From 3 Types of Medication for 5 years of insomnia to Sleeping Naturally - Marian's Story

Marian's Story

“I feel a great sense of freedom that I have broken free from the past and am looking forward with enthusiasm for what each new day brings.”

Those words came from my client Marian in an email she sent me recently.

And for me, they capture what overcoming chronic insomnia is really about.

Yes, it is about sleeping again.

But it is also about what happens when sleep stops dominating your life.

When Marian first came to work with me, she had been struggling with insomnia for five years.

Over those years, her sleep difficulties had led to her taking three different medications.

She was exhausted, but it went beyond tiredness.

Marian described feeling numb and disconnected from life. Instead of enjoying her days, so much of her energy was simply going into getting through them.

And after years of struggling, she had reached the place I see so many people with chronic insomnia reach:

What if this is just my life now?

Today, Marian's story looks very different.

She is sleeping again.

She has gradually come off all three medications.

Her psychiatrist has discharged her because she no longer requires follow-up.

She is planning weekends away with her husband, celebrating birthdays and, perhaps most importantly, enjoying her retirement.

This is how we got there.

When insomnia becomes about far more than sleep

I'm Anne Marie Boyhan, a Sleep Expert, Sleep Science Coach and Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, and I specialise in working with people experiencing persistent insomnia — particularly those who feel they have already tried everything.

Many of the people who come to me have already done all the things we traditionally associate with improving sleep.

They've tried earlier bedtimes.

They've removed screens.

They've taken magnesium or melatonin.

Some have tried sleeping medication, meditation, relaxation techniques or CBT-I.

And these approaches can absolutely have a place.

But when somebody has been struggling to sleep for months or years despite doing all the “right” things, I believe we need to become curious about what else may be contributing.

Because sleep doesn't happen in isolation.

Sleep is influenced by multiple physiological systems within the body, including our stress response, hormones, gut health, blood sugar regulation, nutrient and mineral status and brain chemistry.

That is why my approach to persistent insomnia isn't simply:

“What can we give you to make you sleep?”

I want to understand:

“What might be preventing your body from sleeping normally in the first place?”

And that was the question we began asking with Marian.

Looking beneath Marian's insomnia

Rather than treating Marian's insomnia as an isolated nighttime problem, we investigated what was happening across her body.

Through her functional testing and assessment, we identified several areas that I believed needed attention.

These included low mineral status, gut imbalances, liver and detoxification considerations, hormonal imbalances, heavy metal exposure, intestinal permeability and imbalances in neurotransmitter markers.

No single finding became “the cause” of Marian's insomnia.

That distinction is important.

With chronic insomnia, I often don't find one magic answer.

Instead, I see a collection of factors that may be placing additional stress on the body or affecting the systems involved in healthy sleep.

My role is to put those pieces together.

We then used Marian's results, symptoms, history and progress to build a personalised programme rather than simply guessing which supplement or sleep technique she needed next.

Why can your tests be “normal” when you still can't sleep?

This is one of the most frustrating experiences I hear about from people with chronic insomnia.

They go to their doctor.

They have blood tests.

They're told everything looks normal.

Yet they still can't sleep.

Standard medical testing is incredibly important. If you're experiencing persistent insomnia, it is important to speak with your doctor and investigate possible medical causes.

But “nothing abnormal was found” doesn't necessarily answer the question of why an individual is struggling.

In my work, I may look more closely at patterns involving areas such as:

• Cortisol and the body's stress-response system
• Sex hormones
• Gut health and digestion
• Nutrient and mineral status
• Blood sugar regulation
• Neurotransmitter markers
• Environmental factors
• Lifestyle, stress and nervous-system regulation

The purpose isn't to diagnose disease.

It is to gather information, look for patterns and build a more individualised picture of what may be contributing to that person's sleep difficulties.

For Marian, that meant we finally had areas we could work on systematically.

The change didn't happen overnight

This is another part of Marian's story that matters.

After five years of insomnia, we weren't looking for a seven-day sleep fix.

We worked through the different areas we had identified and supported her body over time.

Gradually, things began to change.

Her sleep improved.

Her wellbeing improved.

And under the appropriate medical supervision, Marian gradually came off the three medications she had previously been taking.

