Note: Parts of the following are taken from my 2018 book, Beyond a Glass of Milk and a Hot Bath: Advanced Sleep Solutions for People with Chronic Insomnia. I receive no financial benefit in exchange for mentioning any of the treatment modalities/companies described here.

Insomnia may be one of the most debilitating symptoms caused by chronic Lyme disease and other neuroinflammatory conditions, partly because it exacerbates inflammation and creates other symptoms, such as fatigue, brain fog, depression, and pain. Lack of adequate, quality sleep also suppresses immune function,¹ making it difficult for the body to heal, so it is critical to address as part of patients’ healing protocols.

As a medical researcher/writer and health consultant, and one who has suffered from insomnia caused by Lyme and environmental illness, over the years I have discovered many beneficial solutions for resolving sleeplessness. Following,I share these with you.

Reduce Neuroinflammation and Histamine

First, Lyme disease causes inflammation, which is important to address as it can affect sleep. For instance, mast cell activation syndrome and excessive histamine release are known to cause insomnia. Therefore, taking an antihistamine—such as ketotifen (which has a lower side effect profile than others such as diphenhydramine, or Benadryl, which has anticholinergic effects upon the brain) or doxylamine (Unisom), an over-the-counter antihistamine which I have found to produce fewer side effects than Benadryl – can be profoundly beneficial. Obviously, it is also important to treat the causes of inflammation: namely, infections, toxins, stress, and any dysfunctional immune response.

That said, the body adjusts its chemistry to most medications; and long-term use of antihistamines may cause the body to reduce its own production of diamine oxidase (DAO) enzyme, which it uses to break down histamine. Some medications may also cause long-term side effects such as an increased risk of dementia.² Therefore, it is best to only use antihistamines for as long as needed, until the root causes of illness are addressed. However, these drugs are powerful and effective for reducing insomnia caused by inflammation.

Natural antihistamines such as quercetin, vitamin C, bromelain, black cumin seed (Nigella sativa), and stinging nettle may be helpful as well, especially if they are taken as part of an anti-inflammatory food plan. The Autoimmune Paleo Diet (AIP) and The Plant Paradox are two diets that may be beneficial for people with Lyme; however, no two people are alike and any anti-inflammatory food plan is best tailored to the individual.

Some doctors recommend benzodiazepines to quell neuroinflammation and mast cell activation, but these can be dangerous and lead to life-altering addictions. While I am not a medical doctor, my personal experience and that of many others I know has led me to endorse benzos only occasionally and as a last resort. I took benzos periodically for years, and went through serious withdrawal symptoms when I weaned off of them. My last tapering process took several years, and throughout that time, I suffered from extremely debilitating symptoms—even though my taper was very slow. I have witnessed many other people go through the same.

Protracted benzo withdrawal syndrome has been estimated to occur in 10-15% of people,³ but I have observed that in those with neuroinflammatory conditions it is much higher, perhaps up to 50%. The suffering it causes can be just as, if not more, difficult to endure than Lyme disease.

I’ve found cannabis to be a great alternative to benzodiazepine drugs for sleep, and to even assist with benzodiazepine withdrawal syndrome. CBD or CBN with a small amount of THC can be very helpful for reducing inflammation. One product I take contains a 20:1 ratio of CBD to THC. THC is important for making the CBD work effectively in the body and in small amounts will not cause psychotropic effects.

Mold and Lyme expert Neil Nathan, MD, has also found Chinese skullcap (Scutellaria baicalensis) to be helpful for reducing neuroinflammation,⁴ and I have found lion’s mane mushroom to mitigate other symptoms of benzo withdrawal, especially cognitive dysfunction.

Practice Good Sleep Hygiene

Good sleep hygiene is critical for restorative sleep, as well. Reducing electromagnetic pollution in the sleep environment is an important part of this. Manmade electromagnetic fields (EMFs) can be a major cause of insomnia and come from sources such as Wi-Fi routers, cell phones, power lines, household appliances, smart meters, wall wiring, and computers. EMFs disrupt the body’s bioelectric energy, stimulate the nervous system, and make sleep challenging.

