Insomnia Treatment
Treatment of
Insomnia
When we think
of Insomnia
Treatment we tend to think of sleeping
pills, but there are in fact non-medical therapy that
have not only been shown to be successful in improving
insomnia, but better in the long term than “sleeping
pills”. Insomnia therapy can be separated into two areas:
Insomnia Treatment with and without
medication.
Insomnia Treatment with
Medication
Always consult
your doctor before taking any of the following
medications for Insomnia
Treatment.
- Alcohol.
Commonly self-prescribed as a sleep aid, alcohol is
of limited benefit. A very small amount of alcohol
can be relaxing and produce sleepiness early in the
evening, but later in the evening there may be
further difficulty sleeping. Chronic alcohol use can
produce increased dependence and cause other medical
conditions.
- Antihistamines. Usually sold as
remedies for colds, over-the-counter antihistamines
can produce sedation and are regularly used as
sleeping pills. They may be effective for short-term
use, but they have not been shown to be consistently
useful. They tend to be long-acting medications, and
sleepiness can carry on into the
day.
- Benzodiazepines. These drugs,
connected to the diazepam group, improve sleep by
lessening the amount of time needed to fall asleep
and the amount of awakenings during sleep. The side
effects of using these drugs are poor coordination,
reduced response time, and impaired memory recall.
This gives the feeling of a "hangover" this occurs
when the blood level is at its peak and will vary
depending on how long the drug has been in the
body.
I recall my mother
being prescribed these as an Insomnia Treatment and she
woke the first morning after taking them and said that
they were poison and flushed them all down the toilet.
She had the hangover effect, and for a woman who never
drank, it was a frightening feeling for her. The side
effect meant it certainly failed to alleviate her
insomnia
symptoms.
- Non-benzodiazepines - These drugs
have been introduced over the past 10-12 years and
have become the primary Insomnia Treatment for
short-term relief. They try to mimic the effect of
benzodiazepines, but tend to be more specific for
inducing sleep. They don’t cause the hangover
effect.
- Melatonin -
This herbal agent seems to be effective in helping
transient and short-term Insomnia Treatment. However,
as an herbal supplement which is not regulated by the
FDA this drug is still under review. Check with your
doctor about its use as an Insomnia
Treatment.
I have personally
tried this as an Insomnia Treatment and it is effective,
but only in the short term - I experienced nightmares if
I used it every night. I found that I only benefited from
non-medical types of Insomnia
Treatment.
- Herbal
medications such as valerian, chamomile, and
kava-kava, are frequently used to aid sleep, but
long-term effectiveness and safety data are not
readily available.
Insomnia Treatment without
Medication
The
non-medicated Insomnia
Treatment methods used to help insomnia are
often focused at helping the person “relearn” how to
sleep. These techniques are simple and can assist in a
person feeling sleepy at night. Some of the strategies
worth trying include:
- Develop a
normal sleeping schedule. Avoid naps and stimulating
behavior just before retiring to
bed.
- Avoid caffeine
and nicotine, particularly before going to
bed.
- Exercise
during the day.
- Avoid
alcohol
- Minimize light
and noise.
- Attain a
comfortable bedroom
temperature.
- Avoid large
meals before bed.
- Any
medications that may cause you to wake up to urinate
should be taken long before
bedtime.
- Spend some
time in the sun in the morning, and avoid it later in
the afternoon (5-6 PM).
- There are
other therapies that can be used also to increase the
effect of Insomnia Treatment, and these include
relaxation therapy and cognitive
therapy
The
effectiveness of any of these procedures tends to be dependent
on the persons receptiveness to the importance of good health
and wellbeing without the use of medication in
Insomnia
Treatment.
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