Sleep Disorders: Sleeping Pills

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Sleeping Pills...

Hello, I'm Karin. Sleeping pills are generally bad news as they will break down your body's natural sleep cycle and make sleep very difficult in the long term. Studies have shown that the effects of prolonged use of sleep medication have an overall negative effect on the sufferer and concluded that sufferers of insomnia are better off without them.

Sleeping pills can be addictive, like any other drug and whilst you maybe thinking that they are safe, sufferers who use them generally have higher mortality rates. The chemicals in sleep medication are not only addictive, but they also decrease brain cell activity during the day.
 
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Over time your body will build tolerance and dependency to sleep medication and they may become ineffective. Many sufferers increase their dosage because of this, to try and attain the same affect. This severely increases the risk of damage to mental and physical health. 100,000 deaths occur a year in the U.S. alone, due to adverse drug reactions. More than 1000 of these deaths are due to the overdose of sleep medication.
Because most major sleep medication interfere with normal brain wave patterns you may not experience the deeper and restorative stages of sleep at night. As a result you may find that you wake up feeling groggy, drowsy or tired. Other Side effects include urinary retention, blurred vision, dizziness and palpitations.

Another reason to avoid taking sleeping pills is that prolonged use can cause 'rebound' insomnia. When you begin to take sleep medication you are no longer relying on your natural ability to sleep. Sleep is a natural process which is supposed to just happen. When we begin to rely on sleeping pills the body and mind increases dependency on them.

In reality sleeping pills are a crude way to fall asleep. Sleep no longer becomes natural, you are essentially being drugged to sleep. As we build dependency it becomes increasingly difficult to stop taking them. If by any chance we are able to wean ourselves off them we get what is called 'rebound' insomnia, which is far more difficult to treat.

Although sleep medication may help you to fall asleep, they do not improve daytime functioning whatsoever. In fact people who take sleeping pills often complain of fatigue, lethargy, sleepiness and the inability to concentrate in the day. Sleep medication cannot provide quality restorative sleep, which many people have been misguided to believe. Unfortunately people still rather take them because of the feel-good effect they produce. New users often become dependant on sleeping pills and end up becoming chronic sleeping pill users.

Shockingly in a recent study it was shown that a group of insomniac patients given a placebo, performed better than those given sleeping pills. In a world obsessed with quick-fixes, something must be done to inform sufferers of the consequences and reality of taking sleeping pills.

The problem with sedatives is that, while they are effective in making a person fall asleep, they do not provide the quality of sleep that people actually need. Another danger that these sleeping pills pose is the possible dependency that can develop as a result of using them especially for a prolonged period of time. When you become dependent to a sleeping pill then that means that you would have a hard time sleeping if you will not take that pill.

While official results have not been released to the public, it is widely accepted that Michael Jackson's death was a result of a prescription drug overdose. Heath Ledger was found dead with prescription sleeping pills nearby. May they rest in peace, and hopefully we can all learn something from their untimely deaths.

 
 
 
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Are prescription drugs such as sleeping pills really any safer than the illegal substances we know harm our bodies and minds?

Insomnia is a terrible thing, because sleep is so important for our ability to get through our lives. Without the proper rest, our health and ability to concentrate plummet until we can't get through the day anymore. This can lead to employment problems, relationship problems and very real physical problems.
Because of the awful effects insomnia can have, sufferers more and more often turn to medication to help them rest so they can get through their lives. While most people have some awareness about more natural ways to cure their insomnia, they may not feel that they have the time to dedicate to re-establishing their sleep schedule.

Sleeping pills then become the easy, quick solution to their insomnia problem. Our society has trained people to have tremendous faith in the power of a simple pill to fix any number of problems. If you're depressed, take a pill. If you're eating too much, take a pill. If you're in pain, take a pill. It goes on and on, and applies to problems calming down and sleeping too.

Medication can be an essential tool in solving mental and physical health problems, but unfortunately sometimes it becomes the source of a whole new problem to deal with. When used with caution and under supervision, medication can help get symptoms under control enough so that the individual is able to focus on the underlying causes and solve those. However, often medication is used as a solution itself, rather than a temporary aid.. 

This kind of attitude leads to people becoming dependent on the drugs, unable to break free of using them to get the relief they are after. In the case of insomnia sufferers, sleeping pills used in this way can permanently affect your brain and how your body is able to fall asleep. You body knows how to fall asleep on its own, but when drugs do its job for an extended period of time it becomes dependent on them. Once this happens, it becomes very difficult to ever fall asleep naturally, without the aid of medication.

Over time, the medications also lose effectiveness and insomnia sufferers are met the the original problem once again; they aren't able to sleep. Except this time, they aren't able to sleep naturally or while taking sleeping pills. Desperate, these individuals sometimes turn to increasingly powerful drugs to get rest.

