Specialist Naturopathic Insomnia Treatment Brisbane

A great sleep looks like this:

• You go to bed at roughly the same time every night

• You fall asleep quickly – within 5-15 minutes

• You sleep through the night, waking only briefly to roll over (but not for a length of time)

• You sleep for around 8 hours each night

• You remember your dreams, at least briefly

• You wake up in the morning feeling refreshed, like you’ve had a good nights sleep

• You get up at around the same time each day

• You can get up naturally without an alarm if you are getting 8 hours sleep each night

Anything outside of this is abnormal, and it means you need to work on your sleep.

Our Brisbane naturopaths have tons of clinical experience in helping patients overcome insomnia. usually within 2-4 weeks we begin to see your sleep pattern shift. Most clients with chronic insomnia need at least three months of treatment to resolve the issue – but the majority of clients will describe say they are getting good sleep within 2-3 months. Sure, taking sleeping pills is quicker, but it doesn’t solve the issue and our treatment won’t leave you feeling groggy or like crap the next day.

What comes first – the chicken or the egg? Sleep disorders and lack of sleep are associated with an increased risk of mental health issues like anxiety and depression. Of course if you’re not sleeping well for months (or even years) then mood issues will arise. On the other hand, anxiety and worry keep the mind active and can absolutely interfere with your sleep.

From a neurological perspective, there are many functions necessary in order to get a good sleep. For starters, you need to have a good balance of cortisol and melatonin at the appropriate times. Our naturopaths will assess this and work on it accordingly. Neurotransmitter function is also important – and if you don’t make enough serotonin, GABA and other compounds then you can’t initiate a quality sleep.

Poor sleep quality is also an issue – where you sleep long hours and don’t have insomnia but you still feel like crap in the morning. This can have to do with the same factors listed above and is something that we help patients with routinely at The Shift Clinic.

Naturopathy is perfect for the treatment of insomnia because it works on the underlying cause. Sleep issues are caused by 4 main areas:

Stress – leading to a disruption in the sleep-wake cycle

Fatigue – you actually need energy to initiate sleep so fatigue can mean you don’t sleep well

Neurotransmitter deficiency – a reduction in the production of serotonin, melatonin or GABA can interfere with your sleep

Disruptions in the sleep/wake cycle – high cortisol when it should be low or not enough melatonin to help you sleep deeply. This is heavily influenced by stress and anxiety disorders.

Our naturopaths use herbs and nutrients that work on these areas which works amazingly well to correct your sleep. Improvements in sleep can be seen in as little as 2 weeks, with most of our patients curing their insomnia within 3 months. Herbs that support your body in dealing with stress and repairing your adrenal glands, the glands that secrete your stress hormones, is a huge help. They will also assess you for neurotransmitter issues and correct these using nutritional support.

Because insomnia is a complex issue we do want to do comprehensive testing to look at the underlying causes and contributing factors. We can look at your adrenal response and cortisol in either blood or saliva testing. Deficiencies in certain nutrients can disrupt your neurotransmitter production so we will look at these. We also want to look at the role of hormones and refer if we suspect obstructive sleep apnoea or a more sinister cause to your poor sleep.

Given that sleep problems are linked to chronic disease, high blood pressure, anxiety, depression, gut health issues, chronic pain, and most other health conditions. Insomnia affects so many people yet the impacts of poor sleep are misunderstood and not talked about enough.

At the most basic level, if you fix your poor sleep habits then you’ll have more energy, suffer from less mental health conditions and feel better day to day. Who wouldn’t want that?

We also recommend that our clients focus on improving their ‘sleep hygiene’, which involves the following:

1. Go to bed at the same time every night, preferably between the hours of 9pm and 10pm. Also, wake up at the same time each day, preferably between the hours of 5am and 6am. This will help to reset your sleep-wake cycle.

2. Stop looking at screens before bed – it sends signals to your brain that it is daytime. This means no iphone or TV at least an hour before bedtime. Do not use your phone in bed!

3. Dim the lights – use lamps at least an hour before bed to let your body know it’s close to snooze time.

4. Move your body immediately on rising. Run on the spot or do a few star jumps. This lets your body know you’re awake and helps to reset the sleep wake cycle.

5. Lay off the caffeine after 10am – it stimulates your adrenal glands and can prevent your body winding down for sleep.

Many of our insomnia clients also see our emotional wellness team – either individually or as part of their natural health membership. Hypnotherapy, kinesiology and energetic healing all have a place when it coems to insomnia, especially if there is anxiety or mental health issues alongside.

Many of our patients also see a clinical psychologist or other health professional that has a special interest in sleep difficulties. Cognitive behavioural therapy, exercise and working on improving stress and anxiety in daily life can all be important parts of treating your insomnia.

You don’t need a referral to see our Brisbane naturopaths – you can book an appointment and begin to work on your sleep issues immediately. Book a 90 minute Discovery and Diagnosis with a Shift naturopath and we will look into the causes of your insomnia right away.

Call the clinic on 07 3367 0337 or use our online booking form to start working on your lack of sleep today.