Insomnia is something I’ve seen quite consistently in the Kinesiology Clinic over the years. It’s cascading effects over the sufferer are frustrating to say the least, but luckily improvable.

Before we dive in and, to clarify, insomnia is when you have difficulty falling asleep and maintaining sleep at least three nights per week resulting in sleep related daytime impairment. 

Setting Your Circadian Clock 

Without delving into where your specific insomnia stems from, these insomnia tips have been proven to work- time and time again. I’ve seen it in clinic with clients and have attached some studies below if you wanted to research them a little more.

First- the obvious: Avoid alcohol, drugs and caffeine in the afternoon. Sleep hygiene in general is important and these days includes technological blue light from screens.

Another powerful habit to incorporate that is little known; expose your eyes to natural light within the first half hour of waking- for only 10 minutes. I’m not talking about staring at the sun and causing damage, just natural light by being outside (Not through the windshield). It’s something I’ve started incorporating and checking in the Kinesiology clinic as it really is powerful especially for insomnia.

Personally I use this time to water my veggie patches but you could easily be outside to drink your morning coffee, do some work or stretch/meditate.

Among a plethora of other benefits, getting that natural sun exposure sets your circadian clock which will trigger the release of melatonin 16hours later. If you’re interested; this podcast episode was absolutely fascinating to listen to and just so simple to apply.

Address Any Apnea

This is another big one that often gets unnoticed and is surprisingly common. Ask your spouse or partner (or a sleep cycle app) to listen out while you’re asleep for signs of breathing pauses. It sounds similar to when you hold your breath for a long time and then suddenly take a huge lung- full of air. For apnea sufferers, that lung-full of air is usually a big snoring lung-full.

If you do have sleep apnea, see your healthcare advisor and resolve the problem. It has been linked to daytime sleepiness, morning headaches and more seriously, high blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, loss of memory function, heart attacks and stroke. ​

Melatonin Production

Serotonin one of the main hormones to improve our mood, that’s why anti-depressants often focus either producing more of this hormone or increasing it’s receptors within the body.

But what you may not have known is that our sleep hormone Melatonin needs Serotonin to be produced, if you aren’t producing enough Serotonin, chances are you aren’t producing enough Melatonin. This is one of the reasons that Depression and Insomnia are inextricably linked.

You need to do is ensure that you’re eating everything your gut needs to produce these hormones. There is a long path for how these hormones are produced ranging from Tryptophan to 5 HTP to Serotonin but I really want to keep this simple and easy to apply.

In short, ensure you eat enough of all your B vitamins and Vitamin D, and when I say enough, I mean regularly eating these foods because your body doesn’t store them. Most Kinesiology clinics are able to easily muscle test for deficiencies you may have.

Foods strong in Vitamin Bs and D are:

• Brewers Yeast
• Eggs
• WHOLE grains. *cough* not white flour *cough*
• Liver- Sounds gross I know but man oh man this one is a seriously under-rated superfood, especially for hormones and neurotransmitters.
• Brown Rice
• Fish- Specifically Salmon, Sardines, Mackerel as they’re massively nutrient rich- they get a double thumbs up.
• Greens, greens and more greens! You’ve heard in before, but there’s simply no way round this one. Veggies are just a powerhouse.
• Dairy- Feta, Kefir and Cottage cheese are usually quite absorbable, nutrient rich and low inflammatory. I tend to veer for A2 or goat based dairy to reap the benefits without the inflammation pathway.

Don’t forget regular sunlight for an extra boost in Vitamin D production.

Curb The Mental Churn

This is one of the big ones I see in the Kinesiology clinic in regards to insomnia. Often there’s a mental churning element we have to resolve. Whether it’s from nightmares, stressful work or anxiety playing up at night. Whatever it is, that’s often a big one I look for and diffuse.

Mindfulness Programs and Habits have been shown to drastically improve insomnia and help many many sufferers to sleep better because, essentially, you’re training your mind to quieten down the endless mental chatter.

Explore time frames and times that work well for you and stick with it. You’ll notice the difference within a week.

I’ve tested and played around with what works for me, and found that 10minutes of breath meditation as soon as I wake up sticks the most, I also quite like group settings as it keeps me accountable and helps me interact with people with the same needs and difficulties.

Here are some of the things you could try.

• Join a meditation group in your area.
• Join a Yoga class.
• Qi Gong or Tai Chi are excellent but not for everyone
• Listen to some visualisations and meditations in bed and allow yourself to drift off with it.

Herbs and Supplements

Valerian Officinalis is well known for its sedative qualities and its ability to relax the central nervous system and the smooth muscle groups. It has been used as a sleeping aid for hundreds of years especially when there is excitation or difficulty in falling to sleep due to nervousness.
Over 20 studies have been conducted and found participants to sleep better, improving the quality of sleep and relieve insomnia.

Lemon Balm is endorsed as both a sedative and stomach soother. A simple bedtime tea will do the trick. If you’re a herb gardener, it’s quite prolific when grown so plant it somewhere containable!

Otherwise a simple stop over to the health food shop will no doubt have naturopaths pointing you in excellent directions. Many supplements now contain a wide range of minerals and herbs that are very effective when targeting Insomnia symptoms.

Acupressure Points Used In The Kinesiology Clinic 

After reading studies on the subject, I started to use these in clinic and found wonderful results with my clients (in conjunction with other tools).

I’ve attached pictures of the point locations for you to hold and clear in the evening when you’re chilling out.
If you aren’t comfortable or don’t know how to hold points, see an acupuncturist or come and see me for a personalised Kinesiology session plan.

The points are as follows: GV24, GV20, SP6, Ht7 and the Sishencong Points

Insomnia- Long-Term

Now, the above information to sleep better work wonders, but, we need to remember that Insomnia is actually a symptom of a deeper problem, so it might be worth visiting your local kinesiology clinic for some added help.

Obviously I recommend a Holistic Kinesiologist, since, it’s one of the only modalities I know of that can tap into so many different internal systems with such a wide array of tools. The responses are always personalised according to what your body is telling us  without any information overload.

One of my earliest clients, when I was just starting out was a Japanese woman, suffering from a case of pretty bad insomnia and had never heard of Holistic Kinesiology. She was hooked after one session, cured her insomnia and ended up being a client for other reasons for over a year. In the end, she had to go back to Japan but I remember how panicked she was at the idea of not finding another Holistic Kinesiologist back home.
(if there are any Holistic Kinesiologists reading this that are in Japan- Give me a holler! I’ve got a lovely client to send over your way!!)

​Don’t forget to give me some feedback about how you’re going with it all!!

Contact Me Here or leave a comment below.

Thanks to the following sites for the use of their images.
http://www.acupuncturepointsatlas.com/
www.tcmfe.com
http://www.relaxspa.us/​