How To Treat Insomnia With Functional Medicine From Toronto
POSTED BY TORONTO FUNCTIONAL MEDICINE CENTRE
Are restless nights troubling you? If so, our Toronto functional medicine clinic can offer advice for your sleep issues.
At least eight hours of sleep is advocated per night for adults. But with insomnia, this isn’t possible. The condition consists of not getting optimal rest, having low-quality sleep, or obstacles with falling and remaining asleep. “Due to the increasing work pressure and social challenges in an advanced society, most of the masses cannot get adequate sleep and suffer from sleep disturbance,” reports a Cureus review.
Sometimes insomnia is preventable; at other times, it could be due to an underlying health condition. For instance, a lack of sleep could result from stress in people’s daily lives or hormone imbalances.
Our clinical care embraces the functional medicine model because it allows us to determine how your body is preventing you from getting rest. Here, the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre (TFMC) highlights how we tackle insomnia with integrative medicine tests and therapies, as well as brief information about our clinic services.
How we apply the functional medicine approach
If you were to visit us for sleep health concerns, we would introduce you to our personalized integrative medicine services. But first, expect the following to be discussed at your initial visit: environmental surroundings and lifestyle factors; medical history; genetics/family history; current symptoms; and finally, the health goals you hope to achieve. These could all play a role in your current health issues.
We may recommend functional lab tests to quantify elements that might impede sleep. For example, a personalized nutritional assessment can help determine nutritional deficiencies. Nutrient levels should be considered, as vitamins and minerals have an integral part in getting rest. One example is vitamin D – some studies have shown that lacking it could boost your chances of poor sleep quality and short durations of rest.
Due to the fact that hormones can affect slumber, too, we may suggest DUTCH testing to analyze your hormone balance. By identifying which hormones you’re lacking (i.e. melatonin, cortisol) we can customize therapies to address these shortcomings, thereby promoting sleep improvements.
Recommended Reading: Undertaking Low Testosterone Levels With Functional Medicine from Toronto
Dietary and lifestyle modifications
Once we’ve established lab tests results and personal factors, we customize your functional medicine therapies into a treatment plan. This may include the following tools (among others) to promote a healthy lifestyle:
- Dietary changes: If you have insomnia combined with blood pressure issues, a diet called DASH (Dietary Approach to Stop Hypertension) may be considered. It highlights whole, grains, vegetables, and fruits, and prevents you from consuming sugary, fatty foods that are known to hinder sleep. Also, the DASH diet has been shown in studies to reduce insomnia risks.
- Supplementation (oral or intravenous): If you’re missing nutrients linked to sleep improvements (i.e. magnesium), you may be advised to take them as oral tablets or capsules. But for those with malabsorption, IV therapy drips from our IV Lounge may be recommended, as they provide a full absorption of nutrients without the digestive process.
- Plant extracts: Depending on your health needs, we may recommend taking herbs, such as valerian root. Studies have shown valerian to be beneficial for slumber disturbances, especially for women experiencing menopause.
- Relaxation techniques: Relaxation strategies, such as meditation, acupuncture or tai chi, may extend your duration of sleep. We recommend taking yoga classes, as some positions (i.e. the “lying butterfly” or “corpse”) are known to help foster rest.
Truly, a lack of sleep can instigate health concerns, leaving you potentially prone to concentration issues and the formation of chronic conditions. So, why not take measures now to encourage optimal health?
Experiencing optimal wellness at the TFMC
The TFMC is accepting new patients to join our clinic for integrated health care. Book your initial visit and we’ll discuss how to help get a good night’s rest!
With our personalized approach to treatment plans, we aim to relieve sleep issues with a wide variety of treatment modalities. Functional medicine therapies may be intertwined into a distinctive health care plan, and may include Traditional Chinese Medicine, conventional medicine, naturopathic medicine, herbal medicine, hormone optimization programs, bio-identical thyroid hormone therapy, and IV therapy as adjunct support. Our intravenous drip treatments are available in our IV Lounge, where we freshly compound them with integrative functional medicine principles.
We adapt therapies for not just sleep concerns, but also for numerous chronic diseases, menopausal symptoms (i.e. irregular periods), brain care, body aches, cognitive decline concerns, wonky blood pressure levels, and more. Our patient-centered care consists of getting to know your needs and health goals, and ensuring that your clinical experience is comfortable. Phone us by clicking on the link below.
Personalized treatment plans from the Toronto Functional Medicine Centre could lead to a restful night! Call (416) 968-6961 to book a session with a functional medicine practitioner. Leave a message and we’ll respond soon.
Disclaimer: The information in this article is designed for educational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for informed medical advice or care. This information should not be used to diagnose or treat any health problems or illnesses without consulting a doctor. Consult with a health care practitioner before relying on any information in this article or on this website.
References
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Gao Q., Kou T., Zhuang B., Ren Y., Dong X., Wang Q. The association between vitamin D deficiency and sleep disorders: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Nutrients. 2018;10(10):p. 1395. Doi: 10.3390/nu10101395.
Ikonte, C. J., Mun, J. G., Reider, C. A., Grant, R. W., & Mitmesser, S. H. (2019). Micronutrient Inadequacy in Short Sleep: Analysis of the NHANES 2005–2016. Nutrients, 11(10), 2335. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11102335
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“Insomnia” from the Cleveland Clinic, last reviewed February 13, 2023, viewed on September 4, 2023.
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“Sleep Dysfunction, Relaxation, and Health” from the Institute for Functional Medicine, viewed on September 5, 2023.
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“Yoga for Sleep” from John Hopkins Medicine, viewed on September 5, 2023.
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