Insomnia
My husband suffers from insomnia. He has tried all the usual remedies but nothing has helped. Can you please suggest an alternative?
The body’s circadian rhythm which determines when you sleep and when you wake is controlled by a hormone called melatonin which is, in turn, released by the pea-sized pineal gland buried deep in the brain. As with other hormones, levels of melatonin decrease with age so that by 60, your body produces half the amount of melatonin it did when you were 20.
It has been shown that tiny doses - just 0.3mg - of replacement melatonin taken at bedtime can quickly bring blood levels of the hormone back to normal and help induce a good night’s sleep. Patients taking melatonin report they have less trouble getting to sleep in the first place - they drop off in less than half the time it takes without a melatonin supplement - they sleep longer and they wake up feeling alert and refreshed.
Since over-the-counter sales of melatonin are illegal in this country, most people buy their supplements from the US where it is freely available. Another way around the problem is to take a step back in the biochemistry of the brain and, instead of boosting levels of melatonin with melatonin, increase levels of the hormone by stepping up your intake of serotonin; a neurotransmitter involved in the manufacture of melatonin.
Researchers have found, for example, that people who find it hard to get off to sleep are usually deficient in their levels of serotonin, the synthesis of which also requires large amounts of vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) which is found in carrots, cheese, avocado, fish, lentils, peas, potato, spinach, sunflower seeds and wholemeal flour. So your husband may benefit from eating more of these foods.
Calcium is a potent sleep inducer - which is why drinking a glass of warmed milk at bedtime can also help. If you plan to take supplements, ask for calcium citrate or calcium hydroxyapatite which are the forms the body can most easily absorb.