Insomnia?

Having trouble staying asleep? Insomnia can impact all aspects of your life…here’s some tips for getting back to sleep or staying asleep.

I wake up at 2am and can’t fall back to sleep! What can I do?

Studies show that sleep along with good nutrition and exercise is one of the best ways to prevent disease and manage weight as well. A healthy, balanced system means you fall asleep and stay asleep but when your body’s stress response and blood sugar is altered, we have trouble regulating sleep. Stress affecting your sleep could be from emotional, stress, imbalanced hormones, toxic exposure, too little OR too much exercise. All of these factors affect our cortisol released from our adrenal gland and when cortisol is imbalanced, our sleep suffers. Here are some ideas to enhance your sleep

1. Avoid alcohol – we think it relaxes us but actually creates interruptions in sleep patterns
2. Avoid caffeine – it keeps us up during the day AND at night
3. Develop a regular rhythm of sleep going to bed at the same time every night and wake up at the same time as well
4. Consider have your cortisol level checked with a specialized salivary test and dysfunction here can be treated successfully with herbs and vitamins
5. If you have a pattern of too many thoughts at night before bed or in the middle of the night, you may want to consult with your physician for supplements, vitamins or nutrients to relax the nervous system and help you fall asleep.

If you want to find out more about how to reduce insomnia or other services that might be helpful for you, contact Dr. Kaufman and schedule a consultation today.