Join Jane on a profound journey as Martha Lewis helps her uncover the shocking root cause of her 20-year sleep struggle. After two decades of restless nights and exhausting days, Martha dives deep into the mystery behind her sleepless nights, exploring various factors and expert advice to finally understand what has been keeping her awake for so long. From hidden health issues to unexpected lifestyle factors, Jane's discovery will surprise and enlighten, offering hope and insight to anyone who has ever struggled with sleep. Discover the surprising truth and learn how Jane's journey can help you overcome your own sleep challenges.


Schedule a consultation to get started with the Complete Sleep Solution program so you can consistently sleep 7+ hours uninterrupted, naturally and permanently. https://p.bttr.to/3VJwvDs



00:00 Introduction: The Struggle with Insomnia

00:21 Meet Jane: A 20-Year Battle with Insomnia

00:40 Podcast Overview: What You'll Learn

01:00 Host Introduction: Meet Martha Lewis

01:42 Welcome Jane: Starting the Conversation

02:18 Jane's Sleep Struggles: A Deep Dive

05:16 Exploring Potential Causes: CIRS and Mold Toxicity

09:08 The Impact of Stress and Hormones on Sleep

21:57 Jane's Health History: Thyroid Issues and More

23:27 Conclusion: Connecting the Dots


Episode Transcript


[00:00:00] Are you one of the millions struggling with poor sleep night after night, trying everything from sleep stories to prescription medications with no lasting relief? Have you reached the point where chronic sleep deprivation is affecting your health, is compromising your immune system, and even forcing major life decisions like early retirement?


Today on the podcast, I'm sharing my conversation with Jane, who's been battling severe insomnia for almost 20 years. Despite visiting sleep clinics, trying numerous remedies and adjusting her lifestyle, she's still averaging just four to five hours of broken sleep each night. By the end of this episode, you'll discover why common sleep advice fails for chronic insomnia sufferers, how hidden health issues might be sabotaging your sleep, and the surprising connection between mysterious health symptoms that conventional medicine treats as separate issues.[00:01:00] 


I am Martha Lewis, AKA, the sleep detective. As a functional health coach for the past five years, I've helped myself and over 200 clients find and fix the root causes of their sleep issues. This is the Sleep Detective Podcast where you will finally understand why you can't sleep and how to fix it so you can consistently sleep seven or more hours uninterrupted without drugs, even if you've been dealing with restless sleep for decades and retirement hasn't helped.


Whether you're dealing with sleep issues yourself or supporting someone who is, this conversation reveals the detective work necessary to solve even the most persistent sleep mysteries.


Hello Jane and welcome to the Sleep Detective podcast. Thanks so much for coming on today. Good morning Martha. Thank you for having me and, uh, looking forward to working with you in this, uh, podcast. Yes. Great. So I just found out you live in British [00:02:00] Columbia and Yeah. Sounds like it's a beautiful day there.


It is a beautiful day. The sun is shining. Perfect. Yeah. Same with where I live with and it just snowed yesterday, so. Oh my goodness. And I think there's just an hour's difference in our time zones is enough, right? Yes, exactly. Yeah. Okay. So yeah, I'm excited to talk about what's been going on with your sleep, what you've tried so far, and the things I wanna recommend from the assessment that you filled out.


'cause it sounds like you've been dealing with this for a long time, almost 20 years. Is that right? That's right, yes. Yeah. And so tell us what your sleep is like, how many hours of sleep you're getting, kind of what you're dealing with. Um, it, it does change, but I would say on average I sleep four to five hours a night.


Um, I have difficulty falling asleep. I wake up in the middle of the night and have difficulty going back to sleep. Okay. [00:03:00] I'm typically an early morning person, always have been in my working life. I was always up. Early. Um, but uh, I'm not sure if it was premenopausal. Uh, I'm 64 years old now and have been dealing with this 20 years plus.


Um, so I've tried a number of different things. Uh, more recently, three years ago I went to a sleep clinic. They hooked me up to all sorts of probes and tests and said, yes, that I have chronic, uh, insomnia. Um, suggested sleep stories suggested the, um, the sleep program, uh, like no stimulants an hour before going to bed, no caffeine.


So I did try all of that and it, it helped somewhat. The sleep stories helped for a short while and then I listened to them all several times over. [00:04:00] Um, and then they become less effective. Um, I've tried, um, over the counter, um, tinctures and herbal medicines. I have tried, um, prescription drugs from the doctors.


