A good night’s sleep is key to living in a healthy body and having a clear, focused mind.

Yet, for many people getting a good night’s sleep has become an impossible task.

Why is that?

There are four major systems you need to look at to get a good night’s sleep:

1. Your gut microbiome

A significant, fast-growing body of research is proving to us that the microbiome has a tremendous effect over brain function and brain health. They call it the “gut-brain axis” and it has a profound influence over nearly every aspect of human health and physiological function, including sleep.

When you body has an abundance of good bacteria in your gut, these bacteria play a key role in producing neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters like GABA, Serotonin, and Dopamine regulate your moods and sleep. If your microbiome has more bad bacteria than good, you will not produce the necessary neurotransmitters that allow your brain to get into a deep sleep.

Solution: Get your gut bacteria tested.  Start taking a high potency probiotic.

2. Your nervous system

You have two types of nervous system. One that speeds you up (Sympathetic) and one that slows you down (Parasympathetic). For most people that have trouble sleeping, their sympathetic nervous system is overstimulated and won’t allow them to calm down.

I hear this often from patients that they just can’t seem to relax.

The best way to balance these two systems out is by keeping your spine healthy. Your spine is protecting your nervous system. Any damages to your spine, will irritate the nervous system.

Getting an adjustment, bringing the natural curves back to the spine so the spinal cord can relax, realigning the top vertebra of your spine, all will have quick and lasting effect on giving you a good nights sleep.

Solution: Get an x-ray of your spine by a corrective chiropractor.

3. Your toxic load

There are no safe level of heavy metals in your body.

Heavy metals such as lead and mercury live in nervous tissue and fat. Your brain is made up of both of those types of tissues. If you have been exposed to lead or mercury there is a good chance that those metals are effecting how your brain is working.

Your pituitary gland that sits deep in your brain, controls ALL hormone production. When heavy metals often attach to the receptor sites of the pituitary it will throw off your hormone balance, especially hormones that effect your sleep.

Solution: Get your heavy metals tested. A provoked heavy metal urine test is the only accurate way of knowing if you have heavy metals in your body.

4. Your adrenal glands

Most people today are walking around adrenal fatigued. If you are living the crazy busy lifestyle running from event to event, your adrenals will not be able to keep up with the demands you are placing on it.

When stress has been high for a long period of time, the adrenals keep pumping out cortisol. Excess cortisol makes you hold on to weight and will effect your sleep. A classic adrenal fatigued person will wake up at 2 or 3 in the morning for no reason at all due to a surge in cortisol.

Solution: Get your adrenals tested. There are easy ways to build your adrenals once you know they are depleted.

Resetting your health often takes a multi therapeutic approach. When a symptom appears, there are often multiple systems that need repair.

Have an awesome day!