Stressed out or can’t sleep? You’re not alone. In fact, many people regularly experience sleeping difficulties and most adults have felt stressed to the point it had an impact on their daily life. If that’s not enough to keep you up at night, consider this: stress and poor sleep patterns are often intertwined. Worrisome days can cause worrisome nights. You then get up the next morning and repeat this vicious cycle, seriously undermining your quality of life.
The good news (phew, what a relief!) is that stress and sleep can be supported. You just need to know your nervous system better.
The role of the nervous system.
The nervous system is a complex array of physiological and psychological processes. It acts like a command centre for your body, constantly assessing and controlling movement, senses, memory, breathing, digestion, and crucially, your response to stressful situations. For it to work correctly, it must remain in balance and a lot of that involves the body having access to a wide range of essential nutrients such as magnesium and vitamins D3 and B6. Unfortunately, these and other nutrients can become depleted during times of stress with magnesium levels being especially problematic. During the day this can trigger stress responses faster than normal, making you more irritable or more likely to over-react at certain things. At night, it can lead to reduced or disrupted sleep, placing pressure on the nervous system to the point the stress hormone cortisol is released, making it even harder to sleep.
Nurturing your nerves.
Like so many things to do with your health, the best way to maintain a balanced nervous system is through healthy lifestyle choices. Now, we know you can’t always tell the boss or the kids to take it down a notch but perhaps you could offset things through exercise, eating a nourishing diet and avoiding ultra-processed foods, getting plenty of sunlight and practising meditative or breathing techniques. When all else fails, being able to remove yourself from everyday stressful situations is a very useful skill!
Something else you could try is supplementation especially if you think your magnesium and Vitamin D3 and B6 levels aren’t what they should be. We recommend looking for formulas specifically developed around these nutrients and ideally those containing organic magnesium as opposed to magnesium oxide which is less absorbable. Our pick is Goodhealth Organic Magnesium Ultra, a high-strength, oxide-free blend of three different types of magnesium (Chelate, Citrate, Aspartate) for optimum absorption plus vitamins D3 and B6. It’s this unique combination of ingredients that allows Good Health Organic Magnesium Ultra to be so fast-acting, quickly supporting muscles to relax during the day and soothing nerves at night to support a good night’s sleep. You’ll find it only in pharmacy and you can learn more about it here.
Always read the label and use as directed. If symptoms persist see your healthcare professional. Good Health Auckland.
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