Sleep issues are something that we’ll all experience at some point in our lives. Whether you have trouble getting to sleep, staying asleep or have a restless sleep the end result is the same – you’ll wake up feeling exhausted in the morning.
Insomnia can be divided into two categories. Sleep onset insomnia is when you have trouble falling asleep. It should only take 5-15 minutes to fall asleep – anything more than this and you have a problem. Often we have patients that take hours to fall asleep, which cuts into their valuable sleep hours.
Sleep maintenance insomnia is where you wake up during the night – usually multiple times and have difficulty going straight back to sleep. Interruptions in your sleep, even if briefly, disrupt the waves in your sleep cycle and don’t allow you to get a proper rest.
Many people have both sleep onset and sleep maintenance insomnia, which of course leaves them feeling floored in the morning.
It is critical to fix your sleep issues because sleep is the time that your body does most of it’s healing. While you sleep your body is regenerating its cells, balancing your hormones, detoxifying and processing your memories from the day. Sleep deprivation causes weight gain, fatigue, depression and hormonal issues. Without adequate sleep we simply cannot heal.
So is there a natural cure for insomnia?
Naturopathy is perfect for the treatment of insomnia because it works on the underlying cause. Sleep issues are caused by 3 main areas:
Stress – leading to a disruption in the sleep-wake cycle
Fatigue – you actually need energy to initiate sleep so fatigue can mean you don’t sleep well
Neurotransmitter deficiency – a reduction in the production of serotonin, melatonin or GABA can interfere with your sleep
Our naturopaths use herbs and nutrients that work on these areas which works amazingly well to correct your sleep. Improvements in sleep can be seen in as little as 2 weeks, with most of our patients curing their insomnia within 3 months. Herbs that support your body in dealing with stress and repairing your adrenal glands, the glands that secrete your stress hormones, is a huge help. They will also assess you for neurotransmitter issues and correct these using nutritional support.
We also recommend that our clients focus on improving their ‘sleep hygiene’, which involves the following:
- Go to bed at the same time every night, preferably between the hours of 9pm and 10pm. Also, wake up at the same time each day, preferably between the hours of 5am and 6am. This will help to reset your sleep-wake cycle.
- Stop looking at screens before bed – it sends signals to your brain that it is daytime. This means no iphone or TV at least an hour before bedtime. Do not use your phone in bed!
- Dim the lights – use lamps at least an hour before bed to let your body know it’s close to snooze time.
- Move your body immediately on rising. Run on the spot or do a few star jumps. This lets your body know you’re awake and helps to reset the sleep wake cycle.
- Lay off the caffeine after 12pm – it stimulates your adrenal glands and can prevent your body winding down for sleep.
Hypnotherapy and sleep
Hypnotherapy is also a great solution for sleep – particularly when you can’t switch off your mind. For patients with chronic or severe sleep issues a combination of hypnotherapy and naturopathy is perfect to get speedy results.
Hypnotherapy helps you to release any subconscious emotions and worry that could stop you from being in a restful state. You can also get hypnotherapy CDs that can help to continue the process once you’re out of the office.
Want to fix your sleep issues now? Call our team on 3367 0337 or book an appointment with our naturopaths online now.