Zopa Colon is one that I sort of. Keep for emergencies, I've found that, um, they become less effective the more I use them. Mm-hmm. So if we're traveling, I will, uh, take some with me, um, just to get me through difficult times. I feel I retired five years ago, um, and a good part of the reason I retired. Was because I just felt I was not functioning properly After going three nights with very little sleep, I felt like a zombie, um, and just felt I couldn't continue.[00:05:00] 


Uh. Working effectively. Yeah. Uh, so therefore retired earlier than I would've liked to. Okay. Alright. Good to know. So, yeah, from the assessments you filled out, I definitely saw some things that could help. But I will say the main thing that I noticed was, I don't know if you're a member of the part you filled out looking for the symptoms of chronic inflammatory response syndrome.


Yes. Or CIRS for short. So there are 13 symptom clusters on there, and anything six or above is likely this is happening. Anything eight or above is highly likely. And you checked off eight of those, um, symptom clusters. Mm-hmm. And CIRS is most commonly caused by mold toxicity. So do you know if you've ever.


Lived in a place with mold or been exposed to mold? No. [00:06:00] Not that I know of. Yeah, that's the thing. A lot of times it, it hides and people have no idea. So it's not just black mold that we can sometimes see, there can be different kinds of mold underneath paint and in the basement and in the HVAC systems.


And so, you know, and people are surprised too by, I live in Wyoming, which is a very dry climate, and so people tend to think, oh, there can't be mold here, but. Anytime there's water damage and mold, you know, has this environment to start reading, then it can continue to thrive if it isn't addressed immediately.


Mm-hmm. So it's a common thing that I see in my clients. It's commonly overlooked as well by, okay. And so I think that's really where you want to start. Um, because the other things, you know, like we can talk about mindset and we can talk about habits and exercise and things like [00:07:00] that, but that's not getting really to the root of what is called it.


And so, okay. You know, that's why I always say, you know, like you're watching TV before bed. I watch TV before bed. Millions of people watch TV before bed. Like, yes, it might interfere with the quality of our sleep a little bit, but that's not why someone has chronic insomnia. Mm-hmm. You know, there's just more going on at that point, especially with all the things you've tried.


And so, you know, me telling you not to watch TV before bed is not really gonna make a difference. Yeah. I agree. It's definitely more than that. I used to be what I thought of as a good sleeper. Mm-hmm. Um, I do believe that there have been times in my life where stress, I don't know if stress could have triggered.


Some of, um, my sleep puppets. Um, but I look back and I think, well, could it have been? Mm-hmm. Um, I also, from filling out your, uh, questionnaire, had [00:08:00] wondered about high cortisol and hormone imbalances. Mm-hmm. Because I feel, um, like I woke up last night at three 14. I looked at my watch and then really, I don't think I.


I slept, uh, that I really didn't go back to sleep and I don't toss and turn anymore. Mm-hmm. I think I'm, sort of past that point, I've almost come to accept the fact that I'm just a very poor sleeper or this time in my life. I'm a poor sleeper as much as I would like to overcome it. I feel, I haven't found the solution as yet.


Mm-hmm. Yeah. So I, I'm still hopeful. Yeah. Good. Because I believe everyone's meant to sleep well. I mean, you know, evolutionary wise, we have evolved for tens of thousands of years not needing to spend a third of our lives asleep. That's how important it is. You know, and so it's just something that our bodies are meant to do.


And so if we can't, then I believe it's, 'cause there are things getting in the [00:09:00] way of that. And usually it is underlying health issues that we don't even know are there, even for people who live a very healthy lifestyle. And, but you know, and you talk about stress and there's mental stress and obviously there are physical stressors.


But mental stress can break down the body over time. And so when it gets to the point where there's more stress in our body can handle, and I kind of say it like our bucket overflows, then the different systems in the body that are trying to stay in balance, they can't anymore.


And when the body's constantly making cortisol to deal with stress, it takes those resources away from sex hormones. Stress damages the lining of the gut, and then it can deplete the good bacteria and then the pathogenic, bacteria and creatures can survive. When we're stressed, we burn through minerals, some minerals faster than others, so our minerals get outta balance.


Like it's just this cascading effect that [00:10:00] stress has. And so it's different for everyone, right? And we are meant to handle some stress, but in modern life, we're dealing with a lot more stress, not only mental and busyness, but environmental toxins and all the things that we're just exposed to. And so, yeah, it gets to a point where the body's like, I can't handle it anymore.


And for some of us, our sleep is what's affected. And I feel that my body is saying that for the last two years mm-hmm. Um, I seem to be getting sick often. Mm-hmm. Sick with, um, a cold or the flu. I used to be that person that would maybe once a year around Christmas time get sick. Right. And now it's every two or three months.


Yeah. So I've just loaded up at the, uh, health food shop. On tinctures and Isha and ginseng because this last time I really just this last week have been feeling better of a [00:11:00] month of being sick. I lost my voice for five days. My doctor feels it was a, a virus that affected my vocal cords. Um, and now I'm feeling better, but I'm apprehensive that.


