Wednesday 30 January 2013

A Life without Sleeping Pills – Ending the Cycle of Insomnia

sleepless nightA Life without Sleeping Pills – Ending the Cycle of Insomnia
Another sleepless night. We’ve all been there at one point or another watching the clock roll past midnight, one a.m., two a.m., and perhaps even seeing dawn before finally drifting off.
Insomnia typically strikes when we’re feeling particularly stressed or anxious about events in our lives, but for nearly 10 to 15% of the American population bouts of insomnia can last more than six agonizing weeks. It's no wonder we have a hard time falling asleep, with the constant worry of issues such as the economy, or juggling the responsibilities of our daily lives as well as the inundation and constant stimulation of our minds from television and the general noise of the outside world. Our hectic schedules cause an array of stress responses in our bodies; such as elevated alertness, increased heartbeat, and breathing rates, all of which cause a loss of sleep. 
Traditional medicine offers the sleeping pill as a solution. It’s astounding to think that nearly 42 million sleeping pill prescriptions were handed out last year alone. While effective in the short term, these pills do not treat the root causes of insomnia and instead only temporarily mask symptoms. The end result?  Those who take sleeping pills build up a tolerance and dependence over time.  They need more pills in order to get much needed sleep, and once they stop taking pills will typically suffer from rebound insomnia along with drug withdrawal symptoms such as nausea and headaches. Furthermore, sleeping pills are not without side effects - they cause a general lack of clarity, drowsiness the day after, confusion, and an increase in forgetfulness.
Resting easy can be as simple as making some adjustments to our daily lives and incorporating some restful periods into our ever-busy schedules. Toning down the pace of our life, at least long enough to allow our bodies to feel tired and drift off to sleep, is the key to curing insomnia.

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