Dealing with insomnia nutritionally

If you find that you tend to wake between the hours of 1am-3am it may be that your liver is under stress. Waking between 3am-5am tends to be a sign of adrenal stress.

Here are 5 top tips that aim at promoting sleep

1.       Eat a small snack that includes a carbohydrate (pasta, rice, bread, oatcakes, potato) an hour before you plan to sleep. The carbohydrates encourage the release of a chemical called serotonin that relaxes you, by reducing any feelings of anxiety.

2.       Bananas, chicken, avocado, fish, cottage cheese all contain a protein called tryptophan, a precursor of serotonin.

3.       Valerian supplementation combined with chamomile or passionflower tea aims at relaxing the body. However, only take under supervision by a nutritional therapist.

4.       Reduce the amount of caffeine drinks that you have each day by one (reducing too quickly may cause withdrawal symptoms). Replace with drinks such as herb teas and dandelion coffee/tea. Dandelion is a great cleanser for the liver, this may benefit you if your insomnia is due to a congested liver.

5.       Eat lightly for a few days to allow your liver to detoxify itself, this includes cutting out alcohol and any fats other than those from fish, nuts and seeds.

Useful supplements
LIV-D
5-HTP
Mood Food
NT Intensive

Relaxing tea
Purity Tea