Sleep Problems

Most adults need 8 to 10 hours of sleep each night, and most children need at least 11 to 12 hours of sleep per night. Without sufficient daily sleep, one can easily become sapped of energy leading to a negative impact on mood, work performance, and daily quality of life.  Having trouble sleeping or not getting enough sleep most nights is extremely disruptive to one’s life.  If you often awaken not feeling rested, your health will quickly suffer leading to problems with attention, focus, concentration, mood, blood pressure, heart health, hormone balance, and weight gain.

Common Causes of Sleep Problems include:

  • Stress – Being apprehensive about work, school, health, or family can take a toll on your mental health.

  • Anxiety – Anxieties, either the everyday type or more serious ones, can rattle the sleep cycle. Constantly worrying about being able to fall asleep can make it that much harder as well.

  • Depression – Depression, as well as other mood disorders, can make sleeping difficult.

  • Medical conditions – Chronic pain, trouble breathing, or other medical conditions can cause insomnia.

  • Changes in one’s environment or work schedule – Working swing shifts, starting work very early or very late can disrupt one’s sleep cycle. This cycle helps guide our sleep-wake cycle, metabolism, and body temperature.

  • Inadequate sleep habits – Having an irregular sleep schedule, participating in stimulating activities before bed (i.e., on electronics at night, having a hot bath or an intense conversation), eating a large meal less than 3 hours before bed, poor sleep environment, or using one’s bed for other activities other than for sleep or sex can trigger insomnia.

  • Medications – Certain medications can disrupt your sleep. Some examples include antidepressants, heart and blood pressure medications, allergy medications, stimulants, decongestant and weight-loss products containing caffeine or other stimulants.

  • Nicotine, alcohol, and caffeine - These drugs are stimulating and hinder deep quality sleep.  Caffeine, in the form of coffee, decaf, black tea, green tea, or chocolate, can remain in the bloodstream for over 14 to 21 hours.

Alcohol may seem to help put a person to sleep faster because it is a sedative. The problem is alcohol hinders deep sleep and commonly causes a person to awaken multiple times through the night and have restless sleep (even if the person doesn’t remember awakening).

Common Symptoms of Insomnia include:

  • Trouble falling sleep (i.e., taking more than 30 minutes to fall asleep)

  • Trouble staying asleep and getting only 6 or less hours of sleep 3 or more times per week for over 1 + months.

  • Waking up too early

  • Feeling sluggish or unrefreshed after a night’s sleep

  • Feeling tired or sleepy during the daytime

  • Depression, irritability, or anxiety

  • Trouble paying attention, focusing on tasks, or remembering

  • Increased errors or accidents

  • Tension headaches

  • GI issues

GUARANTEED RESULTS

If you are struggling with sleep issues, work with the nation’s leading expert on integrative functional medicine. By caring for the whole person, rather than a series of isolated organ systems, Dr. Bhandari understands the root causes of diseases and provides personalized treatment plans which drive quick and effective results.