Julia has been getting 3-5 hours of sleep a night for years now. She feels anxious before bed, complains about her sleep and spends a lot of time lying in bed worrying and not sleeping.

She doesn’t have difficulty falling asleep, but she wakes up at 3am every night. (This sucks! I know because this used to happen to me, too.)

Read this blog post to learn more about Julia’s symptoms and my recommendations for how to correct this issue. A good night’s sleep is possible for Julia, and it’s possible for you too.

Clues to what’s causing Julia’s sleep issues

Julia’s doctor has run blood tests that revealed liver issues. Her doctor prescribed milk thistle for the liver issues, but she’s still not sleeping.

Julia’s doctor has also run blood tests that revealed thyroid issues. More specifically, an overactive thyroid and several nodules forming. And even though her doctor has removed half of her thyroid due to these issues, Julia’s sleep issues persist.

My explanation of thyroid issues and sleep issues

Most thyroid issues are autoimmune issues.

When thyroid autoimmune issues are present, the body is essentially “attacking” its own thyroid - which can happen because of heavy metals, h. Pylori infection, or gluten sensitivity. And all of those things can also cause insomnia.

That’s why it’s so important to discover the root cause (or causes!) of imbalances in the body in order to solve insomnia for good.

My recommendations for Julia’s sleep issues

Recommendation 1: Exercise less often and less intensely

Julia likes to dance for fun and exercise for an hour, but that level of activity can be stressful on the body and counterproductive when you’re trying to uncover the root causes of your insomnia, and ultimately get better.

The main reason for this is because of the amount of cortisol your body is releasing when you’re exercising often and intensely.

Instead of exercising an hour, 3 times a week, I recommend 30 minutes maximum more often.

Recommendation 2: Heal your potential gut issues

Waking up at 3am every night is a common sign of gut issues. More specifically, a pathogen or parasite living in the gut.

How does a pathogen or parasite get in your body? Usually from travel, which Julia likes to do (although you can get them in 1st world countries too!).

Gut issues could also be from H. pylori bacterial infections or yeast infections such as candida.

All pathogens are nocturnal and will continue to release toxins which cause inflammation and put a burden on her liver which causes the body to release cortisol. Cortisol at night will keep her awake!

Julia mentions she has taken probiotics and reduced her sugar intake in the past in order to reduce her candida levels, and it did help - but she was unable to maintain those things in her lifestyle. And unfortunately, her issues returned.

Candida is tricky because it actually lives on the waste products of bigger infections such as parasites. So I recommend addressing her potential pathogen or parasite first, before addressing candida.

It all starts with testing to see what’s happening inside Julia’s body, which is an important component to The Complete Sleep Solution program.

Recommendation 3: Balance your blood sugar levels

There are also signs that Julia’s blood sugar levels are imbalanced.

This can actually happen even if she’s eating well, not consuming much sugar, and is within a ‘normal’ weight range.

I recommend testing to find out what her blood sugar levels are. If she discovers they are out of balance during the day, she should make some diet changes and take a supplement. Eating according to her body’s metabolic type is extremely helpful.

They key is to balance her blood sugar levels during the day, because that will help them stay balanced at night.

Interestingly, Julia recalls a time when she was at her doctor’s office and her doctor had to call an ambulance because of her imbalanced blood sugar levels. So, she knows this is an issue for her.

Insomnia is fixable for Julia (and you!)

If you are waking up at 3am, it’s important for you to know this: The most common reason is a pathogen in the gut, which is putting an extra burden on your liver.

Testing is required to determine if there’s a pathogen in your gut.

Inside The Complete Sleep Solution, we run 4 functional lab tests to find out what’s happening inside your body. One of these tests will show if you have a pathogen.

We will work together to clear the pathogen from your body, and restore health, so you can sleep well. Remember, insomnia is fixable and we can help.