Sleep, or the Lack Thereof: By Dr. Dorothy Fairley, ND
A good nights sleep is imperative to good health. Having the occasional poor nights sleep is nothing to be worried about. But sleeping poorly on a regular basis will have far reaching effects on a person's well-being. The body needs this time to rejuvenate and repair. A recent study indicated that the prescriptions for sleeping medications in British Columbia for one year were in total of well over 600,000 (Source: B.C. Pharmacare: Pharmacare trends 2000).
Why are there so many people who are struggling with this?
The majority of the time, poor sleep is brought on by a stress. It may be a specific event, but more often it is insidiously slowly growing stress, that creeps up on a person. You may be under pressure either in your job, or as a student. You may be under financial strain, and not be able to take the break that you really need. The body is well-designed to deal with stress. Certain physiologic reactions happen when the body perceives us to be under stress, also called the fight or flight response. Reactions occur which increase our heart rate, respiration rate, etc. However, if the stress continues for too long, then the mechanisms that function to do this start to break down. The organs that are important in this process are the adrenal glands, as they release these so-called 'stress hormones'. How this ties into sleep is that the adrenals also release cortisol, the hormone that helps us the wake up in the morning, and melatonin, the hormone that helps us go to sleep at night. When the adrenals are malfunctioning, then all hormones that they release are affected.
As the problem has often arisen due to stress, another necessary part of treatment is to deal with that stress. The best option is to change the situation, so the stress is reduced. If this is not possible, then how the person deals with stress needs to change. This may involve learning stress-coping techniques, seeing a therapist, taking up yoga, walking or running - there are many options.
Adrenal fatigue is not difficult to treat. Often it is the lifestyle that brought it on that is more difficult for the patient to deal with. Naturopathic medicine can help you get back those restful nights, and the naturopath can also work with you to find ways to prevent it from occurring again.