When I was just about to turn 30 
, my life had become unmanageably stressful. I was leaving a marriage and facing dilemmas that my youthful bravado never imagined dealing with.
I will spare you most of the details … but,
I do want to share how it affected me long-term.
You may have been through a stressful period in your life that you assumed would be fully in the rearview mirror at some point. Unfortunately, it’s entirely possible that you have been left with some form of PTSD (post traumatic stress disorder).
My then husband snored. 
Getting a good nights’ sleep became a rare occurrence that felt like a miracle.
Years of disrupted sleep took its toll on me.
30 years later and I still find that I have to be extremely careful to protect my sleeptime. Even then … I occasionally experience a few days where I wake up in the middle of the night and it takes me hours to go back to sleep. 
And, when I’m not sleeping well, my body goes into defense-mode and a few extra pounds appear on the scale. Sometimes it’s easy to point to the cause … poor decision making! More often, there’s no explanation other than that my metabolism isn’t operating at 100%.
Sleep is non-negotiable.
There are occasions where giving your body a little nudge to promote sleep makes sense. But … that should NOT happen regularly.
If you’re having trouble sleeping, there’s something else going on. Insomnia is a symptom that requires investigation.
Dealing with the root cause of the problem will improve your sleep AND provide relief that you may not currently know you need! That’s the strategy I use myself and recommend for patients.
Until next week …
Be Well!
Dr. Gala
