Diagram of a Typical Day

The block diagram below sums up the basics of the Wakeup Diet.™ I've arranged the blocks to show the flow of the diet over a day's time. Day Plan B is for people that awake at night and have difficulty in getting back to sleep. A small, starchy meal brings on Mr. Sandman! (Four tablespoons of cooked brown rice with a light covering of unsweetened applesauce. Also a banana and skim milk.) Eat the rest of breakfast (protein only) when you rise. If you awake with a “sleep hangover,” taper off on the starchy pre-breakfast tomorrow.

Simple foods. The Wakeup Diet^™ stresses largely protein meals during the day. In this respect, Day Plan B is the more ideal plan. A typical Day Plan B breakfast is water-packed sardines, salmon, lox or sprats (3 ounces). If you prefer, kippers (herring) or mackarel are fine. The beverage is water. A typical lunch for Day Plan A or B is a vegan soyburger without a bun or condiments. Again, the beverage is water. There are no snacks until just before the evening exercise period. After evening exercises, the dinner for either day plan allows all food groups, with extra starch at the end. Typical for this extra starch is one slice of peanut butter bread. Don't eat raisin bread, which has considerable refined sugar. The Day Plan A breakfast differs, because it includes starches with the protein. Both breakfasts include Omega-3 fats from the fish.

Portion size on the fish breakfast. For our webmaster, a 170-pound male, three ounces of fish is the right amount. If you're substituting salmon, eat about half of a six-ounce tin. Drain most of the water. Experiment: If you become hungry before lunch, perhaps you need a bit more. But if you become tired before lunch, cut the portion size. (Only consume water-packed fish. No added oil, sodium, or seasoning. Such adulterants could promote attacks.)

Dayparts

Plan your days. In the Wakeup Diet, we divide the 24-hour day into dayparts. Dayparts refer to event-determined sections of a 24-hour day. The diet syncs your circadian clock to these dayparts. For each individual on the diet, dayparts are a constant. Yet from one person to another, dayparts are adjustable and can vary slightly. That is, the Wakeup Diet doesn't schedule your day. Instead, the Wakeup Diet gives you the means to follow your own schedule. Of course, the schedule that you choose must be practical for your body.

Here's a typical plan...

The table above is a general guideline. Dayparts vary slightly between different groups of individuals. We don't expect a night worker to adopt a daytime work plan. Also, some people spend more time commuting than others do.

Goals. The table below lists four goals of phase-shifted individuals. The right column describes how the Wakeup Diet™ satisfies these goals. Note that Wakeup Diet methods aren't a la carte recipes. Each method might help by itself. Yet resetting the circadian clock requires adherence to the complete program. For narcolepsy, the Wakeup Diet is a lifelong routine.

Daily, morning exercises, before Wakeup Diet^™ breakfast

• Eliminate all daytime foods except small, protein lunch & occasional water.

• Occasional, late-afternoon snack of Pritikin, non-fat broth is okay. Snack must not become part of regular routine.

• No other snacks. Absolutely no coffee, tea or cola.

• Daily, evening exercises before Wakeup Diet^™ dinner.

• Dinner, including balance of all food groups. At end, this meal emphasizes particular starches (“sleepy foods”).

• Can't sleep through the night? Our “split breakfast plan” will help. When you awake at night, eat the starchy part of breakfast. (Example: Two tablespoons of oatmeal or Maltomeal®, plus a banana.) Now, back to sleep until the alarm rings. Then exercise. Afterward, eat just the protein part of breakfast. (Example: A can of sardines.) Take care! Maltomeal is a very powerful sleep inducer.

• Wear layered clothing. Add or remove layers as necessary.

• Wear short sleeves.

• For overheating, apply ice pack to back of neck. Keep room temperature chilly, to where you just get goose bumps.

• Drink water periodically.

• Take brisk walk, preferably outside.

Daytime Eating Strategy

The object is taking the edge off your hunger, not complete satiation. Just trim the edge, but stay alert. At night, you may (within reason) eat until full (and sleepy).

Why This Strategy?

Orexin basics. Narcoleptics are deficient in orexin. Orexin is a neuropeptide that promotes wakefulness. Eating glucose or glycemic carbohydrates reduces orexin. (Examples of glycemic carbs: Breads; pasta; potatoes; breakfast cereals; soda pop; candy; “energy bars”; flavored yogurt; comfort, junk, and fast food. See full lists. [1],[2]) The reduction in orexin triggers cataplexy and sleep attacks. Dietary fats slow digestion, prolonging these narcolepsy effects.

You can promote and extend alertness by managing orexin levels. During the day, maximize orexin levels by minimizing dietary glucose and fat. [3] (These statements assume no medications, and no comorbidities.)

• Miracle of Celery. Narcolepsy produces a variety of unpleasant conditions, not just sleepiness! For occasional stomach discomfort, vertigo, headaches, and for sharper focus: Eat celery! One to three branches may be necessary. The leaves seem to be the most potent part. Relief is usually fast, and lasting. Celery can also provide volume, and make you feel full. [4]

• Okra Pickles. Benefit: Astonishingly, these also relieve narcolepsy's malaise (headache, stomach ache, brain fuzz, vertigo). Okra pickles are delicious, fun to chew, & tangy! (Not “hot” as the bottle claims.) Benefit: Temporary relief. Not as long-lasting as what celery provides. But you can eat another pickle later (up to two, in the webmaster's experience). Provides variety. Beware of the salt! Wash some of it off before eating.

1. Arthur Agatston, M.D., The South Beach Diet, Emmaus, PA: Rodale Press, Inc., 2003.
▶Re: Glycemic index concept, 20; low vs. high-glycemic carbs, 70-74.

2. Charles B. Inlander & Cynthia H. Moran, 52 Natural Ways to Beat Jet Lag, New York: St. Martin's Paperbacks, 1997.
▶Re: Circadian and homeostatic clocks, 3; influences on resetting, 14; “proteins perk and carbos crash,” 116; carb & protein foods list, 147-152.

3. Raogo Ouedraogo, Erik Näslund, & Anette L. Kirchgessner. “Glucose Regulates the Release of Orexin-A From the Endocrine Pancreas,” Diabetes. 2003 Jan;52(1):111-7. doi: 10.2337/diabetes.52.1.111. PMID: 12502500.
▶Re: Blood glucose after eating reduces orexin level. Orexin & alertness rise when the subject is hungry (hypoglycemic).

4. Neda Rahimian, “Celery's (Apium graveolens) antiglycemic effect on diabetic rats,” Conference: The first Diabetes Congress of AJA. DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.10440.67842. Iran University of Medical Sciences. Web site: https://is.gd/hPr3sy
▶Re: Celery relieves some of the effects of narcolepsy. Maybe celery's ability to reduce serum glucose levels comes into play. Neda Rahimaian's study produced this result: “Ingestion of Celery oil significantly reduced plasma glucose concentration by 31.7% in diabetic rats compared with control diabetic rats. Discussion: The present study found that using of celery oil can reduce plasma glucose level in diabetic rats; more studies are needed to find its mechanism of action on reducing plasma glucose level.”

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