EMF remediation greatly helped to restore my sleep. For me, this meant doing the following:

1. Turning off the circuit breakers in my bedroom, as well as my cell phone and Wi-Fi router at night
2. Measuring the electromagnetic fields in my house and placing my bed in the room and area where the fields were lowest
3. Using Graham-Stetzer filters to reduce low-frequency EMFs from the wall wiring/smart meter transmissions
4. Using an EMF shielding canopy over my bed (Swiss Shield® makes quality products).
5. Staying away from my computer, cell phone and other EMF sources at least two hours prior to bedtime. The light and electromagnetic frequencies from these devices stimulate the pineal gland in the brain and disrupt the body’s bioelectric field.

Hundreds of studies have linked EMF exposure to many health conditions, including insomnia. The Bio-Initiative Working Group, a group of scientists, researchers, and public health policy professionals dedicated to researching the effects of EMFs, state in their 2012 Report, “Insomnia (sleep disruption) is reported in studies of people living in very low-intensity RFR environments with Wi-Fi and cell tower-level exposures.”⁵

EMF remediation can be complex, so I encourage you to read Beyond a Glass of Milk and a Hot Bath for more details on how to reduce EMFs in the home. In addition, I recommend the aforementioned measures, as well as purchasing a Cornet ED78S EMF RF Electrosmog or similar EMF meter to measure EMFs in the home and workplace. I recommend the Cornet ED78S meter because it is inexpensive, relatively accurate, and easy-to-use.

Unfortunately, as of now, there are no affordable meters that will measure the extremely high frequencies produced by 5G, but there is still much that we can do to reduce our exposure to EMFs in the meantime. Building biologist Oram Miller also has a website with informative tips on how to make one’s home and workplace EMF-safe: CreateHealthyHomes.com.

In addition, good sleep hygiene involves going to bed and getting up at the same time daily. The body likes routines. Taking in bright sunlight or using a sunlamp first thing in the morning for 20-30 minutes, as well as staying away from bright light and sources of blue light such as the computer or cell phone in the evenings, help to establish a healthy circadian rhythm.

In addition, taking a hot bath, lying on a BioMat®, reading an uplifting book, or listening to meditation CDs before bed can help the body relax. Turning off cell phones, the computer and television—especially the news—two to four hours before bedtime is likewise helpful, as is sleeping in a dark, cool and quiet room.

Balance Neurotransmitters

Another cause of poor sleep in Lyme disease is neurotransmitter imbalances. Neurotransmitters are chemical messengers that coordinate the transmission of signals between nerve cells throughout the body. They regulate many processes, including sleep. Imbalances can cause many health problems, including insomnia.

It’s not uncommon for people with Lyme to have deficiencies of the calming neurotransmitters that aid in sleep and an excess of the excitatory ones that promote wakefulness.

Glutamate is one excitatory neurotransmitter that causes insomnia when found in excess in the brain. It plays a role in learning, cognition, and memory. It is also the precursor for GABA, which is the body’s primary inhibitory neurotransmitter. Unfortunately, Lyme disease and other factors can disrupt the glutamate-GABA conversion, resulting in elevated levels of glutamate and poor sleep.

One study suggests that treatment with oxaloacetate may decrease glutamate levels and protect against the neurotoxic effects of glutamate on the brain.⁶ Another study showed that large doses of oxaloacetate reduced levels of glutamate by 30-40% in lab animals, which indicates that it is a potentially potent neuroprotectant and sleep aid for people with Lyme.⁷

Perhaps the most important calming neurotransmitter involved in sleep is gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA). GABA promotes restful sleep by decreasing neuron firing in the brain. GABA is also an amino acid, and supplements may help to resolve insomnia. There is controversy about whether GABA supplements can cross the blood-brain barrier; however, they are nonetheless useful for calming/relaxing the body, perhaps because of their effects upon peripheral tissues.⁸

In addition, taurine is an amino acid that modulates and promotes healthy levels of GABA. Taurine also may prevent neuron damage caused by excessive glutamate. Experimental studies on rats have shown that taurine inhibits glutamate toxicity through a variety of mechanisms.⁹

Theanine, another calming amino acid, is also believed to play an important role in modulating several neurotransmitters, especially GABA.¹⁰

Most people will need to experiment to determine what amino acids they need, and/or do amino acid and neurotransmitter urine testing through a reputable lab.

