The human body needs at least 5 hours of uninterrupted sleep in order to produce the vital chemical substances you need for good health, to refresh and rejuvenate the body. The type of deep sleep experienced during REM or rapid eye movement sleep cannot be replaced by short naps during the day. We all know how different we feel after a good night of uninterrupted sleep. And we all know how stressed we feel after a night of frequently waking, and tossing and turning where we wake feeling like we hardly sleep at all.

Lack of sleep can contribute to and lead to weight gain, headaches, irritability, impaired mental and physical function, fibromyalgia, high blood pressure, chronic fatigue. Insomnia plagues many people and its causes are many and varied too.

Chronic sleep deprivation can negatively impact your quality of life. It is vitally important that you not just take sleep medication but work with your healthcare practitioner to determine the root cause and correct it before the stage is set for more serious health issues.Eating too late at night burdens the body to digest and absorb food while sleeping and not all bodies can do this without taxing the liver which often causes us to wake up at 2 or 3 AM.

Some common causes of sleep deprivation are:

• Stress and worry
• Frequent urination during the night
• Snoring and Sleep Apnea.
• Poor nutrition
• Hormonal imbalances (Progesterone)
• Eating heavy meals too close to bedtime
• Acid Reflux
• Too much alcohol too close to bedtime
• Restless leg syndrome (RLS)
  

If any of the issues listed above sound like they could be describing your reasons for a lack of a good night’s sleep, see your Alternative Healthcare provider for an assessment. Many can be resolved by changing lifestyle and correcting nutritional deficiencies.