Eventually, her psychiatrist discharged her from follow-up.

But one of the most interesting observations came from another healthcare professional working with Marian.

Her therapist noticed that Marian's muscles were relaxing more quickly.

Her posture had changed.

She was physically holding herself differently.

I find that incredibly powerful because chronic insomnia isn't confined to the hours between getting into bed and waking up the next morning.

When someone has spent years exhausted, anxious about sleep and constantly wondering whether tonight will be another bad night, it can affect how they experience their entire day.

For Marian, getting better wasn't simply about adding more hours to a sleep tracker.

She began to feel like herself again.

“I feel a great sense of freedom”

Then came the email I mentioned at the beginning of this article.

Marian wrote:

“I finally arrived at my goal on 1 July... I feel a great sense of freedom that I have broken free from the past and am looking forward with enthusiasm for what each new day brings.”

She told me about enjoying her retirement.

Planning weekends away with her husband.

Celebrating birthdays.

Looking forward to what was ahead.

After five years of her life being shaped by insomnia, sleep was no longer at the centre of everything.

She wrote me another email since then that say: 'Thanks for your input to regain my sleep. It was worth the investment".

And that is the outcome I want for the people I work with.

The goal is to reach the point where sleep becomes something your body knows how to do again — rather than something you spend your entire day worrying about.

What Marian's story can teach us about chronic insomnia

If you've had insomnia for months or years, Marian's story doesn't mean that the same things we found in her will necessarily be causing your sleep problems.

Your story may be completely different.

And that's precisely the point.

Persistent insomnia deserves an individualised investigation.

Rather than endlessly adding another sleep supplement, bedtime routine or sleep hack, sometimes we need to ask better questions.

When did the insomnia begin?

What was happening in your life and body around that time?

Do you struggle to fall asleep, stay asleep or both?

Are you waking at a consistent time each night?

What is happening with your stress-response system and cortisol rhythm?

What is happening with your hormones?

Could gut health, blood sugar, mineral status, brain chemistry or environmental factors be playing a role?

And what have we not investigated yet?

These are the kinds of questions I ask when somebody tells me:

“I've tried everything and I still can't sleep.”

Because sometimes they haven't tried everything.

They've tried everything they've been told to try for sleep.

And there may still be another piece of their individual puzzle that hasn't been investigated.

Watch Marian tell her story

You don't have to take my word for what changed.

Marian has shared her own experience on video, including what life was like during those five years of insomnia and what happened as we began working together.

WATCH MARIAN'S FULL VIDEO here 

Her story is personal to her and, of course, individual results vary. But I hope it provides encouragement to anyone who has begun to believe that chronic insomnia is simply something they will have to live with forever.

Chronic insomnia isn't just about the night

This is perhaps the biggest lesson I want people to take from Marian's story.

Sleep is the thing that brings many of my clients through the door.

But what they really want back is their life.

They want to wake up and have energy.

They want to concentrate at work.

They want to exercise again.

They want to enjoy dinner with friends without secretly wondering whether it will ruin their sleep.

They want to book a holiday without worrying about whether they'll sleep in the hotel.

They want to stop fearing bedtime.

And they want to wake up looking forward to the day ahead.

Marian's email told me that she had reached that place.

After five years of insomnia, three medications and feeling numb and disconnected from her life, she could finally write:

“I am looking forward with enthusiasm for what each new day brings.”

For me, that is what getting your sleep back is really about.

It's getting your life back.

About Anne Marie Boyhan

Anne Marie Boyhan is a Sleep Expert, Sleep Science Coach, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner and founder of The Sleep Care Company and the Easy Sleep Method.

Having experienced chronic insomnia herself, Anne Marie now specialises in helping people with persistent sleep problems investigate the potential underlying factors that may be contributing to their insomnia.

Her approach combines sleep science with functional testing and personalised support, looking beyond bedtime habits to explore areas including the stress response, gut health, hormones, blood sugar, minerals, brain chemistry and environmental factors.

Anne Marie works with clients internationally and regularly contributes her sleep expertise to corporate wellness programmes, media and educational events.

If you've been struggling with persistent insomnia and feel as though you've already tried everything, you can learn more about my approach and watch my free insomnia masterclass here