5 Things Insomnia Sufferers Should Know If They Desire Sleep
If you suffer with sleep disorders, then insomnia treatment options is of great importance to you. Not being able to sleep, whether it be falling asleep, staying asleep, and waking up feeling well rested, ALL can really make life completely miserable. So let’s talk about the most effective, all natural, insomnia treatment out there.
Traditional Medicine Insomnia Treatment:
One of the most common findings of the typical insomniac patient that we see in our office is a highly stressed life. From the day to day work demands, to the the everyday life stressors. Finances, spouses, in-laws, loans, mortgages, children, divorces, and all other life stages. The list is virtually endless.
Somewhere along that path, you started to have more and more difficulty falling asleep.
Or maybe you have always had extreme difficulty sleeping and falling asleep.
For others, staying asleep is the problem. These people say they have to get up to urinate, and while that may be the case, more often then not, they are unable to stay asleep, so they get up to urinate. Not the other way around.
When sleep is hard to come by, waking up in the morning feeling refreshed, well rested, and rejuvenated is a thing of the past.
As this problem continues to develop to disrupt your sleep and life, you then begin looking for solutions to help, which typically means a trip to the pharmacy. Although there is not typically an “insomnia treatment” aisle, the most common over the counter drug of choice is Benadryl, Tylenol PM or Sominex. With these drugs, the active ingredient is called Diphenhyramine.
This ingredient is an antihistamine drug used to treat allergic reactions and motion sickness, but doctors began noticing a sedating effect that helps one sleep. That right there should ring a bell in your head that unless you are actually “allergic” to something, or you just experienced a bad case of “motion sickness”, these drugs are not really addressing the underlying problem.
The problem with Tylenol PM is the fact that it contains the pain relieving ingredient acetaminophen, which has been known to cause damage to the liver with repeated continued use. As a matter of fact, any pharmaceutical drug, when used chronically, repeatedly, over and over again, can be toxic to both your liver and kidneys.
What’s more, the longer these self medicated insomnia treatment remedies are used, the less effective they tend to be. So what’s the next step?
The next step typically is a visit to your primary health care doctor. Something stronger and more potent needs to be employed to try and help you sleep right? The most common drugs that your doctor will prescribe to help you sleep are: Ambien, Lunesta, Rozerem, Sonata, Silenor, Benzodiazepines, and even Anti-depresesents. That’s right anti-depressents, because the reason you’re not sleeping is because you are depressed.
However, again, these drugs are not really addressing the REAL reason why you aren’t able to sleep effectively. Therefore, the fact remains that this line of insomnia treatment simply does not offer a viable long term solution. That’s because nothing in the prescriptive drug works to unravel the mystery, rather the biochemical and physiological breakdown(s) that result in you being unable to sleep, and you realize this.
But you become desperate, as sleep is such a precious commodity. You are willing to accept the short term gain for the long term pain.
However, you understand that if you were to have your choice between a temporary solution, a solution that is toxic and dangerous to your body when used repeatedly vs. a more permanent solution, a solution that actually addresses the reasons WHY you aren’t able to sleep, hands down, in a heartbeat, you would pick the latter. Well, look no further.
The True All-Natural Insomnia Treatment Alternative:
It makes sense that something in the body is not working properly which results in you having insomnia.
This is where functional medicine enters the equation. Functional medicine looks at the body like a detective looks at a crime scene. The clues combined as whole, ultimately are enough to piece the information to solve the mystery. So what are all the clues of the body when it comes to insomnia, and more importantly, what is the most effective insomnia treatment?
The number one clue or suspect of the body are the adrenal glands. The adrenal glands are the organs of the body that helps us deal with stress, regulate blood sugar levels, maintain fluid levels, and provide energy throughout the day. But most importantly, optimal functioning adrenal glands will regulate our circadian rhythm, or our sleep wake cycle.
Thus, if these are not functioning properly because of too much stress, high or low blood sugar levels, gastrointestinal inflammation, anemias, too much stimulants (like caffeine) and hidden infections, ALL can affect how well we sleep.
Unfortunately, no pill in the world is going to fix all that and be an effective insomnia treatment.
Other organ dysfunctions that could play a role in the insomnia nightmare could be the gallbladder, stomach, and thyroid gland as well as hormone dysregulation, and food sensitivities.
How do you know if you have any of the above? The answer is functional diagnostic testing.
Tests such as comprehensive blood evaluation, adrenal saliva testing, food sensitivity testing to gluten, eggs, soys, diary and yeast. Stool samples for bacteria/viral/parasitic/and/or/fungal infections, organic acid testing for mineral deficiencies, and even toxic metal exposure testing. All can be affecting the body negatively and contributing to the crime scene.
ALL need to be functioning optimally for you to achieve MAXIMUM HEALING!!
Once we determine ALL the culprits to your insomnia, then it is time to implement the insomnia treatment protocol. This could be nutritional holistic compounds to
- Rid the body of chronic/acute infections,
- Replenish and repair the adrenal glands,
- Replenish and repair the stomach and gallbladder,
- Replenish and repair the gastro-intestinal mucosa,
- Remove food allergies/sensitivities/intolerances,
- Balance hormone levels naturally,
- Regulate blood sugar levels,
- Reduce inflammation,
- Detoxify the liver,
- Remove additional negative irritant like chemical/heavy metals/electro-magnetic field exposures, and 1
- Heal the central nervous system.
Any one or all of the above may be contributing to your insomnia. ALL could be involved in your personalized insomnia treatment protocol.
Make more sense then a silly pill???
