Is there a natural fix for stress insomnia?

Q:

I barely have time to get six hours of sleep as it is, and lately I’ve been waking up five times a night with my mind racing. I can’t be this tired all the time! What can help? A:

It sounds like adrenal fatigue may be to blame for your nighttime wake-ups. When these glands are overworked from chronic stress, they become unable to do their job of regulating levels of the stress hormone cortisol. As a result, cortisol imbalances disrupt the production of the sleep-promoting hormone melatonin, leading to less-than-restful zzzs.

The good news: Getting a better night’s sleep is as easy as taking 350 mg of magnesium 30 to 60 minutes before bedtime. This mineral soothes and heals the adrenal glands to bring cortisol levels back into balance, which in turn spurs the production of melatonin. Indeed, a study in the Journal of Research in Medical Sciences found that women given magnesium prior to going to bed saw a threefold improvement in time spent sleeping rather than tossing and turning. A brand that delivers the study-proven dose: Natural Vitality Natural Calm ($24 for 50 servings, GNC.com). Yes! We suggest supplementing with 250 mg of rutin (like Natural Factors Rutin, $11 for 90 capsules, Vitacost.com) three times daily to jump-start results. In a recent study in The FASEB Journal, subjects given this plant compound saw a 20 percent spike in their resting metabolic rate—and this effect helped them shed 13 percent of their body weight over 10 weeks without making any other lifestyle changes. For a 200-pound woman, that’s a loss of 26 pounds!

How it works: Researchers found that rutin actually increases the number of cellular energy production engines (mitochondria) within brown fat cells, which helps these metabolically active fat cells burn up more calories for body heat. What’s more, rutin converts jiggly white fat tissue into metabolismrevving brown fat for double the slimming perks.