If you have trouble sleeping, one thing you can do is examine your lifestyle. Watch your caffeine and alcohol intake, and try to sleep at the same time every night. As knowledge increases on the effect of sleeping pills more people are seeking alternative ways to work through their sleep problems. Sleeping pills will continue to be prescribed, but it is hoped that consumers and the medical profession will work together to limit their use to where they are most effective - short term help in times of crisis. Withdrawal is hard but with help, support and commitment they can be dropped and alternative ways found to encourage a good night's sleep.We've seen the results this can lead to with some public figures, such as those already mentioned. The amount of celebrities and known figures who have died too early of an overdose is very large, and yet people still aren't closely investigating the way medications are administered.

 
 
     
 
 

 
     
 
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It is not uncommon to suffer from a sleep disorder, however, many people who suffer from sleep disorders do little about it because they don’t think it is a big deal. But consistent lack of sleep can cause anxiety and depression. That is why it is important to consider trying various treatments for these conditions.
In order to find effective sleep disorder treatments there must a diagnosis of the type of disorder being presented by the patient. Some of the symptoms include feeling sleepy, irritable, or tense throughout the day, difficulty staying awake while watching television or reading, and red eyes as well as red half circles under your eyes.

Some of the symptoms of a consistent lack of sleep can be cause for concern such as falling asleep while driving and having slow reactions along with emotional outbursts. Requiring caffeine throughout the day to stay alert can also be a hint that a sleep disorder could be present and treatments should be investigated.

The person suffering from a sleep disorder may have difficulty getting to sleep or staying asleep, as well as, have difficulty staying awake through the day. Some of the most common treatments are aimed at curing insomnia, sleep apnea, restless leg syndrome and narcolepsy.

Insomnia is typically a short-term sleep disorder that prevents adequate rest and is usually caused by stress, a poor sleep schedule or irregular bedtime, as well as a physical or emotional problem. There are natural treatments for insomnia like: Learning breathing and relaxation exercises, Doing Yoga,Exercising more throughout the day.

Some sleep disorders, such as sleep apnea, may require medical treatment. Sleep apnea is usually accompanied by heavy and loud snoring and causes the person to wake up possibly hundreds of times during the night without remembering being awake. A partially blocked airway is causing the sleep loss and these sleep disorder treatments include the use of devices to help force air into the mouth while sleeping or a mechanical dental device to help keep the mouth in the right position to breath throughout the night.

Prescription drugs can provide short term relief which may be necessary to help get your sleep back on track but in the meantime it is worth the effort to research natural ways of improving sleep quality with supplements and behavior modification. Natural sleep aids are designed to cure insomnia without causing harmful side effects or addictions. A change in your diet is an obvious natural aid. Just by eating large quantities of fatty foods or sugars can prevent you from getting a good nights sleep, along with excess caffeine.

 
 
 
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It's not just the economy that keeps many of us wide-awake in the dark - although it certainly doesn't.Sleep disorders are becoming more and more common in todays' 'hurry-hurry, busy-busy' world. With so much to do, and so little time, sleep is starting to be seen as a luxury rather than a necessity. But your body disagrees wholeheartedly. Sleep is absolutely necessary to your physical and emotional health, and when we don't pay attention to our bodys' need for our full 8 hours of sleep, there's a price to pay.
Sometimes you lie in bed with open eyes and cannot sleep. Sometimes you fall asleep during the day and cannot focus on your work. If you have some of these symptoms, then we must draw your attention to your sleep process. As if you spend too much time trying to fall asleep in bed at night, then you might have a sleep dysfunction. It is really disturbing for people's every day life. Those people who do not have quality sleep at night usually suffer from fatigue with low energy and yawning during the day. All these factors can lead to mental and body disorders, which can spring into accidents and influence relations. In general, bad sleep changes your mood state and disconnects you from the world. There are many ways to regulate sleep disorders: diet, supplement nutrition, herb therapy, physical exercises, meditation, relaxation, sensory practicing or cognitive techniques.

People who suffer from common sleep disorders or insomnia know they have a problem because of the lack of energy and focus during the day. What many people do not understand is that common sleep disorders can also have serious health consequences.The authorities estimated that over 10 - 15% of Americans suffer from chronic sleep disorders. Luckily the ailment itself is not deadly but it can lead to a wide range of ailments that can have serious consequences. Long-term tiredness can cause anything from heart disease, incontinence, constipation, diarrhea, abdominal pain, complicated pregnancy. Eventually, it tears down your immune system and it can damage your general health.

Some insomnia sufferers have higher night time blood pressure than normal which can cause cardiac problems over time. During normal sleep your blood pressure should drop as you are resting, but in a person suffering from various sleep disorders the heart does not have that same opportunity to rest which results in the possibility of hypertension.To be able to sleep good is more complicated than most people realize. During sleep our brain has to complete a number of complex tasks. To do this, it goes through several different sleep stages. To put it as simply as possible: If you wake up at the end of your sleep cycle, you will feel good - if you wake up in the middle, you will feel tired, sleepy and groggy.

There are several good herbal remedies that can be very helpful in pushing the process along as well. Here are a few you might want to try. Maca helps to balances the hormones which can improve the quality of sleep, Magnesium is a good soother, and Lavender Oil used in the bath or a few drops on your pillow will help. Ask your local chemist for more advice on herbal supplements, they can and do help!