Home InsightsSleep Disorders: Identifying Them & Our Unique Approach

Sleep Disorders: Identifying Them & Our Unique Approach

3 Minutes

Edited & medically reviewed by THE BALANCE Team

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Sleep disorders are one of the most common issues in the world today, with 1/3rd of the population suffering with one. Without healthy sleep, our bodies and minds cannot function. Sleep is what allows us to recover from the day, support cognitive function, and maintain a healthy emotional balance.

Good sleep is not just about the duration, but also the quality. When our sleep patterns are disturbed, it can throw everything off. Especially for affluent individuals, who often have heightened pressures day to day. If we don’t sleep, we cannot perform. To understand this issue further, we sat down with our Clinical Director, Dr. Med Sarah Boss, to discuss the different types of sleep disorder and how The Balance approaches treatment.

There are two types of sleep disorders: organic and psychological. An organic sleep disorder can develop from hormone imbalances, especially in the thyroid, or something like sleep apnea where an individual is not getting enough oxygen at night. It may also be caused be medication, or how medications are interacting. There are a wide variety of internal reasons why sleep may be disturbed. But more than half of all sleeping disorders are caused by psychological struggles like depression and anxiety.

When someone is suffering in their mind, it is often the case that they cannot turn off at night. They over-think and stay awake, always alert or stressed by what’s happened or what’s to come. A common culprit of this is an unhealthy work-life balance. As more and more individuals are working from home, the line could not be more blurry. If there are no boundaries between the bedroom and the work space, the brain will bring the day to bed. For affluent individuals, it is not uncommon to be working and living between multiple time zones. This can make it very hard to have a set morning and evening routine, when you can be ‘on call’ across the world. The pressure and worry can keep you up at night.

The first step in sleeping disorder recovery is deciphering if the cause is from an organic, internal issue or a psychological trouble. Our in-depth assessment process will pick up on any imbalance in the body. We look at blood levels, hormones, and check for issues like sleep apnea. We look at the medications a patient is taking to find for any side effects or interactions that could be causing the lack of sleep. Once we have our answers, we build a nutrition and supplement plan that uses melatonin, plant based solutions, and infusions to calm the nervous system. “A big part of our treatment is vagus nerve stimulation with body treatments, safe and sound protocol, and use of our vagus stimulator to improve the parasympathetic functioning.” This calms an individual, and deactivates the brain.

A lot of psychological issues come from not being able to turn off at the end of the day. People are often over-thinkers and the brain can be over active at night. They can’t relax towards the evening. That’s why we build a sleep hygiene schedule that helps the brain know it’s time for bed. We make sure none of the lights in the room are too bright, and get blue light filters on all technology. We create healthy rituals and make sure the room is a safe, comfortable place where work and other stressful matters are kept outside.

Sarah shares a story of a recent client: “We recently had a client that was really struggling with sleep. She was very anxious and shaky. We found out that she was hypoglycaemia from the medication she was taking. She was over-thinking and it was very hard for her to trust her body and physiology. We tapered out her medication and worked with natural supplements and substances and calmed the nervous system. After a few weeks she was finally able to feel calm and safe and started sleeping much better.”

Sleep disorders are extremely common with 1/3rd of the population living with one. Without healthy sleep patterns, we can have all kinds of negative side effects. There are two types of sleeping disorders: organic and psychological. The first step of treatment is identifying the cause and doing an in-depth assessment to look at hormone levels, especially within the thyroid and look for issues like sleep apnea. Once the internal is restored, we work with top psychotherapeutic treatments to get to the bottom of what’s keeping you up at night. We calm the nervous system through vagus nerve stimulation and build a healthy sleep hygiene schedule so that you are able to finally have a restful night. Don’t allow sleep disorders to sort themselves out. A team of qualified individuals can help you get the bottom of your issues.

HOW THE BALANCE CAN HELP WITH Insights

The Balance RehabClinic is a leading provider of luxury addiction and mental health treatment for affluent individuals and their families, offering a blend of innovative science and holistic methods with unparalleled individualised care.