Ashima Sharda Mahindra • 20 Mar 2025
Health Quiz: Deficiency of Which Vitamin Does Not Let You Sleep Properly?
There is a strong link between vitamins and an increase or decrease in a person’s sleep quality
Q: Do you keep waking up at night several times? Do you know why?
A: A deficiency of vitamins B12 and D can lead to sleeplessness, disturbed sleep, or insomnia.
Q: Which vitamin affects the duration and quality of sleep?
A: If there is less vitamin C in your body, you may not feel rested during the day regardless of how many hours of sleep you have had.
Can a deficiency of vitamins lead to insomnia?
According to studies, vitamins, one of the extremely important macronutrients that your body needs to work properly, do help you get the required uninterrupted sleep through the night. Research has also identified a link between vitamins and an increase or decrease in a person’s sleep quality.
Doctors say you may be able to improve sleep by managing your diet, which has vitamins and other nutrients as well.
Vitamins that help aid sleep
Vitamin D
Low levels of vitamin D could be a risk factor for unhealthy and uninterrupted sleep. Deficiency of this vitamin leads to short sleep duration, and poor sleep quality. Vitamin D receptors are in nearly all body tissue and distributed widely throughout the brain in your prefrontal cortex, hypothalamus, midbrain central grey, and substantia nigra. Doctors say these areas of the brain play important roles in sleep regulation.
Vitamin C
Low levels of vitamin C also impact your sleep in a big way. According to studies, comparing those with short and long sleep find reduced concentrations of vitamin C among those sleeping for the shortest time. Other evidence indicates that people sleeping the recommended 7–8 hours each day have higher plasma levels of vitamin C than short sleepers.
Vitamin B12
Various studies have proven that vitamin B12 is also extremely crucial when it comes to your sleep quality. Higher amounts of vitamin B12 are linked to shorter sleep duration and a higher risk of insomnia.
It also affects the 24-hour biological processes that help a person go from wakefulness through drowsiness to sleep.
What causes insomnia?
According to experts, insomnia occurs as a condition of its own or as a symptom of other health conditions, a few of which include:
- Stress levels
- Disruptions to the internal body clock
- Poor sleeping habits like irregular bedtime schedule and other lifestyle issues like playing video games late at night
- Eating dinner late in the evening
- Mental health issues like depression, anxiety
- Alzheimer’s disease
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD
- High blood pressure
- Asthma
- Sleep-related disorders like sleep apnea and restless leg syndrome
- Consuming alcohol or other forms of caffeine
How can you relieve insomnia?
Doctors say insomnia affects more than 10–30 per cent of people across the world.
While there are many factors that can help you sleep well, you must discuss with your doctor the possibility of adding vitamins to your diet or taking supplements for regulated snooze.
Apart from that, you can also try cognitive behavioural therapy and over-the-counter or prescription sleep medications.
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