We all need a good night of sleep – not occasionally – but almost every single night.

Of course, life is fluid and things can prevent this from happening; perhaps you have to work late, your child is restless, or you are out socializing with friends and dancing into the early morning hours.

This is not a problem.

As long as you are getting adequate and deep sleep more times than not, our bodies are capable of dealing with the occasional sleepless night.

However, here at Northshore Naturopathic Clinic, we are seeing quiet a number of people coming in complaining of an inability to get regular, deep, uninterrupted sleep.

This is tragic. Sleep is a critical part of our routine that allows us to better enjoy our waking hours, our body to incorporate the benefits of exercise, and detoxifies our organ systems.

Dr. Matsen wrote an article on sleep almost 10 years ago and it is still relevant today. The things that are body needs to sleep do not change with time – they were the same 10, 20, 50, 100+ years ago – we just need to make a concerted effort to practice them.

Our bodies love routine, so the more that you practice a sleep-enhancing nighttime routine, the more effective it will become at providing you with deep, delicious, rejuvenating sleep!

Here is Dr. Matsen’s article outlining good information and helpful tips and tricks.

In addition to the things Dr. Matsen outlines, we carry a selection of supplements that can help depending on the reason behind your night of tossing and turning:

1) Pascoflair – This is a homeopathic remedy in tablet form that contains extract of passionflower used to help restlessness or insomnia that is due to mental stress.

2) Cortisol Manager – A non-habit forming tablet taken before bed to reduce excess cortisol that may be preventing sleep. In the evening, cortisol levels should naturally go down and melatonin should increase. If cortisol stays high it may be why you can’t get to sleep; this supplement helps eat-up this extra cortisol.

3) Brain Calm – This product has passionflower, like Pascoflair, as well as Gaba. Gaba works in a similar, yet different, way as passionflower. Meaning, both work at calming the mental stress of the mind. However, Gaba is a chemical messenger in the brain that works to control fear and anxiety that people experience. By taking Gaba before bed, it therefore helps to reduce stressful thought patterns that inhibit sleep.

4) Soma Pro – An Ayurvedic remedy that has been used traditionally in India for hundreds of years. This product is a combination of many herbs that act to relieve anxiety and insomnia. Different from the other products, Soma Pro works to decrease anxiety levels throughout the day as well, preventing that stress from reaching peak levels by nightfall.

Not sure which product is right for you? Call Northshore Naturopathic Clinic to book an appointment with one of our doctors or nutritionists for a consultation.