Next month I'm gonna get sick again. Right. Yeah. And I feel that my body is so, um. Worn down from lack of sleep. Right. So the physical and the mental mm-hmm. That it's, um, it, it just doesn't have enough reserve. Right. To really fight those, uh, you know, viruses that are out there. Yeah. Yeah, your immune systems become compromised too.


And that's kind of what happens. Like one system starts to break down and then that affects other systems. And so it just becomes this cascading effect in that way too. And which systems break down first is different for everyone depending on our genetics and our unique [00:12:00] metabolism. And so that's why I am sure, you know, plenty of unhealthy people who sleep just fine, but mm-hmm.


But that's gonna manifest in different ways for them. And so, yes. Yeah. So it's really fine. You talk about nutrition. I have a little bit of a nutrition background. I feel I'm a, a healthy eater. Mm-hmm. Um, I try not to eat, you know, processed foods and little salt few, additives and preservatives and, uh, so I, I don't feel that the, the nutrition part of it, 


is, impacting me because I feel that I eat well. When I did, uh, do the sleep clinic, one of their questionnaires asked if, uh, I felt that I was under stress. Well, at the time I said no, because I'm retired. I really have no stresses in my life. And when I started listening to the sleep stories, I [00:13:00] realized.


That my mind was still going 10 to the dozen, even though I didn't feel I was stressed. I had a very difficult time focusing on the sleep stories because I was thinking about what I'm gonna make for dinner the next day, or cleaning house or like little things. So I feel that there are. Stresses within me that I didn't realize I had.


And I also find now I'm more in tune with my body and sleeping. I do the deep breathing that I, I tend to be quite tense, like my muscles tense. Yeah. And as if I'm in the dentist chair sort of thing, Uhhuh and I have to say to myself, Jane, take a breath and relax. And it, it surprises me because I don't feel like I'm a stressed person.


I feel quite laid back most of the time. Yeah. Well, this is what [00:14:00] is interesting is that it could be the hormones that your body's releasing, like cortisol, like adrenaline, if your body's releasing those at night. That's going to make you feel stressed. It's gonna make your mind race even if you, you know, there's nothing to stress about, but it's gonna make you think about something.


And so that's, you know, a lot of people think like, well, if I could just call my racing mind, and it's like, yes, doing breathing meditation, things like that are great, but we also need to figure out, okay, well why is your body releasing these hormones at night? And let's address that, and then your mind won't race.


That's really my goal. And you know, knowing that mold could be a possibility for you, or something's definitely going on that's causing all these symptoms, and the most common thing I see is mold. And those mycotoxins actually live in the body. They live in the gut. And throughout the entire body they [00:15:00] are nocturnal.


So a common reason for waking up at 3:00 AM is because of pathogens in the gut, and mycotoxins are some of those as well as a parasite and bacterial overgrowth and, um, and other things. So, yeah. Okay. Uh, you talk about functional lab, uh, tests. Mm-hmm. So when these functional lab tests are done. Are they able to determine if there is, um, mold toxicity?


Yes. Well, so in my programs right now, and this is probably about to change, but right now I don't test for mycotoxins in my core four tests because not everyone is dealing with this. So it's something I assess for like I did with the assessment that you filled out. And then the other tests show, because the thing is mold affects every system in the body.


Especially hormones, especially gut like it especially, [00:16:00] um, you know, neurologically. And so the other tests also show how those systems have been affected. 'cause it's a little different for everyone. And so the. The most effective and fastest way to get better is to not just kill the mold, but also to help the other systems get back in balance too.


So the other tests I'm doing are looking at hormones. They're looking at detoxification. I mean, that's another thing that mold really impacts is the body's ability to detox and the, and usually the liver's detoxing in the middle of the night as well. And it. You know, I'm looking at minerals and I'm looking for toxins like heavy metals.


I'm looking at neurotransmitters, which also become depleted over time when the body's stressed and there can be a genetic component to that as well. Um, and then I assess for other things like blood sugar imbalance and inflammation in the brain and [00:17:00] all kinds of different things. So my goal is really.


Like I see it as every person has their own unique puzzle with different puzzle pieces. My goal is to find all the puzzle pieces and help you address pretty much all of them at the same time. And that's gonna be the fastest way to get better. So yeah, there are other things I noticed, you know, from the questionnaire, like one thing is.


Possibly drinking more water. I think you wrote, you were drinking two glasses of water a day. Yeah, I agree. Yeah. I, I know I need to drink more water. Yeah. Um, I've even, purchased one of the tall sippy cups that I have, well, beside my bed, I most probably drink more water during the night than I do in the day because I'm not a good sleeper.


So then I'm sipping on water. Yeah. So, yeah, I mean, water is how we, when we urinate, that's one way that our body gets rid of toxins. So again, knowing that toxins are building up in your body, I mean, [00:18:00] we need to pee poop and sweat ideally every day and, and pee often to get rid of those toxins.


