Insomnia

Ideally, we want to see your cortisol levels higher in the morning and lower at night. If your cortisol is too low in the morning, you'll find it a struggle to start the day. If your cortisol is high at night, you'll have trouble falling asleep. If your cortisol doesn't stay low overnight, or if cortisol starts rising too early, you're likely to wake in the middle of the night. If you've suffered high-stress long term, the whole system can collapse and need to be restored.

High stress, emotional upset, overwork, and poor sleep habits like going to bed too late often lead to HPA axis dysfunction and insomnia. Once the delicate balance of stress hormones becomes upset, it can be difficult to reset a normal pattern of adrenal health. This can result in a seemingly endless cycle of insomnia since poor sleep disrupts adrenal function, and adrenal dysfunction makes it difficult for the body to sufficiently rest.

At Quin Functional Medicine, we test for 4-7 cortisol data points throughout the day as well as DHEA levels and hormone metabolites in order to assess HPA axis function. Since there are many different versions of HPA axis imbalance, we get the best results when we use lab-based treatment programs to precisely address each individual's imbalances.

GI Dysfunction

Gut pathogens, leaky gut, and food sensitivities can all contribute to sleep issues. Gut pathogens and food sensitivities both commonly cause leaky gut and inflammation, and because of the gut-brain axis, can, in turn, cause brain inflammation.

Eighty percent of the immune system lies in the gut, and when pathogens or inflammatory foods irritate the gut, inflammatory molecules like cytokines affect the brain and can have a stimulating effect. Numerous studies demonstrate that insomnia is in fact an inflammatory disorder.

Certain foods, chemicals, and medications break down tight junctions of the gut lining and allow undigested proteins like gluten, as well as bacterial endotoxins, to enter where they shouldn't. This produces inflammatory cytokines that can penetrate the blood-brain barrier, leading to additional brain inflammation. In other words, when the gut is on fire, so is the brain.

With comprehensive testing, all these problems can be tested and corrected to promote not only more restful sleep, but a healthier you.

Toxin Exposure

Since WWII, nearly 80,000 new synthetic chemicals have been released into the environment, with approximately 1,500 new chemicals released annually. Many of these chemicals end up in our food, water, air, clothing, and cosmetics. The cumulative exposure that we are experiencing in our modern world can inflame the brain and promote insomnia. A class of chemicals called excitotoxins are common in our modern world and act as stimulants on the brain. Other environmental toxins can trigger an overproduction of cortisol which can in turn cause insomnia. Lastly, many commonly prescribed medications can alter brain chemistry, and certain medications have been shown to trigger insomnia.

Blood sugar imbalance

Skipping meals, eating too much sugar and/or carbs, and not eating enough fiber-containing foods like vegetables can lead to a cycle of blood sugar spikes, then insulin spikes, then blood sugar drops. When blood sugar drops, your body's protective mechanism is to secrete cortisol to bring your blood sugar back up. This mechanism is meant for emergency situations, but if enacted repeatedly, can lead to insulin resistance, adrenal/HPA axis imbalance, and sleep disturbance. Insulin resistance can also lead to late-night food cravings. Eating too late at night raises body temperature, which makes it harder to fall asleep. In addition, a cycle of swinging blood sugar can lead to blood sugar levels that are too low in the middle of the night. When blood sugar dips during sleep, the body responds by secreting cortisol, which can wake you up and make it difficult to fall asleep, since cortisol is a wakeful hormone, not a restful one.

Nutrient Deficiency

Certain essential amino acids like tryptophan act as key hormone precursors to serotonin and melatonin, which are crucial for sleep. Minerals like magnesium are relaxing to the brain and muscles, and if insufficient, can promote insomnia. If there is digestive dysfunction like low HCl in the stomach or low pancreatic enzymes, amino acids and minerals are difficult to liberate from food. We can test your nutrient levels and digestive function to make sure that you're not only getting sufficient quantities of important nutrients, and also make sure you're able to properly break down food and sufficiently absorb the nutrients necessary for quality sleep.