My Sleep is Insufficient
THE HOLISTIC APPROACH TO WEIGHT LOSS
CHRONIC INSOMNIA
BLOCK 5 – I CAN’T FALL ASLEEP. I CAN’T STAY ASLEEP. I WAKE TIRED.
Sleep is essential in weight loss. But you already knew this. We need to get you sleeping, pronto.
Sleep doesn’t just help you feel good, it is important in digestion, hormone function, stress reduction, appetite/cravings, healing, mood balance and of course, metabolism. If you are here (and this is the only section you were drawn to) I assume you have had insomnia for a while. Improvements take time and often there is a trial and error period. If you have already tried some of the recommendations below skip them.
Why is sleep important in weight loss:
Sleep is when we recover from the day. Fat breakdown processes are active when we sleep. Appetite hormone regulation is highly sleep dependent. Sleep is a foundational activity on a lifestyle path to healthy weight loss. Lets make sure you are getting enough.
Where to start:
Start with the protocol that most suits your symptoms and then build on the foundational recommendations with the specialized options. Track your sleep (time and quality) just to make sure you notice the subtle but important changes.
SYMPTOMS
The main two types of insomnia are sleep onset insomnia and maintenance insomnia. Sleep onset insomnia is the inability to fall sleep and maintenance insomnia is the inability to stay asleep.
Find out where you fit and go from there.
- Onset insomnia usually just means that it can take hours to fall asleep rather than minutes.
- In maintenance insomnia you can be waking up once per night, many times per night or too early in the morning.
WORKUP
Assessing your sleep through lab testing is not always required. We have found that cortisol testing and melatonin testing are very helpful when the cause of the insomnia is unknown.
These test can tell us if the circadian rhythm has been negative impacted and if resetting these hormones could help improve sleep.
Lab tests:
- Two point cortisol – stress hormone release
- Two point melatonin – sleep hormone release
- Sleep studies can be helpful if this is a long-standing problem with no solution (and cortisol/melatonin are within normal limits). For these can we go to sleep labs.
- Sleep apnea assessments can be helpful if you suspect this to be your cause.
Need to run labs? Contact us.
LIFESTYLE CHANGES
Regardless of your cause it is very important to use the holistic approach to insomnia by starting with these sleep hygiene techniques.
- Keep your room very dark
- Avoid technology before bed
- Keep stress low at night
- Keep your room a moderate temperature
- Go to sleep at the same time each night
- Week at the same time each morning
- Make sure your room is quiet
- Wind down appropriately before bed
SUPPLEMENTS
There are so many supplements used in the management of insomnia and the promotion of sleep – some work and some do not. Usually we only like to use supplements that we know are treating a specific cause.
NOTE: In sleep treatments there are a few options where the cause won’t matter. The could still work. – These would include things like melatonin, catnip, valerian, chamomile etc. Have you tried these?
Sleep Options:
- When stress is high at night and subsequently cortisol is high we use things like B6, ashwagandha and GABA.
- If cortisol is too low because of burnout, chronic stress or overwork we use thinks like magnesium, vitamin C, B5 and licorice.
- When a person has frequent wakings throughout the night we have to discover if it’s because of a urinary problem or not. If it is testing is required, fluid avoidance before bed is required and some times bladder/prostate calming herbs are required.
- If melatonin release is too high before bed we use light therapy (think Vancouver in the winter). If it is too low (most other places) we use small doses of melatonin to facilitate sleep.
- If you’re waking up too early in the morning it can be a poor AM cortisol release or delayed melatonin suppression. For this we use AM adrenal herbs like ginseng and rhodiola.
- Sometimes things we think are helpful for sleep can actually cause issues if used in the long term. These include marijuana and alcohol. An avoidance period might be helpful.
SLEEP SUPPORT Protocol
Complete support for any type of insomnia (this is overriding the cause – please use the extra sleep to determine the cause)
*only available in Canada
Individual Supplements
*only available in Canada
Benesom by Metagenics
A low dose herbal and melatonin approach to sleep.
CONSULT THE DOC.
Are you stuck, unable to lose weight and frustrated? We do one-on-one consults. Check here for more info.
REVIEW THE LABS.
Need an assessment to complete your holistic approach? Run your labs with us. Any lab you can imagine we can run for you.