So that's, I mean, it seems so simple, and again, it's not gonna solve the problem we need to address. Okay. Well. You know where those toxins are coming from, but it just is something that you can start doing today to help your body detoxify in that way. And then, I mean, another thing I noticed, you mentioned diet 


and your diet's very clean. I will say, I think that having more protein, especially for breakfast, can really help stabilize blood sugar throughout the day. And I mean, we need the, you know, the minerals and the amino acids from protein to make neurotransmitters and hormones. Especially, I mean, to make everything, but especially those that a lot of times people who aren't sleeping well are deficient in, so we actually need those building blocks.


Okay. So I'm usually suggesting at least [00:19:00] 25 grams of protein per meal. For everyone to start. And some people need more and some people need less. And that's what I help people figure out too, as to what their ideal diet is. But yeah, so you know, just one egg unfortunately only has seven grams of protein.


So it's like you really need four eggs to get enough and most people aren't needing four eggs, right? So, yeah. So are you a proponent, maybe add in protein powder to um, like a smoothie or. Ideally, I mean, I always prefer that's hard to eat for eggs. Yeah. I prefer that people get it from food and animal protein is gonna be the easiest way because just a few ounces of any kind of meat is going to have.


25 grams of protein. Now, you know, some people, if they're having a hard time getting enough protein, then yes, protein powders. But you know, it's hard to find a good quality one. They tend to have a [00:20:00] lot of crazy ingredients. Um, ideally you want one that has all the amino acids that we need. So, yeah, you know, unfortunately protein powders are a processed food.


Now is it better than not getting enough protein at all? Probably, but ideally we get it from Whole Foods. Okay. I will work on that. Yeah. So those are the three things that, you know, stand out to me, but especially figuring out the mold piece and everything that, that has affected over the years. Okay.


Now with you being in the US and me being in Canada, um, how do you work with clients that are from out of country when it comes to doing the lab work? Well follow up Zoom. I have no problem Yeah. With doing that, but. Yeah, so it depends on the country in Canada, all the tests I order are no problem for me to order them.


For you in Canada. [00:21:00] Same with the rest of the world. I just use a different lab in the UK for the rest of the world, but yes. But with you in Canada, I use the same labs I use in the United States. Okay. Yeah. Okay. Good to know. Yeah. What other questions do you have? Um. Well, certainly from listening to some of your other podcasts, it, it does kind of surprise me that your first thought is the, the, the mole toxicity.


I'm not rolling that out as you say. You know, a lot of people are surprised. I was thinking for myself more the cortisol. I. Been spiked and um, the hormone imbalance. I feel that I've been dealing with hormone imbalance for even pre menopause. I remember going to my doctor saying, I'm sure that's what it is, you would say.


Jane, he says, you are still ovulating. You are not going through menopause. I thought, okay. And then I did have some thyroid issues [00:22:00] going back about five years ago. Um, the doctor had diagnosed me with Graves disease, so hyper thyroidism. Mm-hmm. Apparently my. Uh, lab work was just off the chart, okay. And sent me to an internist and he said, oh, we can cure you in 12 months.


Just take these pills. I did. My levels came down. During that time, my doctor had noted that I developed a heart murmur. Once my thyroid was under control and these TSH levels were under control, my heart murmur disappeared. Mm-hmm. So I think, are all of these things related?


Yes. It seems, and my blood pressure, I've been dealing with high blood pressure was probably for the last 10 years. Okay. On blood pressure medication. Where my blood pressure always used to be low. Mm-hmm. So, [00:23:00] again, listening to you talk more, I think. And you know, I'm trying to be that detective with you mother to try and figure out.


What is causing this? Because I do feel it's not normal and it is difficult to lead a normal life. Right? When one is only sleeping four hours, sometimes less. Yeah. Uh, at night. So I will say that everything is connected and I think as valuable as, as medicine is for saving lives, um, you know, it's become very segmented.


And so even though our hormones and gut health, for example, they're totally connected, gastroenterologists and an endocrinologist, they're not working together. They're not. So that is what's different about this approach is that all the systems are connected and you know, there's a lot of talk in functional medicine about a root cause, and a lot of [00:24:00] times there's no one root cause and it doesn't even necessarily matter if we find the root cause, but with mold.


I tend to think that that is a root cause. 'cause then it affects everything else. So yes, it is also hormone imbalance is part of it. And then thyroid issues, I mean a lot of times autoimmunity is, can be from food sensitivities, especially to gluten. It can be from heavy metals, it can be from gut infections.


Mm-hmm. And so a lot of times when we address all of those, then the thyroid can get back in balance. Rarely is it just the thyroid? Now I know, you know, graves is an autoimmune condition at that point because things progressed enough to where the body started attacking its own thyroid. But, there are reasons for all of these things happening and so we can find out what those are and address them.

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