When melatonin makes you groggy, progesterone makes you puffy, and your cocktail of herbal sleep inducers stops working?
It’s time to dive into the neurological, energetic, and Chinese Medicine side of sleep.
If you’re a seasoned insomniac or new to this not-so-fun phenomenon, my podcast this week is for you.
Somewhere around 30 years old, I started to “vampire,” as I call it.
I’d sleep maybe 2-4 hours a night, if I was lucky.
At first, I was super productive in my newfound free time.
Then, as all good things come to an end, I crashed, and the search for the ultimate sleep cocktail began.
Melatonin extended release, skullcap, lemon balm, Sleepy Time Tea, L-theanine, ashwagandha, 5-HTP, then progesterone.
Progesterone was a game changer for a few years. Then, as if a switch was flipped, it stopped working.
Then L-theanine and ashwagandha at super-high dosages, plus the supplement Insomnitol, started to work.
Eventually those didn’t do the trick, and I threw in topical magnesium, and that was the magic combo…for a while.
The problem?
I was looking for something outside of myself to fix my issue.
Turns out my habits and routines throughout the day needed a little tweaking, as did my sleep environment.
The three most impactful sleep habits I’ve discovered for me?
Reading an actual book for 30 minutes, walking after dinner, and staying on top of my hydration.
How’d I learn this?
Using my own assessment and the guidance of the Elonga HRV (Heart Rate Variability) device’s habit tracker.
You can enter your habits, and it tracks which ones are most helpful or harmful.
Over the course of a few months, you’re able to see a pattern.
I took those patterns and compared them to the Chinese Medicine Clock, the times of the day when your organs are most active, and discovered a few insights.
What you do during the day impacts what happens at night.
It’s so common for folks to talk about “sleep hygiene” in the hours before bed, but what really moves the needle for you may be what you’re up to during the day!
1-3p is small intestine time. After lunch, it’s a great time to work on your digestion with abdominal massage and enzymes if you need them, so you don’t have a 1-3a wake-up thanks to your gut!
3-5p is bladder time. It’s the perfect time to work on your hydration to help the body detox earlier in the day so that you’re not waking up at 3-5a because the lungs are overloaded. It’s also a great time to read and study.
Between 5-7p is kidney energy time. This is when you’re primed to recharge from the day.
7p-9p is pericardium (the area that surrounds your heart) time of day. This is time for optimizing your circulation, resetting your brain, and it’s also time for your reproductive organs to reset. This is a great time to take a walk or do mobility work to optimize circulation.
9p to 11p is lymphatic movement time, as well as thyroid and adrenal gland resetting time. These glands are key for metabolism and temperature regulation. If you’re struggling with adrenals or your thyroid, you may have trouble getting to sleep. If you go to sleep later than 11p, you may find you’re struggling with your weight.
11p-1a is gallbladder time. If you’re struggling with your digestion, you may be waking up at this time.
1a-3a is liver time. If you’re struggling to detox from alcohol, environmental exposures, poor diet, or mental stress, you’ll wake up at this time.
3a-5a is lung time. Your lungs expel toxins, and they also optimize oxygen delivery throughout your body. If you’re struggling with circulation, iron stores (anemia), or lung health—or even difficulty taking deep breaths due to life’s stress—this could be a factor.
Did you find anything that may be contributing to your sleep?
What could you do to make a difference?
For me, it was staying on top of my hydration during the day, taking a reading break between 3-5pm, and optimizing my circulation in the evening.
Prior to nerding out on the Chinese Clock, I hadn’t thought about what was happening during the day that left me out of balance moving into the night.
If the supplements and hormones aren’t helping you sleep soundly, this is something to consider!
Here’s to rethinking your day to help you have better nights,
Dr. J
PS: I’m working on a travel and health optimization membership to help those who want to plan trips that fit their health goals or desire to overcome a health challenge but would prefer support along the way. Think travel combined with health coaching. As a Fora Travel Advisor, I have access to travel perks you can’t get with your credit card points, as well as connections to unique wellness experiences I’ve made over the years, like 1:1 pelvic floor retreats in Central Oregon, culinary-inspired South African safaris, escapes to the mountains of Colorado to learn how to relieve your body pain naturally, yoga and surf retreats in Portugal, and destinations all over the world. If this intrigues you, I’ve started a waitlist so you can be the first to know about it when it’s released.
