Insomnia
Why in the world will my body not rest? Trouble falling asleep? Staying asleep? Or just wake up tired or not rested?
The two chemicals that facilitate sleep are GABA and melatonin.
GABA is the chemical that is associated with the effects of Valium. It calms and quiets your brain and body. GABA is produced as an off ramp in energy production, meaning you must have full capacity to produce energy in order to rest. Energy production requires sugar, and then a myriad of B vitamins, calcium, magnesium and antioxidants. The off ramp to GABA is facilitated by another B vitamin (B6).
So, good nutrition is needed for good rest as (and good health), and good rest is needed for good health. If you are eating junk food, that is a good place to start for sleeping well.
Melatonin is produced from the pineal gland as a conversion from serotonin. So you have to be in a good mood as well. From a standpoint of chemistry, that means that you are getting adequate protein, and B6 is a facilitator in this conversion as well.
Generally speaking, if you have trouble falling asleep, it is usually a problem with calcium metabolism. Often a calcium or calcium/magnesium supplement before bed will allow the body to relax and fall asleep.
If you have problems waking up, this is more associated with a disruption of energy production, possibly due to nutrient depletion or deficiency, or a chemical disruptor such as heavy metal toxicity.
In any sleep disorder, you should check the function of the adrenal glands and thyroid gland. The adrenal glands should produce less and less cortisol throughout the day, with the lowest production in the late evening in preparation for sleep/rest. The thyroid gland is your get up and go gland, and often correlates to morning fatigue and headaches.
Glands can be soothed or uplifted naturally using nutrients and herbs, perhaps not as dramatically as taking a hormone, but without compromising health. .
Most all drug interventions for sleep work on GABA receptors in the brain to induce sleep. One issue with ongoing use of sleep drugs, is that they prevent a deep restful sleep, keeping you in a lighter phase of sleep. Tissue healing and repair occurs in the deeper sleep stages, so you really need to find out WHY you can’t sleep on a chemical or emotional level if you desire health.
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