Finally, tryptophan and 5-HTP are precursor amino acids to serotonin, another calming neurotransmitter that converts to melatonin at night. However, these aminos aren’t always effective and may even produce symptoms in some patients with Lyme disease who have methylation defects. Fortunately, taking co-factors and/or methylation support can enable the body to more effectively synthesize serotonin from aminos and mitigate symptoms.

Methylation support may include one or more of the following: SAM-e, methyl-folate, pyridoxal phosphate (P5P), a bioavailable form of vitamin B6, and/or methyl B12—among others.

In addition, adequate zinc, magnesium, and vitamins C and B-6 are needed to make serotonin from 5-HTP, so if patients are deficient in these nutrients, taking one or more may be helpful.

Ideally, to find out what aminos and methylators/co-factors patients may need, it’s best to do a complete amino acid and neurotransmitter profile, along with a methylation panel, which are available through functional medicine labs and compounding pharmacies.

Balance the Hormones

Few things disrupt sleep in Lyme disease as much as hormonal imbalances. People with Lyme commonly have inverted sleep-wake cycles with high levels of nighttime cortisol and low daytime cortisol, in addition to hypothyroidism and other hormonal imbalances. These affect sleep partly by causing the brain and body to be in an excitatory state at night and sluggish during the day. Adrenal hormone imbalances occur when there is a constant drain on the body from stress, disease and other factors. One major symptom of adrenal dysfunction is insomnia.

Balancing the hormones can be challenging, and removing the underlying factors—namely, infections, toxins and stress—while modulating the immune response is crucial. It is beyond the scope of this article to describe in detail tools for balancing the neuroendocrine system, so I will only share in summarized fashion a few strategies that I have observed to be helpful.

First, no saliva or blood test perfectly measures adrenal and thyroid function, but they can provide insights into hormone imbalances and what patients need. In chronic Lyme disease, many practitioners have found bioidentical hormone replacement—using hormones such as pregnenolone, progesterone and DHEA, as well as bioidentical T3—to be helpful for restoring sleep and alleviating other symptoms such as brain fog, fatigue, and depression.

That said, the former two hormones may hyper-convert to cortisol (especially progesterone) which is a hormone that promotes wakefulness, so it may be useful to measure hormones both prior to and after supplementation. However, in general, progesterone is calming and supplementation is particularly beneficial for pre- and peri-menopausal women, when progesterone levels drop, although others may benefit from it, as well.

In addition, phosphatidylserine is a nutrient and phospholipid that lowers cortisol, and which may be beneficial for those with elevated nighttime cortisol levels. Zinc, holy basil, and Relora have also been shown to lower cortisol.¹¹

Natural remedies such as fresh bone broth, liposomal vitamin C, pantothenic acid, rhodiola, ashwaghanda, and licorice may also indirectly promote sleep by supporting the adrenal glands.

Adrenal hormone imbalances are also linked to hypoglycemia and frequent nighttime awakenings, so eating a decent-sized snack or even a small or medium-sized meal before bedtime can help to prevent these awakenings. This goes against the conventional belief that eating before bedtime prevents deep sleep— but in people with Lyme disease, I have observed the opposite: most don’t sleep well unless they eat before bedtime and/or keep a snack bedside for early morning awakenings. Personally, I sleep deeper and longer whenever I consume a substantial amount of healthy protein and fat before bedtime. For me, that often includes 2-3 poached eggs and an almond flour tortilla.

Correcting hypothyroidism with bioidentical T3 may also be indirectly beneficial for restoring sleep, as well. Many people with Lyme disease don’t effectively convert T4 into T3 and may do better with pure bioidentical T3 preparations. Thyroid tests are also imperfect measures of thyroid hormone uptake and utilization, so it’s best to evaluate patients based on symptoms as well as test results. This is because, for instance, cortisol is required for thyroid hormone utilization; and if there isn’t enough cortisol in the body, thyroid hormone will tend to “pool” in the bloodstream, leading to falsely elevated free T3 levels.¹² I have experienced this for myself—having elevated blood levels of free T3 and yet symptoms of hypothyroidism. Therefore, treating adrenal hormone and thyroid imbalances is important.

