Struggling with sleep isn’t just about tossing and turning at night it impacts your energy, focus, and mood throughout the day. While over-the-counter sleep aids may provide a quick fix, they rarely solve the real problem. At 417 Integrative Medicine, we take a deeper approach. Using the principles of functional medicine, we help uncover and address the root causes that may be disrupting your sleep, such as cortisol imbalances, blood sugar instability, or nutrient deficiencies.

A Functional Medicine Perspective on Insomnia

We view sleep as a critical part of your body’s healing process. When it becomes difficult to fall or stay asleep, it’s usually a sign of a deeper imbalance not just stress or bad habits. That’s why we look closely at all systems that influence rest hormones, brain chemistry, digestion, and more.

Some Common Root Causes We Look For:

• High nighttime cortisol levels that keep your brain wired.
  
  
• Blood sugar crashes that trigger adrenaline spikes and night waking.
  
  
• Low levels of key nutrients like magnesium or B vitamins.
  
  
• Gut imbalances affecting your serotonin and melatonin levels.
  
  

When Cortisol Works Against You

Cortisol should naturally drop in the evening, allowing melatonin to rise. But for many of our patients, chronic stress keeps cortisol elevated, making it hard to wind down.

What We Recommend:

• Saliva testing to track cortisol rhythms.
  
  
• Calming herbs like ashwagandha or phosphatidylserine.
  
  
• Custom evening routines to help shift the body into rest mode.
  
  

Why Nutrient Balance Matters

Restful sleep depends on a delicate balance of vitamins, minerals, and amino acids that regulate neurotransmitters and muscle relaxation.

Key Nutrients We Often Support:

• Magnesium to calm the nervous system.
  
  
• B6 to convert tryptophan into melatonin.
  
  
• Zinc and iron to support neurotransmitter production.
  
  
• 5-HTP and tryptophan for deeper, more consistent rest.
  
  

Gut Health and Sleep Connection

A healthy gut helps produce serotonin, which your body converts into melatonin. If the gut is inflamed or out of balance, your sleep may suffer too.

How We Address This:

• Probiotics to restore balance.
  
  
• Anti-inflammatory diet plans tailored to your needs.
  
  
• Elimination diets to identify hidden sensitivities.
  
  

Blood Sugar and Night Waking

If your blood sugar dips too low while you sleep, your body can jolt itself awake with cortisol or adrenaline. This is surprisingly common and very fixable.

Simple Solutions:

• Eat a balanced dinner with protein and healthy fats.
  
  
• Avoid sugar, caffeine, and alcohol before bed.
  
  
• Try a light snack before sleep like nut butter on a slice of apple.
  
  

Sleep Hygiene Still Matters

Even with the best supplements and lab work, your sleep environment and habits play a huge role. We help you build better routines that set the stage for deep, quality sleep.

Foundational Habits We Encourage:

• Stick to a consistent bedtime, even on weekends.
  
  
• Reduce screen time in the hour before bed.
  
  
• Keep your bedroom cool, dark, and quiet.
  
  
• Develop a relaxing ritual like reading, journaling, or sipping herbal tea.
  
  

Smart Supplementation

We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all sleep formula. After testing and listening to your symptoms, we may recommend specific supplements to support your sleep biology, not just knock you out.

Examples We May Use:

• Low-dose melatonin to help re-sync your rhythm.
  
  
• L-theanine for a calm, focused mind.
  
  
• GABA and taurine to quiet an overactive brain.
  
  
• Valerian and passionflower for gentle relaxation.
  
  

Lifestyle Tweaks That Help More Than You’d Think

Sometimes, it’s the small shifts that make the biggest impact:

• Morning sunlight to reset your circadian rhythm.
  
  
• Daily movement, ideally earlier in the day.
  
  
• Reducing evening stressors, like email, tough conversations, or late-night news.
  
  

Testing for Deeper Insights

To build a targeted plan, we often use:

• Adrenal saliva tests to evaluate cortisol patterns.
  
  
• Micronutrient panels to check for deficiencies.
  
  
• Organic acids tests to assess neurotransmitter precursors and gut function.
  
  

Helping You Sleep—Naturally and Deeply

At 417 Integrative Medicine, we’re committed to helping you get to the bottom of your sleep challenges. With functional medicine, we aim to restore balance and help you wake up refreshed, not dependent on sleep aids. Better sleep is possible and often, it starts by looking within.

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