Getting a good night’s sleep is critical for the body and plays a huge role in reducing aging, especially for the brain. At night the brain literally detoxifies itself during sleep draining the byproducts from the day’s activities. Other parts of the body also go through reparative processes that help maintain organ and tissue health.
To understand why sleep aids don’t work we have to review some key basic knowledge.
What Controls Sleep?
Biochemically speaking, sleep is controlled by a neurotransmitter-like compound called melatonin. Commonly referred to as the, ‘the hormone of darkness,’ it helps regulate circadian rhythms among other things.
Simply put, serotonin is a precursor for melatonin. The pineal gland converts serotonin to melatonin in the presence of darkness. Think of serotonin and melatonin as two opposite sides of the same coin. Serotonin is created in the presence of light and is referred to as the ‘happiness hormone’. Melatonin needs three basic things to exist; serotonin, the pineal gland to be working properly, and darkness to be most effective.
Four Main Factors Impact Sleep:
- Muscle relaxation
- Mid-brain hyperactivity
- Endocrine balance (hormone suppliers)
- Intestinal health
The amino acid required for both serotonin and melatonin is tryptophan. While it’s true that some people have a tryptophan deficiency, and increasing intake alone can solve sleep problems, this is by no means a majority of cases. It may initially be beneficial, but quickly fails to improve sleep.
A Few Bad factors
A majority of people suffering from insomnia have the following contributing factors; stress, inflammation, and poor gut health. People also need to consider that sleep studies can determine if sleep apnea contributes to their insomnia.
Increased stress levels increase the cortisol levels and decrease B vitamins. Elevated cortisol levels in the morning wakes us up, so this clearly is not going to contribute to a good night’s sleep.
Inflammation and Gut Health; while these two in combination cause many people to suffer from chronic inflammation, people are unaware that it stems from poor gut health. The typical diet increases candida overgrowth, decreasing healthy bacteria leading to a leaky gut. Once the digestive tract is compromised inflammation begins and the body reacts by secreting cortisol to suppress the inflammation. Again, we are in the presence of elevated cortisol which interrupts sleep. This connection between gut health and sleep is now widely accepted in the scientific community.
Sleep Aids – Why They Don’t Work
Finally! … why don’t sleep aids work?
Sleep aids don’t address the four triggers discussed earlier; muscle relaxation, mid-brain hyperactivity, endocrine imbalance or intestinal health.
3 Types of Sleep Aids
Melatonin receptors stimulants such as Rozerem.
Benzodiazepines target GABA (amino acid reduces anxiety & mid-brain activity)
i.e., Ativan and Restoril.
Nonbenzodiazepines – also target GABA
i.e., Ambien and Lunesta
Important Complications
Prescription drugs known as selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) stop serotonin from being reabsorbed.
In addition to not addressing all the issues, these sleep aids have serious side effects and can become addictive. Even natural melatonin is addictive, a condition of which many people are unaware. Any amount large or small of external melatonin is recognized by the body and triggers the pineal gland to reduce its own melatonin secretion. So that is not a successful path and it creates long-term problems.
Natural Solution
Proper exercise, diet, the right amount of exposure to light and darkness plus addressing the four causes of sleep interruption are the best solutions to getting a good night’s sleep. People also need to consider participating in sleep studies to determine if they are suffering from sleep apnea.
The four biochemical causes of insomnia are covered in our product Zen Sleep and often people find that combining this with Leaky Gut Repair will improve their digestive health to reduce chronic inflammation. More information on leaky gut and how it originates can be found in this article.
Nutritional Deficiencies
Food sources that contain melatonin are tart cherries. Other sources that contribute to melatonin creation include bananas, oatmeal and milk. Serotonin boosting foods include the amino acid tryptophan, seafood, dairy, chicken, nuts, seeds and eggs. Recall that the more serotonin in your system the more melatonin potential at night.