Insomnia.. Help!

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Hi Sheree,

 

As a Naturopathic Doctor, my approach to your insomnia would be to examine your

lifestyle and diet and potential hormonal imbalances that could be contributing

to your insomnia.   It's always best to try to look at the cause of something,

rather than just band-aid it with drugs and/or supplementation.

 

Since you are a woman, most assuredly hormones, thyroid, adrenal function will

all play a role in your sleep cycle.  So will your diet and when you're eating

food.  There is a lot to look at and here would be some general suggestions:

 

1.  Be sure to eliminate all forms of caffeine from your diet.  If you're unable

to do that at this point because of necessary coffee addiction in the morning,

then don't have any past noon.  And work to eliminate the coffee addiction

completely.  Over time, caffeine is extremely destructive to our adrenal glands

and very problematic for women in general.

 

2.  No eating after 6 pm.  Only water until bedtime.

 

3. Your diet should consist of fruits, vegetables, lean meats, nuts, seeds,

sprouts and some occasional beans.  I realize the predominant diet of most

people is made up of serious amounts of carbs (bread, rice, pasta, potatoes,

corn, etc.), but really strive to eliminate it as best as possible.  This all

has a detrimental affect on your sugar levels in your body, which in turn also

can disrupt sleep.

 

4.  Have a complete Thyroid panel done (not just TSH) and an evaluation of your

hormones...progesterone, estrogen, etc.  And I would encourage you to have some

adrenal testing done.  My experience has been that most people are suffering

from adrenal fatigue/exhaustion and with that comes sleep disturbance sometimes.

 

5.  Are you having any emotional difficulty in your life right now?  Work

struggles, family/home upsets?  What about past events?  For instance, some

people can go through emotionally challenging times (like a divorce, death,

moving, etc.) and handle it just fine at the time, but then months later, start

to have problems in their life.  Emotional issues like these tend to occupy our

brain space and make us have trouble sleeping.

 

In the event you're really just wanting a quick fix and not ready to address any

of the above, there are many natural things you can try.  Herbals are great and

you can find most in either capsule form or tea form (Chamomilla, Valerian Root,

Lemon Balm, PassionFlower), essential oils (lavender), etc., can all help you

with sleeping.  But my experience has shown that until you look at WHY you're

having trouble sleeping, those items that can help will only help a short period

of time before the imbalance is back. 

 

Hope you find the information helpful and that you're able to get some good

sleep soon!

 

Stay Healthy,

Melissa Wood, ND

Naturopathic Doctor and Health Coach

 

 

________________________________

Sheree <shereerivest

 

Saturday, September 19, 2009 10:55:45 PM

<< >> Insomnia.. Help!

 

 

I am having the hardest time sleeping... going to sleep and staying asleep. Have

taken trazadone in the past with good results. Really would prefer a natural

therapy. Any ideas? Much peace and love and thanks.