Why Sleep Eludes Us — And How to Find Our Way Back Part 1 of a 4-Part Series

By Dustin Strong, CHN, ACN

Sleep is rarely broken for just one reason.

Over the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing a series of real client stories — each revealing a different obstacle that was quietly standing in the way of deep, restorative sleep. These are not stories of failure, but of discovery. Together, they remind us that sleep is not a single habit to perfect, but a conversation with the body — one that changes with age, stress, environment, and life stage.

If sleep has been eluding you, my hope is that these stories help you recognize yourself — and begin finding your way back to rest.

Sleep & Light — The Foundation We Forget

How Vitamin D and Morning Sunlight Set the Stage for Rest

One of the most common things I hear from clients struggling with sleep is this:

“I’m doing everything right… and yet, it’s still not quite there.”

This was exactly the case for a woman in her late 50s who came to see me recently. She was thoughtful, committed, and well-educated about sleep. She had implemented many of the practices from Sleep Smarter by Shawn Stevenson — a book I often recommend as a powerful starting point and one I’ll be providing to everyone attending the upcoming Crazy Wellness Retreat focused on Maximizing Sleep.

And her efforts mattered. Her sleep had improved.

But it wasn’t consistent. And it wasn’t deeply restorative.

So instead of adding more nighttime strategies, we widened the lens.

We carefully reviewed her bedtime routine, her morning routine, and her bloodwork — because sleep does not begin at night. It begins the moment we wake up.

That’s when two important pieces revealed themselves.

Her vitamin D levels were low.

And she had very little exposure to natural sunlight, especially in the morning.

These details are easy to overlook — yet they are foundational. Morning sunlight is one of the most powerful signals we can give our circadian rhythm. It helps regulate cortisol, melatonin, energy levels, mood, and, ultimately, sleep quality later that night.

There was another important nuance in her case. She has darker-toned skin. While this is beautifully protective in many ways, it also means that producing adequate vitamin D from sunlight alone can be more challenging. Even with dietary support, her levels were not where they needed to be.

For her, the solution wasn’t willpower or stricter sleep rules.

It was intentional morning sunlight exposure, paired with appropriate vitamin D supplementation to support her unique physiology.

The result wasn’t just better sleep.

She noticed improved energy during the day, a more stable mood, and a deeper sense of rhythm in her body — as though her internal clock had finally been reset.

This story matters because it highlights something so many people miss: Sleep is not just about what we do before bed. It's about how we live our days.

If the body doesn’t receive the right signals early on, it struggles to power down later. And no amount of “perfect” nighttime routines can override a circadian rhythm that never received its cues.

This is one of the foundational principles we will explore deeply at the Sleep Retreat — because sometimes the most profound changes come not from doing more, but from remembering what the body has always needed.

In the coming weeks, I’ll be sharing more stories like this — each revealing a different reason sleep can break down, and how it can be gently restored.

If sleep has felt just out of reach, I invite you to stay with the conversation.