Are you struggling with falling asleep or staying asleep? In our last post we spoke of the link between stress, immunity and sleep. Did you also know there is a correlation between serotonin levels and sleep? Did you know that although serotonin is a brain neurotransmitter that ~90% of it is made in the gut or digestive tract which helped coin the term the gut - brain connection?
Neurotransmitters like serotonin are messengers that communicate with other cells in the body and sub-optimal levels of serotonin are not only linked to poor sleep but are also linked to anxiety, depression, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and irritable bowel syndrome.
At Great Lakes Integrative Medicine (GLIM) we understand the importance of the gut-brain connection on wellness and we take the extra step to look at root causes imbalances in the body through advanced functional medicine lab testing assessing neurotransmitter balance and gut health. And the great news is these important tests are billable through your insurance.
So if you are having problems with sleep, anxious or depressed, have taken prescription or over-the-counter acid blockers, birth control pills or antibiotics (yes, these all adversely impact the gut microbiome), please consider scheduling with GLIM so contact us today.