There are various types of insomnia, like difficulty falling asleep and staying asleep, waking up frequently and sleeping at least 5 hours.  If any of these are disrupting your sleep and disrupting the quality of your health, then increasing your restful sleep is important. If you have more than 3 nights a week of sleep disturbances for 3 consecutive months, then you may want to consider addressing your quality of sleep.  

 For adults, it is recommended having 7-9 hours of sleep for 7 nights a week.  Does that seem unlikely to you?  Well, it is possible and it’s essential for optimum health, vitality and longevity.  Lack of sleep has been linked to obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure and depression. 

While we sleep, our bodies and brains rest, digest and repair.  Sleep allows our immune system to repair, our digestion to function and our brain to recharge.  Sleep leads to a stronger immune system, a well-balanced and functioning digestive system, a stronger memory and alertness level and a healthy response to stress.  

• Diet

eating or drinking too late before going to bed, eating hard-to-digest food, food high in sugar, or consuming caffeine after 2:00 pm 

• Vitamin & mineral deficiencies: including a low pH, lack of antioxidants and essential fatty acids 

• Poor sleep hygiene: your bed or pillow may be too firm or too soft, there may be too much noise in your bedroom, like TV or radio, too much light in the room, or Wi-Fi disruptions from your nearby cellphone 

• Toxicity or infections: such as parasites or heavy metals

Insomnia may cause health issues like weight gain, digestive problems, brain fog, anxiety, depression and mood swings.  Creating a pH balance with proper vitamins and minerals to boost the immune system is the first step to improving sleep quality, followed by a holistic detox to remove harmful chemicals, parasites or heavy metals. 

It is also important to reduce screen time to devices and remove Wi-Fi and electronics from your sleep space.  We are constantly exposing our eyes to light from these devices such that our bodies do not know it’s time to rest. We have stopped naturally producing melatonin which is an essential hormone for sleep.  A melatonin supplement may be essential to jumpstart proper sleep.  Balancing proper vitamins, minerals and hormones will lead to a restful night’s sleep.

For more information: Peter Amato, PhD, DNM, Board Certi ed, Natural Medicine. Inner Harmony Center for Well-Being. 647 Wyoming Avenue, Kingston, PA and 131 Reynolds Road, Waverly, PA. 570-319-6073. InnerHarmonyWellness.com. See ad, page 3.