I fall into that camp of being quite sensitive to supplements, and feeling wired allot of the time. I'll very often feel like I have mild sense of electricity flowing through my body.
My ASI test came out almost perfect, which I'm highly skeptical about. My evening cortisol was slightly raised but nothing major (according to the test).
I currently sleep very lightly, failing to get to sleep before 12, waking up around 2-3ish, often for an hour or so, then getting back to sleep only to wake up around 7 and being unable to lie in or nap during the day, regardless of how tired I feel. I average 5-6 hours sleep a night.
I feel I've tried what I can diet wise - carbs before bed, protein/fat before bed, allergies eliminated etc. I do have gut dysbiosis and some liver stress which will likely be playing a part, however the supplement sensitivity annoyingly prevents much progress in this area.
I've also done all the practical things - dark room, no electronics before bed, as stress free as I can.
Does anyone have any thoughts for trying to claw back the sleep to 11 or earlier, and getting deeper and longer sleep? Particularly for the hypersensitive individual
Insomnia is a common symptom of heavy metal toxicity. Then you mentioned the feeling of electricity running through your body which reminded me of what I've read about electric current which some people feel from their mercury Amalgam fillings.
I agree that mercury is an essential component to look into for anyone with the issues you are describing.
Additionally, it may be electrosmog related -- if you live anywhere remotely populated, chances are you are being bombarded with unsafe levels of radiofrequency energy from Cell Phone towers etc. not to mention electric and magnetic fields. The proliferation of cell phone towers in the past fifteen years has raised the exposure level of the average inhabitant of an urban or suburban area to, in many cases, a point that is destructive to sleep and to many of the body's healing and recuperative functions. Even if you do not even own a cell phone.
It can be somewhat costly to remedy this, but if you are sensitive, it is more costly not to.
Eric, I was thinking the same thing...and if you have a metal bridge in the mouth with Amalgam filling you will have a charge from the two metals.. I did...glad all is gone...time for healing :)
Marie
For wired, you want to try things like 5htp, GABA or adrenal extract (ACE). But I suggest trying to look for the source of why your nervous system is in a state of hypersensitivity. This is generally (most likely) due to your total body burden of toxins being too high. I'm right on the edge and when I had my 2 Amalgams removed (properly), a few weeks after I started getting really wirey and had tremors get real bad, mind would race and yet sleep would be very light and i would wake up so fatigued I was in bed all day for a few weeks.
That's tough. It's no fun having bad sleep. It only makes the stress worse, and that hurts the sleep. but on the plus side your body will get rest when it needs to.
I know you're careful about supplements but I'm not sure you've tried them all. You could try valerian until your body is back into the sleep ritual. Worked for me!
For me some licorice tea just "eats up" the cortisol that causes that body shock.
You can also take Epsom Salts in a warm bath before bed. That'll get rid of physical tension in the muscles. And that helps too.
The last "healthy" option is to get rid of that energy in the day by walking for a while or doing yoga classes. That'll boost your brain's chill chemicals and reduce that buzzing sensation. But if you're wiped easier said that done, I know.
If you still can't sleep then using sleeping pills for a week or so will get you some rest, and let the body adjust. There are non-addictive ones in the US that can work well. As with the Valerian, even getting a few good nights sleep helps relax the body and so let's better sleep happen. But don't take the Valerian AND this. One or the other.
BTW, eating well with protein 4 times a day, lots of veggies, and no sugars helps a tonne too. More than one drink wine etc. or any caffeine really does not help.
A little tricky with sleep based supplements as I'm not sure whether you should give them a run to start noticing improvements. You kind of take something in the eve, not notice much change in your sleep pattern and then move on. Alternatively you'll get the opposite reaction and be up all night and know not to try it again!
Did you use licorice tea as a relaxant in the eve or the morning?
I'd use it in the day, not at night. Licorice is a funny ol' substance that it can reduce excess cortisol in a great way, but also can boost it. So it's one of those ones you want to experiment with.
