Far too often a discussion with the doctor about poor sleep leads to a prescription for anti-anxiety medication or medication for insomnia, without looking at why someone is not sleeping. Sleep offers an opportunity to repair tissue, support the immune system and maintain hormone balance. Mood, energy, immune function and overall quality of life are compromised when a person cannot get quality sleep regularly. Because pharmaceuticals are addictive and not the best long-term solution, getting to the cause of no sleep or poor sleep is a more logical option.
Imbalanced Stress Response
Made in our adrenal glands, cortisol is our main hormone to cope with stress. This hormone is supposed to start out at the beginning of the day at its highest amounts in the body, slowly declining to be at its lowest in the evening. Then, throughout the evening, this hormone is supposed to climb until it returns to its high point in the morning. This pattern can be disrupted by various insults to the body, such as chronic stress, poor eating habits, irregular sleep patterns, and lack of exercise. Proper lifestyle and an ability to cope with stress can improve sleep, as well as other health concerns, dramatically. Extra amounts of some nutrients and also specific herbs, known as Adaptogens, have been shown to not only help sleep but mitigate the effects of stress and cortisol on the body.
Hormone Balance
Poor sleep and insomnia are classic symptoms of both premenstrual syndrome (PMS) and menopause. Estrogen and progesterone levels are often not balanced when symptoms like poor sleep arise. Excessive estrogen, also known as estrogen dominance, or otherwise progesterone deficiency are the main culprits of these conditions. In these conditions, optimizing hormone detoxification, liver function and hormone communication are the keys to improved sleep.
Neurotransmitter Function
Generally when someone cannot sleep, one thinks about brain chemistry. Serotonin is the backbone of one of the main hormones for sleep: melatonin. Serotonin requires many nutrients for its production, including B12, iron, folate and more. It’s common for people to be deficient in these nutrients and the deficiencies can cause sleep disturbances. Chronic pain, inflammation, stress, and hormone imbalance will also decrease the production of serotonin and thus melatonin. Other neurotransmitters such as GABA, taurine and dopamine also play a role in balanced sleep and have similar biochemical pathways and cofactors. Supporting these pathways, instead of putting a pharmaceutical band-aid on them, can prompt lasting drug free sleep.
Healthy Body Composition
Sleep apnea typically does not manifest as insomnia or failing to fall or stay asleep, however, frequent interrupted sleep due to abnormal breathing will not allow sleep to be restful or restorative. Profound fatigue is often a major clue for sleep apnea. The biggest risk is being overweight, however, if abnormal breathing patterns are suspected, a sleep study should be done to determine proper oxygen levels in the body. After a night’s sleep in a sleep lab, physicians will offer tools like a CPAP machine to aid in maintaining healthy levels of oxygen, or might focus on weight loss. Both of these options will improve sleep and overall health.
Inflammation Regulation and Infection Management
There have been many studies correlating inflammatory markers to insomnia. The exact relationship is yet to be determined, however, physicians and researchers alike have found that treating underlying infections and inflammation has been shown to resolve sleep disturbances. Case studies have shown that autoimmune conditions, as well as tick borne illnesses such as Babesia, could cause nightsweats, insomnia and other sleep disturbances. Once the immune imbalance or the infection was treated these symptoms cleared. Especially with other symptoms present, poor sleep may be a sign of the body being inflamed.
Blood Sugar Control
When a person gets a good night’s sleep, s/he doesn’t eat or drink for 8 hours straight. During the day, that would be a difficult task for most people. But during the night, we all ask this of our bodies. The Somogyi effect describes the situation where, during a night’s sleep, blood sugar levels dip and then rebound to be elevated in the morning. Oftentimes patients complain of falling asleep but then waking frequently. Unstable blood sugar levels will often force people out of sleep in the middle of the night, leaving them very frustrated in the morning. Proper meal plans throughout the day as well as protein before bed may help alleviate this pattern.
With all the different causes of poor sleep, there is no one natural treatment to cure all sleeplessness. Looking at the person’s physique, mood, energy level, diet and other symptoms may reveal not only why the person is not sleeping, but also what needs to change in their lives to help be more balanced overall, from underlying infection or a nutrient deficiency to body composition and blood sugar control.
Dr. Lauren Gouin is a board certified naturopathic physician, accepting new patients for her family practice in Manchester, CT. Dr. Gouin is in network with most insurance companies. For an appointment or more information, please call (860)533-0179 or visit www.ctnaturalhealth.com.