For more information on adrenal and thyroid health, I recommend M. Lam, MD’s book, Adrenal Fatigue: Reclaim Your Energy and Vitality with Clinically Proven Natural Programs and D. Kharrazian, DHSc, DC’s, Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal: a Revolutionary Breakthrough in Understanding Hashimoto’s Disease and Hypothyroidism.

Finally, another important step for restoring the adrenal glands is to calm the limbic system and the body’s “fight or flight response.” People with Lyme must do what they can to reduce stress and put their bodies into a state of parasympathetic dominance, which may include one or more of the following: 1) Developing a relationship with God 2) Prayer/meditation 3) Practicing deep breathing, 4) Living peacefully and mindfully and 5) Doing techniques such as limbic or neural retraining, all of which aid in restoring sleep.

Brain Wave Entrainment Therapy

Brain wave entrainment therapy using neurofeedback or sound/light frequency devices is another powerful tool for resolving insomnia. Neurofeedback devices measure brain waves and then use that information to produce signals that are used as feedback to regulate brain activity. They entrain the brain into a delta-wave sleep pattern so that the body can more easily fall asleep.

During my benzo tapering process, I used a neurofeedback device from a company called Clear Mind Center, which helped me overcome insomnia caused by benzo withdrawal. The device had leads attached to sensors, which I placed on strategic locations on my head. The sensors provided feedback to the device about my brain wave patterns. The device in turn used this feedback as input to create new frequencies, which were then fed back to my brain to facilitate sleep.

Alternatively, other devices feed-in fixed energetic sound and light frequencies to the brain to encourage it into a delta-wave sleep pattern. They utilize audio headphones and blinking-light glasses, which deliver the frequencies to the brain via the ears and eyes.

These devices may be somewhat less effective than those that rely on feedback from the brain, but I have found them to work as well; and they are more economical. Tools for Wellness is one company that sells such devices, although there are others.

The King Method or TKM^®

Finally, a simple, free, and very effective technique for resolving insomnia comes from a system of medicine called The King Method, or TKM^®, which was developed by Glen King, PhD. TKM is composed of a series of hands-on techniques that are used to restore the body from a variety of conditions, including insomnia. Foundational to TKM is the Median Sequence, which is its core sequence. It balances the body’s bioelectric and autonomic nervous systems. It takes just a few minutes to learn and about 25-40 minutes to do.

The technique involves lightly placing the pads of the fingers over certain locations on the body for 5-10 minutes per location. The sequences involved in TKM take a bit of practice and time to learn, but the basic Median Sequence most anyone can do from the comfort of their beds; and it can be quite beneficial for restoring sleep. TKM practitioner Dr. A. Alarcon describes how to do the sequence in the video TKM® Median Sequence: A Powerful Immune Health Booster based on The King Method®: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06hxoWpAJic&t=80s.

Finally, emotional and spiritual factors also play a role in sleep, but it is beyond the scope of this article to describe these in detail, so I encourage you to read Beyond a Glass of Milk and a Hot Bath for more information.

The good news is, I believe that with enough experimentation, patients can find a strategy or combination of tools that will enable them to sleep better, and in return, recover faster from chronic Lyme disease and related conditions. I know I did, and I hope my experience and research has provided some new helpful insights.

Connie Strasheim is a health consultant, medical writer, healing prayer minister, and the author, co-author or ghostwriter of 18 books on integrative wellness. Her books focus on chronic Lyme disease, environmental illness, cancer, sleep, nutrition, and emotional and spiritual wellness.

However, Connie’s most recent work, Encounters with My Beloved in Heaven (2020) is a powerful memoir about how to love amidst chronic and terminal illness, as well as a story of divine revelation about Heaven following her husband’s passing in April 2020. Connie also hosts healing prayer meetings via zoom and has seen people supernaturally restored from diseases such as chronic Lyme. For more information, see ConnieStrasheim.org.