November 27, 2017
by David Sheridan, M.D.
If you pay attention to TV commercials, then you get an idea about what catches America’s attention. Weight loss, depression, heartburn, constipation and insomnia pretty much top the list right along with America’s love life (or lack thereof). Throw in the occasional toenail fungus, excess mucus and those who don’t “enjoy the go,” and you can see how corporate America hopes to earn a buck. Some of these issues are serious to be sure. However, by paying attention to diet and hormonal health, most of the aforementioned maladies would all but cease to exist. A big one is sleep.
Sleep is needed for physical and emotional health and is important to maintain optimal brain function and general tissue health. In the young, sleep is critical for normal growth and development. The beneficial body processes that occur during sleep are too numerous to list completely, but a few of the more important items reveal how critical a good night’s sleep is to optimal health and wellness.
Now that you have a greater understanding of the importance of sleep, you are probably wondering what you can do about poor sleep. Finding the cause goes a long way towards fixing the problem.
“How can I be so tired and still not sleep?” Believe it or not, this happens in some unfortunate hypothyroid individuals. Thyroid hormones are responsible for regulating the metabolic activity of every tissue. Low thyroid function typically results in low cellular metabolism. It is not surprising when an individual also complains of having low energy levels. There is a “catch 22” that may actually decrease your ability to fall asleep!
In order to successfully fall asleep, the cells in your brain’s sleep center must become metabolically more active. This is because your sleep center must work harder to suppress conscious brain activity. The problem is that any cellular activity that requires an increase in metabolism can suffer when one is hypothyroid. Tragically, many hypothyroid individuals, as tired as they may be, have difficulty falling asleep.
Progesterone seems to be another common culprit. Women seem to be particularly dependent upon this marvelous hormone to feel well, but did you know that men and women actually make about the same amount of progesterone? Progesterone is a powerful stabilizing agent for the nervous system. When its neurologic calming effect is diminished, sleep also suffers. While hypothyroid individuals often have difficulty falling asleep, those with low progesterone often have trouble staying asleep. They awaken frequently, sometimes for no apparent reason.
Allergies are another cause of impaired sleep. Many can easily relate to being kept awake coughing or tossing and turning all night with a stuffed-up nose. In many, allergic symptoms just partially disturb sleep, which may then lead to “presenteeism” at work or school.
The list goes on. Menopause can be marked by night sweats or bladder spasms interrupting sleep. Many women can attest to this.
Eating or drinking too late may also contribute.
Chronic stress and adrenal fatigue may result in the adrenals reversing their normal cortisol production. This adrenal disruption can be astonishingly precise. If you wake up alert at the same time with perhaps 10-20 minutes’ variance, your adrenals may be giving you the cortisol burst you needed earlier in the day.
Drugs for sleep just mask the issue. You may get some sleep, but not the quality you need for optimal health. So even if you feel that your main problem is poor sleep, don’t overlook other symptoms that seem less important. Brain fog, memory loss and cold hands may be additional symptoms of low thyroid function, even “high” cholesterol. PMS and other menstrual issues almost always indicate low progesterone.
Remember, the cause may be as obvious as the drummer next door or as subtle as the mild beginnings of hormonal decline. Don’t settle for a drug that doesn’t solve the “why” or for being told “welcome to getting older.” How poorly you sleep negatively affects you and your loved ones. Get a good night’s sleep. You and your loved ones are worth it.
Find out if hormone imbalance could be why you can’t sleep. Take our symptom checker quiz today!
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Since 1989, Hotze Health & Wellness Center has helped over 33,000 patients get their lives back using bioidentical hormones that restore hormones to optimal levels, strengthen immune systems, and increase energy levels. Our treatment regimen addresses the root cause of hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, menopause, perimenopause, low testosterone, allergies, and candida.
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At Hotze Health & Wellness Center, our doctors are changing the way women and men are treated through the use of bioidentical hormones. Our natural treatments have helped over 33,000 individuals with hypothyroidism, adrenal fatigue, menopause, perimenopause, low testosterone, allergies, candida, detoxification and nutritional deficiencies.
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Sleep is so precious that I only realized it when I got older. If I’ve know long ago that I will be needing and wanting so much sleep, I would have slept so long when I was younger