A Holistic Approach to Sleep - What is it?

I choose to specialise in sleep, because I feel that so many of us struggle with it. In fact, the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW, aka the Australian Government) backs me up here too. In their 2021 report Sleep problems as a risk factor for chronic conditions, they show that nearly half (48%) of all Australian adults report at least 2 sleep-related problems (not enough sleep, too much sleep for age group, poor quality or sleep disorders like insomina or sleep apnoea). The AIHW emphasise that sleep issues "seriously affect a person's quality of life" and are a risk factor for major health concerns like heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, stroke, mental health conditions, obesity and more.

Ok, so sleep is a big problem which affects a lot of people, children and adults alike. We've all heard of the sleep hygeine rules (no tv, no phone, read a book etc) and I've already written about how this doesn't fix insomnia. So what is a more effective approach? I would argue that looking at a person's sleep issues holistically is central to what I do as a Naturopath.

NB: if you want to read about why Naturopaths are all about holistic care, please head over to the About Naturopathy tab.

What does a holistic approach to sleep actually look like? The image above is not just a pretty placeholder. It depicts the different areas of Wellbeing, sometimes referred to as a Wellness Wheel. Along with what you put into your body and how you move, this wheel reminds us to prompt for questions about your whole health picture, whether it be financial, work, community, your environment and more. And guess what? Sleep is impacted by all of these.

Not convinced?

Has work ever caused you to have wired brain at night? Worried about an outcome, a presentation, a deadline, or just excited about a bigmeeting? Or have you had the 'Sunday Night Insomnia' blues, ever so slightly anxious about Mondays?

Have money concerns or big expenditures played a role in anxious thoughts at 2am?

Are you excited about going to bed, but your partner snores (environment)?

Do you feel anxious at night, overthinking what you said or did at a social event?

Have you got anxiety or ADHD and could really benefit from a workout later in the day to sweat out the excess jitters?

I could go on.

But all of these areas can contribute to our ability to rest and regenerate ourselves, and they are very real. It is easy to intellectualise sleep, and belittle sleep issues into categories like, "oh you just need to read a book" when often sleep is deeply connected to mental health and we have to get into that side of things before we can simply switch off and rest.

A qualified, holistic practitioner like a Naturopath will ask about these things on the Wellness Wheel. Maybe not in the first appointment, but maybe in the second, where you hopefully have some rapport and trust with eachother. Taking into consideration the wider picture of things which impact our health can really bring about important change in your life and even take out some of the guilt and blame we feel - maybe it's not so much about your diet 'mistakes', but are you as supported at work as you could be? But hey, please don't quit your job tomorrow! It's just an example!

Speak to a professional about where the pain points in your life might be, and together you can safely address which areas in your Wellness Wheel that need a little more love and attention.