So you want to reduce the body's stress chemicals, so everyone has some good advice there both supplement, light exercise, medidation and eating properly-wise. There is also the sleep specific supplements that laughingdogs talks about. As others mentioned you'll need to reprogram your mind to feel comfortable going to sleep, and trusting that it'll be ok. It's hard to do until you've reduced the system-wide stress (as above), but it's doable. That's what therapy is for.
Even after all that, last week, I noted that my sleep was getting poor. I thought it was light or something to do with any of the many factors we discuss here. Turns out that it was heat. I love heat, but I put the AC on at night in my room and been sleeping well again. I don't like it but I accept this for now.
Oh and if you have too much booze one night, that'll mess your sleep up for a day or two. It's the cortisol it releases.
I had high cortisol for a long time and my sleep was pretty much non existent for a year. When I start to recover it gets better but I sleep light and wake up 4 hours in and then have a hard time getting back to sleep after that. I have recovered to the point were I can sleep a good 8 hours but if I slip again I go back to the bad sleeping patterns all over again. It's my most prevalent symptom. I was using Trazadone but I am realizing it maybe the reason I get bags under my eyes until I wean off of it and work it out of my system. I tried Gaba and tryptophan and they didn't really help. I finally landed on a formula for myself. I take 4 to 6 melatonin, 2 St Johns Wort and a Relora on going to bed. The other big big thing is distressing and reprogramming your body to relax. I did 6 weeks of The Healing Codes and they worked great. Now that I slipped back into not getting sleep again by pushing my body too much I am doing them again. My sleep is restless right now and my dreams are even stressful. After doing The Healing Codes a few weeks I notice my dreams are more loving and joyful.
A really easy supplement to take which is only an amino acid is taurine...that should put you to sleep if you take about 3G and if your liver is sluggish it helps you make bile
By '4-6 melatonin', what does that equate to in mg? I know I'll have to find my dose but was always mildly concerned about getting into megadose range.
Started reading the Healing Codes and must be 2/3rd's in but still not got to the doing the practice yet! They sure know how to pad that book out, although it is interesting reading.
Melatonin works well. Limiting your salt/fat intake at night is important. Eating fish, greens, foods high in potassium can help. Taking antifungals later at night can disrupt sleep as well.
I've found that Relora is very helpful in lowering high cortisol at night - Vitamin Shoppe brand. I don't use it every night, because I've noticed it can lower it too much. I use it on nights when I'm overly stimulated. Melatonin - I've used as much as 30mg when I was at my worst. I combine melatonin with tryptophan and find it quite effective. If you have high cortisol, adding Relora may be what you need to stay asleep longer.
I was using Seri Phos (by interplexus) but found it too strong lately also, I have to order it online so when I ran out, I haven't reordered it. I picked up a bottle of Relora to try instead. Some nights, even one capsule is too much and I wake up with low cortisol symptoms -- slight nausea and an odd pain on the top of my left foot near the left side.
I want to recommend Earthing, especially since you mention a feeling of electricity flowing through your body. I started earthing about 3 weeks ago (walking barefoot in the grass), then started using an earthing bed sheet and foot mat 2 weeks ago (ordered the premium starter kit from earthing.com). I've also been in the ocean a half dozen times since then as well. Biggest difference for me has been, I used to wake up in a wide variety of mental states--a lot of the time feeling mentally 'scrambled.' Things are very consistent now, like a major piece of the puzzle is in place. The transition from a sleeping state to an awakened state feels very normal now, even if I'm not bounding out of bed with the energy of a teenager. Earthing also helps protect against EMF's. I don't know whether you've read the earthing threads on Unyquity's forum but I recommend them if you haven't.
I agree with Waverly, the closer to bedtime I eat, the more trouble it gives me. The general rule I've heard is at least 4 hours before bed, 5 even better (for people w/ normal digestion. if it's not, even more time is needed). I would say definitely do NOT eat protein before bed.
Licorice root should be used in the morning or at midday. You definitely want the Chinese kind and not the 'American' kind (glycyrrhiza uralensis vs. glycyrrhiza glabra). Great for the adrenals.
Also, I want to agree about the StJW. I've used it for a long time, though I'm taking a little break from it now. Seems to really help w/ dream formation.
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Sleep help for 'wired' types 
