Updated July 8, 2015: Please read this, but please also read the updated post found here.
Last time I blogged about "earthing" and how it helped me sleep. Unfortunately, it was a very short-lived respite from the hell of insomnia. Since then, I have been searching, seeing more doctors, and doing more research. I have finally come across something completely new to me that I think might be the source of my insomnia and it is called the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis.
It's even more complicated than it sounds, and there are plenty of sources on the internet to learn more about it, so I am not going to try to explain it. But, suffice to say, it controls many mechanisms in your body, including thyroid and adrenal glands. And many things can go wrong with the HPA axis based on genetics, nutrition, and more.
I found a doctor who tested my thyroid and cortisol levels. It turns out that sleep can be affected by both high and low levels of various hormones in the body. This is the best summary I can recommend on this issue:
http://www.stopthethyroidmadness.com/2013/09/14/three-sleeping-issues/
A light bulb really clicked when I learned how low cortisol can cause insomnia, and then recalled how the Fisher Wallace Stimulator is advertised as "shown to lower cortisol." Maybe that is why the FWS made my insomnia much worse.
So far, medication I am taking has already helped my sleep. I am not yet at the place where I would like to be--a solid night of restful sleep--but I feel like I am much closer to it than ever before and working with doctors to get the right approach. It seems to me that doctors should check thyroid and adrenal levels before prescribing the FWS.
I hope this helps you!
