Okay, boots on the ground. Let’s do this.

Finally Figuring Out Why You Still Can’t Sleep Right, Years After Service

Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. You’re here because you’re staring at the ceiling at 3 AM, again. The VA doc probably threw some generic advice and maybe a script at you. But that ain’t cutting it, is it? Because the standard sleep hygiene pamphlets? They’re designed for desk jockeys, not someone who spent years with their nervous system cranked to eleven.

The 3 AM Brain Dump

The traditional data says sleep disturbances post-deployment are all about PTSD, right? The Mayo Clinic will tell you it’s anxiety, nightmares, blah blah blah (https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/insomnia/symptoms-causes/syc-20355167). Which, sure, that’s part of it. But in my 30 years of patching up broken bodies and minds—and listening to the stories they carry—I’ve seen a whole heap of other factors get completely ignored. Factors that are probably messing with your sleep, right now.

We gotta talk about inflammation. Chronic, low-grade inflammation. It’s not just about your knees or your back screaming at you every morning. It’s a systemic fire—a cascade of cytokines like interleukin-6 and TNF-alpha flooding your brain, disrupting the delicate dance of neurotransmitters responsible for sleep regulation.

The real kicker is this: That inflammatory response, initially triggered by combat stress, traumatic injuries, exposure to toxins, keeps simmering. It doesn’t just…stop. Which means you have this insidious biochemical process actively sabotaging your sleep architecture—the precise order in which your brain cycles through sleep stages. Which messes with everything from memory consolidation to emotional regulation.

The Gut-Brain Connection—Don’t Roll Your Eyes

And then there’s the gut microbiome. I know, I know—everyone’s banging on about gut health these days. But what actually matters is this: The composition of your gut bacteria directly influences the production of neurotransmitters like serotonin and melatonin. The Salk Institute has done some seriously groundbreaking work on this. Check out studies on the gut-brain axis modulating sleep cycles. (https://www.salk.edu/news-release/how-your-gut-microbes-can-influence-your-sleep/).

Years of chow hall food, antibiotics after that shrapnel injury, and the stress of deployment? That’s a recipe for a gut flora apocalypse. Which means fewer sleep-promoting neurotransmitters being produced, and more inflammatory compounds leaking into your bloodstream.

The Adrenal Dump

Let’s not forget the adrenal glands. The John Hopkins team has done great work on stress and sleep. (https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/fight-or-flight-reaction) For years, your body was mainlining cortisol and adrenaline. Now, your HPA axis—the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis—is probably shot to hell. Which means your natural cortisol rhythm—the gentle rise in the morning and fall at night that governs your sleep-wake cycle—is completely out of whack. So, you’re wired when you should be tired and exhausted when you need to be alert.

Which—basic biology—screws everything up.