Insomnia Treatment in Greenville, SC
Insomnia treatment in Greenville, SC. Acupuncture and functional medicine help you fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up refreshed. Call Dr. Hendry at (864) 365-6156.
What Is Insomnia?
Insomnia is the inability to fall asleep, stay asleep, or achieve restorative sleep, resulting in daytime impairment. It is the most common sleep disorder, affecting roughly one-third of adults, with approximately 10% meeting criteria for chronic insomnia disorder. Poor sleep is not a minor inconvenience — sleep deprivation impairs immune function, cognitive performance, emotional regulation, metabolic health, and significantly increases the risk of chronic disease.
Common Symptoms
Root Causes: A Functional Medicine Perspective
Insomnia has multiple physiological causes that standard medicine rarely fully evaluates. Elevated evening cortisol — from HPA axis dysregulation — prevents the drop in cortisol that signals the brain to initiate sleep. Low melatonin production, often exacerbated by evening screen exposure and blue light, delays sleep onset. Magnesium and GABA deficiencies reduce the calming of the nervous system needed to transition into sleep.
Hormonal changes are a major but underrecognized cause of insomnia: low progesterone (which has GABA-agonist properties) causes insomnia in perimenopausal women; hot flashes in menopause cause frequent waking; low testosterone in men disrupts sleep architecture. Blood sugar dysregulation causes nocturnal hypoglycemia that wakes patients in the early morning hours (2–4am). Thyroid dysfunction — both hyper and hypothyroidism — disrupts sleep. Identifying the specific physiological driver is essential for effective treatment.
How We Treat Insomnia at IHP
Acupuncture improves sleep through multiple pathways: increasing melatonin secretion, raising GABA levels, reducing evening cortisol, and calming the sympathetic nervous system. A 2019 systematic review of 30 randomized controlled trials found acupuncture significantly superior to no treatment, medications, and other conventional treatments for improving sleep quality and reducing sleep onset latency.
Dr. Hendry's functional medicine approach addresses the root physiological cause: cortisol rhythm correction, hormonal optimization, magnesium and adaptogen supplementation, blood sugar stabilization, and thyroid treatment where relevant. Sleep hygiene and evidence-based behavioral interventions (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Insomnia principles) are integrated into the treatment plan, as CBT-I has the strongest long-term evidence of any insomnia intervention.
Dr. Hendry's Approach
Dr. Hendry's research experience includes published work on heart rate variability and autonomic nervous system function, which directly applies to sleep medicine — the transition from wakefulness to sleep requires a shift from sympathetic to parasympathetic dominance. He uses HRV measurement and cortisol rhythm testing to precisely identify where in the sleep process regulation is failing and targets treatment accordingly.