Insomnia: Insomnia can have many causes that range from mild to severe mental disorders and the medications used to treat them, as well as stimulants such as caffeine and other herbs, supplements and medications.  Hormone imbalances, and simple garden variety anxiety can also be at cause.  One particular sleep depriver can be the irritation of the brain stem, the “sleep center” by chronic imbalances of the vertebrae in the upper neck where the neck vertebrae meet the skull.  Imbalances here can put pressure on the spinal cord and irritate the brain stem which is just inside the skull where the neck meets the skull.  Removal of this sort of pressure usually allows this sleep center to quiet down, enabling one to more easily slip off to sleep and stay asleep longer.  We also teach our patients great sleep “hygiene,” which also serves to allow the whole nerve system to quiet, insuring deeper, longer sleep.