Can’t Sleep on Carnivore? THIS is WHY (4 Fixes)

Key reasons you may wake up at ~3:00am on carnivore—and how to fix it (4 fixes)

1) Excess energy / digestion “working less”

• Eating less frequently and choosing easily digested foods may leave you with more available energy, which can shift you toward biphasic sleep (waking in the night and feeling alert).
• Fix:
  • Exercise (especially if you notice a pattern between gym days and better sleep). The speaker says sleep improved on days they trained and was worse on off days.

2) Coffee/caffeine effects (even small amounts)

• The speaker notes coffee may still disrupt sleep on carnivore, possibly because caffeine is “more potent” or still affects the sleep system.
• Fix:
  • Cut back and/or remove coffee entirely.
  • Pay attention to how early you stop caffeine (the example given: stopping at ~3pm still caused issues for some).

3) Time of eating / circadian rhythm

• Eating later in the day may affect circadian rhythm and melatonin production.
• Fix:
  • Stop eating earlier.
  • Example from the speaker: cutting off intake around 3:00pm improved their sleep (sometimes even without exercise).

4) Not enough dietary fat

• If you’re not getting enough fat, sleep may suffer.
• Fix:
  • Increase fat intake (the speaker credits another creator’s testing and experience for this point).

Additional practical guidance mentioned

• If you wake up poorly, reflect on the day’s energy expenditure:
  • Was it a low-activity day?
  • Did you miss training?
• Waking at night isn’t necessarily “wrong”—the speaker frames it as consistent with how humans historically slept (often in multiple chunks).

Presenters / Sources

• Dr. Robert Kilts (mentioned as a friend discussing why waking at 3am may be fine)
• Dr. Sha Baker (founder of Rivero; sponsor of the video)
• Nia from Nia’s Way (credited for sleep improvements linked to increasing fat)
• Rivero.com (sponsored online clinic; founded by Dr. Sha Baker)