Insomnia

Sleep dysregulation manifests in many ways. Difficulty falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep, inadequate in depth sleep, sleep paralysis, and sleep apnea. A very important biochemical process in the body for helping us sleep is our Serotonin pathway. This pathway also functions to regulate our mood, memory processing and cognition.

The pathway is as follows: Tryptophan —> 5-HTP —> Serotonin —> Melatonin. Each step in this cascade can be propagated by using targeted nutrients to facilitate the process. Some examples of these nutrients include vitamin B6, magnesium, zinc, vitamin c, and calcium. Melatonin is our main signaling hormone that tell our body it is time to fall asleep (it also is a key player in your temperature regulation throughout the night.) Those with difficulty specifically falling asleep will be more likely to benefit from melatonin supplementation as a therapeutic intervention for their quality of sleep. Supplementing with 5HTP can also serve for this same purpose. I also love the use of melatonin as a potent antioxidant and as nourishment to the ovarian stores of eggs, shown in the research to improve egg quality! It has also shown in the literature that night shift workers deplete their melatonin levels and this has been correlated to the development of many chronic illnesses and even certain cancers so supplementation in this population may be extra beneficial. To avoid over use of supplementation or long term use it is also important to address your body’s over all inflammation, regulate your blood glucose/insulin sensitivity, as well as working to optimize your cortisol levels.

Successfully managing these aspects of your health will lead you to a deep nights sleep without the use of continuous sleep supplementation. A few tips on how to help these pathways naturally include avoiding blue light for at-least one hour prior to bedtime or investing in some blue light blocking glasses, try to eat at-least 2 hours prior to sleep, choose protein over carbs in the evening, sleep in a slightly colder temperature environment, and no caffeine past noon. If you find yourself waking up to urinate in the middle of the night more than once try to avoid consumption of liquid directly prior to sleeping and taking a shower can stimulate our physiological need to urinate so using that to trigger you to empty your bladder once more before bed may help as well.

Other therapeutic interventions that are used to help regulate or aid our sleep include things like Valerian, Hops, Kava Kava, passionflower, and lavender. Many of these can be drank as a tea and can serve as a gentle but effective sleep aid.

Identifying what your individual sleep difficulties are and determining what deficiencies or body systems may be negatively altered is the foundational step in determining how best to restore your sleep. Adequate amount of sleep and in depth sleep serve our body to function best, leading to a strong immune system, good mood regulation, a healthy weight, and optimal cortisol levels.

One last interesting point is regarding the use of Marijuana as a sleep aid. Many people use marijuana medicinally to support there sleep. However, in some studies it has shown that although it can help with falling and staying asleep, it also prevents adequate REM sleep. The REM part of our sleep cycle is when some of the most profound rest and restoration occurs. This can sometimes result in waking after an entire nights sleep still feeling groggy or not feeling rested on waking.