notice a significant improvement by months 3-6 of the RightSleep® program.
“I don’t really like taking pills. Why do I have to take a multivitamin (mvi) along with all these other pills?”
The deficiencies that develop from having lost your healthy microbiome are not just B’s. With the mvi you will be replenishing many other things such as A and E and minerals. You will use the mvi until you have finished the program, and your body will tell you when it no longer needs it.
“Can these vitamins hurt me?”
Yes! Some people need tiny doses of vitamin D, (1,000 IU/day) and those people will feel worse immediately on starting larger doses of vitamin D (10,000 IU/day). Anyone who feels worse should lower the vitamin D dose and get a vitamin D blood level done immediately. Some people are extremely sensitive to B vitamins and can feel anxious or nauseated from a dose that is more than their body wants. Always listen to your body.
“I’ve heard that I may need extra magnesium if I take more vitamin D. What do you recommend?”
When you start the RightSleep program if you have more frequent headaches or muscle cramps take additional magnesium (300-500 mg). Do not use magnesium oxide, which is not well absorbed from the GI tract. You’ll take the magnesium until your body gives you signals that your magnesium stores are back to normal (cramps or diarrhea) and then you won’t need it anymore.
“I heard that the B vitamins are safe to take in big doses, we just pee out the excess. Is that true?”
No. Two of the B vitamins; B5, pantothenic acid, and B6, pyridoxine, can cause pain when there is a deficiency but can also cause pain if the dose is too high. Any patient who has more body pain or stiffness on starting B50 should stop B50 and compare. Some people need ½ the dose, or B25, and others need a larger dose, B100. The RightSleep Workbook provides the guidelines to determine which vitamin dosing is best for you.
“Do I need additional vitamin K2 with vitamin D?”
Vitamin K2 is a cofactor that puts calcium where it belongs. So though it is true that K2 helps D do its job on bone, it does not help sleep. Also, following the RightSleep program you will do two things that already provide K2 so you don’t need a K2 pill: 1) You will have K2 in your mvi and 2) the good belly bacteria, as they are restored, make K2. There is only one circumstance where extra K2 is recommended; if you have osteopenia or osteoporosis, you’ll want to add additional K2, 100 mcg/day.
“Do I have to stop taking my sleeping pills in order for RightSleep® to work?”
You may have been told that sleeping pills are bad, but they can be helpful if they are used in the short term to improve sleep, while addressing and healing your root issues in the longer term.
What do sleeping pills do? They just mimic the chemical that you don’t make enough of yet. You’ll know that your doctor found the right one when you fall asleep and stay asleep and feel better in the morning. As you get better you will need less medication and you will feel dopey from the dose you’ve been taking for years. Pay attention to what your body is telling you and respond to it.
RightSleep® could be a great solution for you if you’ve been taking sleeping pills out of necessity, but ultimately want to be off them when you are able to sleep naturally.
“What about other medications?”
Some medications can prevent and/or interrupt sleep.
Medications that interrupt or prevent normal sleep:
- Clonidine
- Beta Blockers (propranolol, Labetalol, metoprolol)
- SSRI’s (fluoxetine, escitalopram, citalopram, paroxetine)
- SNRI’s (venlafaxine, duloxetine, desvenlafaxine)
If you are on such medications, try to take them in the morning.
Recap
RightSleep® is an educational program that uses over-the-counter vitamins and changes in behavior to improve or normalize your sleep. It has worked successfully in over 6000 patients, with all types of sleep disorders, from apnea to insomnia and everything in between.
Though sleep can be restored by addressing deficiencies, RightSleep® is not a one-size-fits all vitamin recipe. Why? Because everyone is different and responds to vitamins and dosing differently.
To successfully participate in RightSleep® you will need:
- To do an initial Vitamin D and B12 blood test, as well as regular Vitamin D levels thereafter
- Vitamins: D, B50, and a multivitamin and in some cases, B12
- To journal your observations as you go. Record how your body is responding, so you can course-correct if needed.
(Detailed instructions for all above are in the RightSleep Workbook).
Are You Ready?
If you’re ready to restore your health through optimal, restorative sleep, you can purchase the RightSleep® Program here.