Taking a quick, synthetic fix to address biological issues, without knowing the harm it causes, leads to unnecessary damage to mental health, which is already vulnerable due to poor sleep quality. Since pharmacy and natural health assistants are unaware of these risks, they cannot properly inform us, despite informed consent being enshrined in law.
Additionally, many of us neglect our sleep problems, which also leads to worsening mental health. This highlights a significant lack of knowledge, which makes sleep problems difficult to resolve, so I thought I’d share a few points that might be helpful.
Understanding our brain-body systems is essential for sleep. We’ll begin with the Enteric Nervous System (ENS), which regulates food movement through the digestive system, manages bowel movements, and releases the neurotransmitters Gamma-Aminobutyric Acid (GABA) and Serotonin.
Serotonin is not produced directly by the body or brain; instead, it’s synthesised from tryptophan, an essential amino acid obtained from the food you eat. Serotonin is then converted into melatonin, a hormone that manages your sleep-wake cycle, while dopamine, another hormone, manages melatonin production.
Melatonin signals to the body that it’s time to sleep. GABA blocks cortisol, the stress hormone that keeps us awake, inducing relaxation and preparing us for sleep, while serotonin and dopamine control the quality and duration of our sleep.
Melatonin does not make us sleepy or influence sleep drive; it influences sleep rhythm. These seven brain-body systems work together to prepare us for sleep, regulate sleep quality, and manage our sleep-wake cycle. However, without the coach — the Vagus Nerve — which activates our Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS), our hormonal brake that commands the body to shut down, sleep does not occur.
We now have nine delicate brain-body systems that regulate when we feel tired, fall asleep, and determine the depth and duration of our sleep: each is essential for a good night’s sleep, and all rely on a healthy diet containing sufficient tryptophan to maintain adequate serotonin levels, to produce enough melatonin to send us to bed.
Ultimately, it comes down to our behaviour that influences not only the quality of our sleep but also our mental health. Once we understand this process, we can better manage our sleep.
Using synthetic over-the-counter or prescribed melatonin disrupts these systems; it’s like adding extra (fake) melatonin on top of what the body naturally produces, disturbing the delicate balance, which impacts not only our sleep but also mental health.
Serotonin, dopamine, and melatonin not only influence the quality and duration of sleep but also influence our moods. It follows that poor sleep can make us irritable, and extended periods of poor sleep can lead to irritability and depression.
Hormones affect all our brain-body systems, so we should not take any over-the-counter, synthetic hormones without fully understanding their effects or without informed consent. Informed consent is when your healthcare provider explains the details of a treatment or procedure, including risks and benefits, to ensure you understand your options and can make informed decisions. This not only boosts your confidence in your healthcare provider but also shows they are current with vital scientific information important for your health and well-being.
If your healthcare provider cannot inform you about the risks and benefits of a hormonal treatment, including potential interactions with other medications and effects on sleep quality, remind them they are legally obliged to obtain informed consent. Too often, we end up reading the information on medication boxes, which never tells us how the medications interact with our brain-body systems.
All Serotonin Selective Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) prescribed for various mental health conditions can cause serious sleep disturbances. Synthetic melatonin interacts with these medications, leading to a range of sleep problems. It also affects birth control, blood pressure, and diabetes medications. Therefore, those who believe that synthetic melatonin will quickly solve sleep problems without understanding what melatonin actually does are mistaken. This highlights why informed consent is essential.
Snoring, sleep apnea, and insomnia are the three main problems linked to poor-quality sleep. Sleep apnea occurs when snoring and sharp inhalations cause the tongue to collapse into the back of the throat, temporarily blocking the airway and stopping breathing. This results in grunting and groaning noises before waking up. It can occur between five and 15 times an hour, preventing the vital, deeper stages of sleep that all brain-body systems need to dispose of waste products, organise memory and healing.
Deep sleep and REM sleep are crucial for physical recovery, healing and overall health. About 936 million people worldwide suffer from sleep apnea, and 80 to 90% of these remain undiagnosed. Symptoms include snoring, breathing pauses during sleep, waking up gasping for air, sore throat, dry mouth, morning headache, daytime sleepiness, unstable moods, and depression.
A study by the University of Queensland found that untreated sleep apnea carries a 45% higher risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. So, if you suspect you have sleep apnea, it would be wise to get tested.
Symptoms of insomnia include difficulty falling asleep, waking during the night, waking too early, and not being able to fall back asleep, feeling tired, trouble concentrating, and unstable moods. There are many reasons for insomnia. A good approach to healing insomnia is to talk to a sleep specialist, a stress and burnout specialist, or a cognitive behavioural therapist.
Your brain-body systems involved in sleep are complex and intricate; no single synthetic hormone will guarantee a good night’s sleep. The amount of tryptophan we consume determines our serotonin and melatonin levels, as well as when we feel tired, fall asleep and stay asleep. This is an automatic biological system that should never be interfered with. Now that you know how it works, make it work for you.
Read more of Joan Maycock’s articles on health: Your Lymphatic System or The right magnesium for mental and physical health
