Supplements to support healthy sleep
If you’re like most of the world, you’ve probably experienced the occasional poor night’s sleep. Whether you couldn’t fall asleep in the first place or were having trouble staying asleep, you probably spent the following day feeling tired and lethargic.
Well, if you’re someone who only experiences this occasional bad night, consider yourself lucky, because there’s a large portion of the population – more than a third of Americans, in fact – that gets insufficient sleep consistently, where those next-day feelings of tiredness and lack of motivation are a regular occurrence.
While they are certainly not a silver bullet for fixing any and every sleep issue, supplements are a helpful resource for poor sleepers because they can be very effective at regulating sleep and are fairly accessible.
Walking down the supplement aisle at your local pharmacy or grocery store can feel overwhelming, especially when there are so many options of supplements for sleep. But, there are a few specific supplements that stand out among the rest when it comes to aiding in better sleep, namely melatonin, magnesium, and valerian root.
Melatonin for sleep issues
The melatonin supplement you find in bottles at the pharmacy is the synthetic version of the hormone your body naturally produces to regulate sleep cycles. When naturally occurring in the body, melatonin is produced cyclically throughout the day – higher in the evening and lower in the morning – to signal to your brain that it’s time to sleep. Since your body already uses melatonin to induce sleep, supplementing this hormone can be an effective way to treat sleep issues, especially in cases of jet lag or for those who work night shifts.
Magnesium for sleep issues
A lesser-known supplement that can pack a big punch for your sleep is magnesium. Magnesium supplements come in a few different forms, but magnesium glycinate tends to be the most popular for treating sleep disorders and helping to improve sleep quality. The main reason magnesium is so effective for some people at promoting healthier sleep is because those people are deficient in magnesium already, so treating the deficiency is, in turn, treating their sleep issues.
Valerian root for sleep issues
Valerian root is not a hormone or vitamin found naturally in the body but is instead an herbal remedy for sleep that’s native to Asia and Europe. Those looking for a more “natural” solution to their sleep issues often turn to valerian root because of its long history of helping people sleep better for longer, but actual medical-backed research is limited on the true impact of the herb on sleep.
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Not getting enough sleep can have profound effects on your health, like lack of focus, fatigue, and mental health concerns, so a motivation to improve sleep is certainly warranted. While taking supplements or medication for sleep can work fine in the short term, if you’re not giving your body a proper dose or selecting the right supplements, you may be leaving the root cause of your sleep issues unaddressed.
That’s why, here at 10X Health, when a client comes to us with sleep issues, we always start with comprehensive blood and genetic testing to identify possible gaps in health that can cause poor sleep, allowing us to be much more intentional with supplements and other therapies and get our clients sleeping better, quicker.
Through blood and genetic testing, we can not only help you treat sleep issues with supplements, but we can identify the source of your issues and work to fix the root cause. If you’re suffering from poor sleep and aren’t sure where to start to improve sleep quality or quantity, get in touch with the team at 10X Health.
