Happy Liver, Happy Sleep
By: Kelly Murray, Certified Adult Sleep Coach, FDN-P
If you are reading this, I’m going to assume you have been dealing with insomnia for some time now. Despite trying all of the things and doing everything correctly, you still can’t sleep well.
I bet that you have a consistent bedtime routine. You may be good about putting your screens away an hour before bed. You might be taking magnesium supplements or melatonin. You are meditating and dealing with your anxiety.
But for some reason, you still can’t sleep.
If this sounds like you, you are in the right place. My goal is to expose those hidden sleep sabotagers so that you can address the root cause of your sleep issues and finally get the sleep that you need and deserve.
I am going to expose a major sleep sabotager. Are you ready for it?
It is a sluggish liver.
I know you are probably wondering what the heck does my liver have to do with my lack of sleep. Well, it’s a lot! I’m going to explain exactly why.
Functions of the Liver
Function #1: Removing Toxins
We all know that one of the main functions of our liver is to remove toxins from our body. Although that is definitely its main job, it has much more responsibilities than just detoxification.
If your liver is not able to carry out all of its responsibilities successfully, your sleep is going to suffer.
For example, our liver is responsible for producing bile. Bile is what breaks down fats from our diets so that we can produce cholesterol. Cholesterol is synthesized in our liver. Cholesterol is so important because it is the key component of our steroid hormones. Such as cortisol, Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA), testosterone, progesterone, estrogen. Basically all of the key hormones.
If our hormones are imbalanced, it can cause sleep issues.
Function #2: Converts Glucose to Glycogen
Another key role of our liver is to take glucose and convert it into glycogen. It stores and releases when we need a little blood sugar boost when we are not eating. This typically happens overnight. So if this process is impeded, it can trigger the fight or flight reflex and lead to sleep disturbances.
Function #3: Produces Various Amino Acids
Our liver also produces various amino acids including glycine. Glycine is an important neurotransmitter when it comes to sleep because it helps regulate body temperature. As you may remember in previous blog posts, our body temperature has to lower by two degrees in order for melatonin to be synthesized.
Function #4: Detoxification
We can’t forget detoxification. In Chinese medicine, they say that between the hours of 1:00 am and 3:00 am is when the liver is most active at detoxing our body. If your liver is sluggish and can’t remove the toxins effectively, it then produces low-grade inflammation.
Whenever our bodies are inflamed our bodies then release cortisol to bring down the inflammation. So if that happens between the hours of 1:00 am and 3:00 am that is going to trigger a wake up.
When I was having sleep issues, I would wake up at 3:00 am on the dot, almost every single night.
That is just a little taste of all that our liver does for our bodies. It’s estimated that our liver plays a role in over 500 bodily functions.
Ways to Love on Your Liver
Next I want to get into how you can love on your liver so that you can get back to sleep for good.
STEP 1: Reduce your toxin burden
The first step to loving on our liver is to reduce your toxin burden.
It is estimated that today the average person is exposed to over 700,000 toxic chemicals.
Although our liver can “take a licking and keep on ticking,” it is not designed to withstand that toxic load. So the first place I like to start with reducing toxins is with our food.
Conventional produce is sprayed with pesticides and herbicides that contain toxic chemicals. Although I know that it is impossible to buy 100% organic, due to availability and cost. I would recommend buying organic as much as possible. Especially when it comes to what the Environmental Working Group deems “The Dirty Dozen.” If you head to their website you can see their most recent list of their top produce items that contain the highest levels of toxic chemicals. Keep the list handy when you go shopping and buy organic when it comes to buying those produce items.
Don’t worry if you forget your list at home or can't find it on your phone, the simple rule of thumb is if a produce item has a thin skin (which means the skin will be consumed), then you want to buy organic. Think of produce like apples, strawberries, and grapes.
The other nice thing is the Environmental Working Group also has a list called the “Clean 15.” Those are the produce items that have low, toxic chemicals. Think of fruits and vegetables that have thick skin, where you are typically not going to eat the skin. Items like avocado, bananas, and onions are usually safe to purchase conventional.
Step 2: REDUCE YOUR ALCOHOL INTAKE
I know I am going to sound like a Debbie Downer in my next recommendation, but if you really want to love your liver, you need to cut down on the booze.
Alcohol contains ethanol, which is the same chemical that is in gasoline. Let that sink in for a minute.
I’m not telling you, you need to give up alcohol 100%, I would just try to cut back. What I typically tell my clients to do is instead of having that nightly glass of wine to unwind, I would recommend saving the booze for the weekend. Try to limit the intake to just one night a weekend or only on special occasions. Make sure to drink plenty of water to flush out your liver.
Step 3: BE AWARE OF YOUR HOUSEHOLD & BEAUTY PRODUCTS
Take a close look at the beauty products and household items that you use on a daily basis to determine if they contain toxic chemicals. If they do swap them out for a low-toxic option. The products we use around the house are laden with chemicals. The National Institute of Occupational Safety recently did an analysis of 3,000 common chemicals used in these products, and the findings are pretty disturbing. They discovered that 26% caused acute toxicity. 11% caused a biological mutation in the body. 13% caused eye irritation. 5% caused tumors in animal testing. 7% caused reproductive complications.
I know this can be an overwhelming process because if you're like me, you use a lot of products. So to start what I suggest is to look at the products you use the most often and head over to the Environmental Working Group website and check out their “Skin Deep” finder. Type in the product and see how it rates on the toxicity scale. If it has a high rating, switch it out to a low-toxic product. I used to think that I was using safe products because they were marketed that way. I was surprised to find when I typed them into the site, the products I was using were loaded with harmful chemicals.
If you’re looking for some safe alternatives, I love Branch Products for cleaning. For beauty, I love Beauty Counter, Merrit, RMS, and ILIA.
Helpful Tips to Incorporate into Your Daily Life
I spent a lot of time telling you what you need to get rid of to support your liver. Now I want to talk about fun things for you to incorporate into your routines to give your liver a bit more love.
One of my favorite ways to start my day is to drink a warm cup of water with a little lemon squeezed in it. Citrus fruit is great for liver detox.
Before my shower, I typically do a dry brushing that gets the lymph moving and takes the load off your liver.
At night I like to wear castor oil packs. Castor oil is really detoxifying. The Queen of Thrones sells a castor oil kit where you put castor oil on a wrap and put it around your liver. It stays in place and doesn’t get all over your sheets and pajamas.
A healthy liver is the foundation of good functional health.
I hope this has inspired you to take better care of your liver. If your body is functioning as it should, you are going to naturally sleep well.
If you have a suspicion that poor liver function is one of the root causes of your sleep issues, then I would recommend taking a closer look at some key liver markers. The functional tests that I include for my clients include the DUTCH test, the GI-MAP test, as well as a metabolic wellness blood panel.
If you would like to learn more about working with me on your functional health so that you can get the sleep you need and deserve in order to feel and be your best, please schedule a free 30-minute discovery call with me here to learn more→
Sweet Dreams
Kelly Murray is a certified sleep coach and an award-winning pediatric sleep consultant based in Chicago offering sleep coaching services nationwide.