I grew up going to summer camp in the mountains of North Carolina. I fell in love with hiking and white water rafting and the great outdoors. (And a few boys along the way.)
For some reason, we called Kool-Aid “bug juice.” Maybe because it was purple. Or maybe because it was sugary and so the bugs really liked it. Either way, it was a special treat to get after a sweaty and hot adventure.
Now I mean something else when I say “bug juice.” Now, bug juice means all the toxins pathogens leave in our gut. As they eat and excrete, they squirt out a lot of toxins, especially an alcohol called acetaldehyde. This chemical gets into your bloodstream and damages your cells, causing hangover symptoms like a headache, nausea, faster heartbeat and impaired memory.
This bug juice also causes a lot of inflammation. Any time there’s inflammation, your body releases cortisol because it’s an anti-inflammatory hormone. When it happens at night when these creatures are most active, cortisol wakes you up with your mind racing and makes it hard to go back to sleep.
Most of my clients have bug juice. That’s why one of the lab tests I do looks at what’s living in your gut. You can follow all of the “sleep rules,” but if you don’t address pathogens in your gut it’s not going to be enough to sleep well long-term.
Do you want to know if bug juice is sabotaging your sleep? Let’s chat.
You’ll find out what’s causing your insomnia and the exact steps to fix it. Not sleeping is no fun! But it also makes you uninspired, unproductive and unhappy. Whether it’s raising kids, helping people buy their dream home or drafting legal contracts, I want you to be motivated, focused and in a great mood every day so you can make the difference you want to make in the world.