If you're exhausted but never feel sleepy, there's a reason why !


Find out more and sign up for the Insomnia Insight program.


Episode Transcript:


Have you tried everything from natural to pharmaceutical, just to get a good night's rest? Join me, Martha Lewis, certified sleep expert and functional health coach, as I unpack what's really keeping you up at night and how to change it, this is the Sleep Detective podcast and I'm going to show you how to sleep well so you can enjoy your life.


Hello. Hello everyone. Welcome. It's so good to talk to you today. So today I want to talk about why you don't feel sleepy anymore. So many of my clients tell me this, they're exhausted, but they've lost that feeling of sleepiness at night before bed. And there is a reason why. And so I want to tell you about it today. It actually has to do with a hormone called adenosine. So adenosine builds up throughout the day the longer we've been awake. So it is what is responsible for what's called our sleep drive.


So the longer we've been awake, by the time it gets to about 16 hours that we've been awake, our sleep drive is so high that we are sleepy and ready to go to sleep. And that is because adenosine is building up throughout the day. So the thing is, so if you aren't feeling sleepy anymore, it's because you don't have enough adenosine and adenosine is actually made in the gut by the good bacteria in the gut. So 90% of our neurotransmitters, including adenosine, are made in the gut. So you really need a healthy gut to be able to making those, especially adenosine, to feel sleepy again. So if you aren't feeling sleepy, it's because your gut isn't healthy. Those beneficial bacteria aren't making enough adenosine to make you feel sleepy at the end of the day. So it's really, there's more to it than just killing a pathogen.


It's really about having overall gut health and creating this place where there are more good bacteria than bad bacteria. That way they can fight off the pathogens, but that way they can also make B vitamins, vitamin K one, and these neurotransmitters that they're responsible for making. So if you aren't feeling sleepy anymore, it means your gut isn't healthy, and that's even if you don't have any symptoms of gut issues. I had a parasite, but I didn't have any gas or bloating or diarrhea or constipation. I couldn't tell that anything was going on in my gut, but it was still affecting me in different ways, including my sleep. So just because you don't have issues doesn't mean that your gut is totally healthy. And I'll tell you, none of my clients have a peripherally healthy gut. So I run what's called the GI Map, which stands for Gastrointestinal Map.


It's a stool test that is looking at overall gut health. So it's going to show what's living in the gut, including many different pathogens like parasites and bad bacteria and yeast like candida. It's also going to show the good bacteria in your gut and the balance between the good and the bad. So we can see what's going on there. It shows how well you're digesting food. It shows how strong your immune system is in your gut. It also has a marker for gluten sensitivity. Unfortunately, as the gut gets more damaged, a lot of times we start reacting to foods, especially gluten. It even has a marker for liver function for inflammation in the gut. So it gives me this overall snapshot of gut health so that I can see what we need to address. So there's more to it than just taking a probiotic to make adenosine.


If you have these pathogens, they're overpowering the good guys, and if you're gut lining this damage and if there's a lot of inflammation, then again, that's also going to kill off the good bacteria that are supposed to make adenosine and other neurotransmitters. So it's really about creating this environment of a healthy gut. And that does definitely involve making sure you're digesting optimally, dealing with pathogens, making sure there's enough good bacteria, lowering inflammation, kind of healing the gut lining. And then we create this environment where pathogens can't thrive. So if you're exposed to something which we constantly are, then the good bacteria in the gut can fight it off and it doesn't take hold and cause a lot of damage. So the reason you aren't sleepy anymore actually has to do with gut health. And the GI map is going to show what we need to work on for gut health.


So this is one of the four functional lab tests I use in my Insomnia Insight Program. So the program is a six month group program, and it includes analysis of the four functional lab tests. I also do assessments, so I'm looking for everything that could be causing sleep issues so that way you don't have to go to this specialist and that specialist and make these appointments over many months to then probably just be prescribed a drug for whatever does show up. Anyway, so yeah, so it includes the test. I also then give you a plan to get your body back in balance based on what we see in the test results, what I see in the intake forms. So you have this very comprehensive plan. Again, it's looking at everything that's affecting your sleep. So looking at the physical imbalances, looking at your habits, looking at your diet, looking at your lifestyle and helping with the mental part of not sleeping as well.


So it's very much a body and mind program. And then you also have six months of support with the program. So it takes about 30 days to get the test results back, but when you sign up for the program in October, I will also give you a Sleep Better Jumpstart plan. So this means that as soon as you sign up and fill out the intake forms, I will send you a jumpstart plan with the top three things to start doing right away to improve your sleep. So again, I'm looking at these assessments. I'm looking at is blood sugar an issue for you? Do you have possible mold toxicity? How are your genes acting up? Do you need to focus on liver detox? Looking at diet, looking at your habits as well. And so I give you the three most impactful things that are going to make a difference that you can start doing right away while we're waiting for the test results.


And half of my clients start getting an hour or more of sleep a night in the first month just from this plan alone. So then once your test results come in, which takes about a month, then I give you the rest of the plan. So it's going to include diet and lifestyle recommendations if there are more that we haven't already addressed and supplements. And I walk you through step by step what to take and why. And it's all based on testing. So we aren't guessing and saying, let me see if I need melatonin. Let me see if I need magnesium. You might very well need those things, but if you aren't sleeping, there's more to it than that. There are more imbalances going on than just one supplement like that is going to be able to fix.


So you get six months of support in the program. So that includes weekly live group coaching calls where you can ask all your questions and we go over things. And then there's also daily chat support Monday through Friday. So your questions are guaranteed to get answered within 24 hours. So even if you can't make the calls, you can still use the chat and vice versa. So you're guaranteed to get the support you need to be successful in the program. So I will put information and the link to sign up for the Insomnia Insight Program in the comments here. You are welcome to ask any questions in the comments to message me, whatever you'd like, but I want you to know if you aren't feeling sleepy and you aren't sleeping well, it's just a sign that your body is out of whack. So yes, there can be a mental aspect to it, of course, and we do want to address that, but it's really a sign that your body isn't healthy.


And this is true, even if you care about your health, even if you eat well, you exercise, maybe you take supplements. When I developed Insomnia, I had been a nutritionist for 15 years. I was working in the supplement industry. People, my friends see me as the health person, and yet my body still got out of balance enough to lead to sleep issues. And so I just want you to know that even though you've probably tried so many things and what seems like everything, you can fix this. You don't have to live with insomnia forever. There's a reason why you aren't sleeping, and we can find and fix it. So you can sleep well naturally without drugs. All right, everyone, thanks for listening, and I will talk to you soon.

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