{"id":18250,"date":"2019-03-20T01:49:34","date_gmt":"2019-03-19T20:19:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/functionalnutritionlab.com\/blog\/?p=1142"},"modified":"2025-08-28T15:00:52","modified_gmt":"2025-08-28T15:00:52","slug":"case-study-insomnia-through-a-functional-lens-part-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fxnutrition.com\/blog\/case-study-insomnia-through-a-functional-lens-part-2","title":{"rendered":"case study: insomnia through a Functional Lens, part 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week you met our Functional Nutrition Alliance Clinic client named Shelly. (You can read more about Shelly\u2019s case here.<\/a>)<\/p>\n

Before I bring you back to Shelly\u2019s story, I have a confession to make\u2026a confession about me and case studies. If you\u2019re a reader, like I am, you probably often see case studies written up in side-bars or in little isolated boxes on the page.<\/p>\n

They\u2019re written through the lens of: problem \u2192 remedy \u2192 solution.<\/p>\n

Yet I don\u2019t believe cases are that simple (and I trust you recognize this as well.)<\/p>\n

In fact, these case studies always leave me with more questions than answers!<\/p>\n

A case<\/em> is a human being<\/strong> sitting before us with a unique story, set of physiological impacts, life habits, patterns, situations and efforts, that all add up to the point that brings them to us for support today.<\/p>\n

And to study<\/em> is to examine, analyze, contemplate and learn. In order to study, we need to get curious.<\/p>\n

Based on this thinking, a case study<\/em> is more like a novel! Or a hero\u2019s journey. It\u2019s not a sidebar.<\/p>\n

What that means for Shelly\u2019s case is that we\u2019re with her on her journey<\/strong> to learn more about her body. We want to assess<\/a> her physiological influences and burdens, as well as understand her emotional state, so that we can make the appropriate recommendations.<\/p>\n

We also want to work with her to educate and elucidate<\/strong> what\u2019s going on<\/em> inside of her biological ecosystem so that she can shift her mindset from the desire for the quick-fix that may be promised by someone\u2019s blog or a Facebook ad (those things outside of our own experience that yank at our collective yearning for the often elusive results we want), and move towards the \u201cI\u201d or the internal.<\/p>\n

In other words: What is true for Shelly (based on what we know today)?<\/p>\n

Functional Nutrition Approach to Insomnia<\/h2>\n

In our Nutrition Counseling, there were factors we were able to address with Shelly from the very first session which led to results.<\/em> Again, you can review the initial details of her case here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

You\u2019ll see those factors (yes, a washcloth over the alarm clock!) may not be sexy, but they work!<\/p>\n

In fact, Shelly is doing much better in just a few short weeks with the changes we made. She\u2019s waking up less often and even feels more energy through the day. That said, the belly fat she\u2019s concerned about hasn\u2019t yet budged. Fortunately, Shelly is not fixated on it because the renewed energy and improved sleep are giving her more impetus to get to her Barre class.<\/p>\n

As you may recall from my previous post about Shelly\u2019s case, the first two steps to a Functional Nutrition approach are 1) Assess and 2) Recommend.<\/p>\n

Step 3: Track<\/h2>\n

Using our Functional Nutrition Alliance tracking tools, Shelly has tracked her progress throughout our work together. Here are the updates after one additional session with Shelly following the initial recommendations:<\/p>\n