Are you getting enough sleep?

How are you feeling in the sleep department?

Are you getting enough or wish you had more?

Sleep is such a subjective topic. Research varies (almost year to year) on the adequate amount to have, ranging from six hours as being necessary to nine hours being acceptable.

After 35 years in health and consulting with people I can tell you first hand that what is “right for one” is not necessarily “right for another”.

Some people thrive on 5 hours and others feels they need 10 hours.

Somewhere around 7.5 – 8 hours seems to suit most.

Rather than focussing on the time, I would suggest focusing on the quality.

Four hours of deep sleep with REM is far superior to eight hours of broken, multiple awakening and various stages of sleep, any day.

Sleep is such a vast topic and I have written many topics on sleep, including the researched fact that more than 17 medicated sleepers in one year lead to a four fold increase in cancer. That blog is here.

Causes of poor sleep:

➪ Menopause: Low progesterone and other altering hormones during menopause can interfere with sound sleep. I recommend a saliva test to get to the bottom of these issues. You can order that here.

➪ Sleeping next to a snorer. I had to put this in as over the years so many clients have complained to me about their significant other sounding like a night train shaking them out of deep sleep sometimes rattling the entire house.

YES, a loud snort or snore in the middle of the night is incredibly disturbing… especially if the person have sleep apnoea and you think it maybe their last snore.

➪ Parasites
Every day worms, exotic worms, any sort of worm, also called helminths, are a very common cause of broken sleep. That is because worms are very active at night time. They can also lead to sore shins, grinding teeth and a coated tongue. The hair test is the best way to work this one out here.

➪ Stress
Oh yes that old horse chestnut… stress, whilst it may not be registering to you as “stress” many unconsciously will be harbouring stress.

It’s the body’s way of keeping us “on guard”. When the fright or flight system is activated the body is on alert. The body is NOT designed to sleep while it is on guard. Overtime stress may erode high quality sleep and is one of the leading causes of poor quality sleep.

I have had quite a few saliva hormone results back lately where the person has very high cortisol levels in the morning. Cortisol is one of the body’s stress hormones. If it is high in the morning, it is probably high when going to sleep. Managing this with some pre-bed relaxation can be very beneficial.

➪ Nutritional Deficiencies There are many nutritional deficiencies that may lead to poor sleep. Some of the big ones are low tryptophan, low magnesium or calcium, Vitamin B1, B2 and many more. The hair test is the best way to work out what your body maybe missing and you can order your hair test here.

➪ Hormone imbalances These may range from altered sex hormones due to changes; pregnancy, post baby, menopause, andropause and more. The most efficient way to navigate this one is to do a saliva hormone test. It is well coupled with a hair test and ninety minute session in my Core Health Program here.

➪ Pet Disturbances
I have to mention this one because whilst I love my little Honey, she has been waking me up a lot lately. So rather than focusing on improving my sleep, I have had to focus on improving Honey’s sleep! This is best done by doing a pet hair test… that is right. If you haven’t done one yet, a pet hair test is the best way to determine you pet’s health. The test is simple, can be done for cats or dogs. You can order yours here.

As you can see the causes of poor sleep are diverse.

Sleep hygiene is very important – winding your mind down, switching off devices, telling yourself the day is done and it is time to go to bed, going to bed at a beneficial hour (9-10pm) and not having to set an alarm at a crazy hour to wake up.

If you are like the six in ten Australians that report poor sleep take some action today.

The Core Health Program will help a lot understanding where your body is at and what needs to be amended