Insomnia

Ahhhh that elusive thing we call sleep!

We want it…we NEED it…but sometimes it JUST. WON’T. COME.  Have you ever been so tired you can’t sleep?  Doesn’t it drive you nuts?  A rare bad night of sleep stinks but it isn’t neccessarily cause for alarm.  However, if you’re finding that the sandman seems to forget your house a LOT (more nights than not) you may be suffering from insomnia.

Insomnia is a condition characterized by difficulty falling asleep (sleep-onset insomnia), frequent or early awakening (maintenance insomnia) or nonrestorative sleep (associated with excessive sleepiness of fatigue) that persists for 4 or more weeks. Insomnia can be further characterized into primary insomnia (no medical, psychiatric or environmental cause) or secondary insomnia (insomnia due to a medical or psychiatric disorder that will resolve when the disorder is adequately treated/addressed).

Sleep is critical to health and while everyone’s sleep needs are different it’s generally recommended that  7-9 hours per night for adults is necessary to function optimally.

If you’ve been suffering from insomnia even for a short time you’re likely noticing your quality of life is diminishing.  Weight gain, depression / anxiety, brain fog, and increased pain are only a few of the symptoms that can be caused by insomnia and poor sleep quality.  Your body detoxifies while you sleep and resets for the next day.  Without good, deep sleep your body slowly stops working the way it should.

Symptoms of sleep disturbances are easy to observe but what about the cause?  Whether you’ve had trouble sleeping your whole life or it’s a new development diagnosing the reason BEHIND insomnia is more challenging.  If you’ve “tried it all” it might be time to call in the Ghostbusters!

JK.

It might be time to call me!  Identifying the core imbalance behind insomnia can be challenging but it’s not impossible.  Nutrient deficiency, poor sleep hygiene, hormone imbalance, even a change in how well your body is dealing with stress can contribute to those late nights (or early mornings in some cases).  If you feel like you want a targeted approach to dealing with your insomnia whether it’s been life long or short lived give me a call and we’ll see what we can work out for you.

If you’ve got some energy to try it on your own for awhile here are some Clinical Nutritionist approved methods for getting those ZZZZZZZzzzzzzz’s.

As with any supplement make sure to check your medications and with your doctor or certified practitioner to avoid negative interactions.