Does vitamin C prevent you from sleeping?
Eloise Dubois-Gaché
1 min
Vitamin C has a reputation for disrupting the process of falling asleep. But is this really the case? We tell you more.
Why do we say that vitamin C prevents sleep?
This idea that vitamin C interferes with sleep comes from a well-known warning phrase on food supplement boxes: “It is best not to take this medication late in the day because of its slightly stimulating effect.” .
This mention appeared in 1934 on boxes of vitamin C distributed by the Roche laboratory . The link made by the Swiss laboratory comes from the contribution of ascorbic acid in the synthesis of dopamine, a molecule acting on the state of excitation and brain stimulation. But this mention has never been called into question.
In reality, it appears that a very large dose of vitamin C would slightly increase the stimulating effects of dopamine without significantly impacting sleep balance. As a result, daily consumption of the doses recommended by ANSES has no impact on the good quality of sleep.
American studies on the impact of vitamin C in the sleep cycle tend to confirm that there is no obvious correlation between the consumption of ascorbic acid and the user's ability to fall asleep. Indeed, MRI tests do not reveal any difference in the brain activity of the patient who has or has not consumed ascorbic acid before falling asleep.
In short, a received idea
Although the belief is quite widespread, most studies tend to confirm that vitamin C does not have a harmful impact on sleep. There is therefore no contraindication to consuming vitamin C in the evening!
