sleep

[O. Y. Barbierer]

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Who needs to use a sleep aid and exactly what insomnia is, is quite relative to the person. Both age and the individual will determine the amount of sleep that is needed. If a twenty five year old is getting four and a half hours of sleep per night a sleep aid would most likely be recommended whereas if a seventy five year old is getting the same amount of sleep it would be much closer to the normal range. This is why insomnia is defined as a disturbance in regular sleeping patterns and a sleep aid will only be given if it is outside what is normal for that person. Besides taking a sleep aid you can try to exercise during the day (but not right before bed), you can flip the mattress or try to focus on pleasant relaxing thoughts. This does not always work and sometimes anxiety related insomnia has to be treated with a sleep aid. Even in this case a sleep aid with herbs such as St. John's Wort and Valerian Root are much safer than any prescription sleep aid.

What kind of sleeping pill is the most effective and best for me? The newest sleeping pill is Ambien, though the fact that it is the newest does not make it the best. The side effects of the Ambien sleeping pill, the generic name being Lorazepam, are quite harsh. First of all, you should know that the Ambien sleeping pill cannot be taken by any person with liver or kidney disease, lung disease such as asthma, sleep apnea or depression. Among those who are eligible to take Ambien the sleep inducing effects vary from person to person as well as negative side effects. The sleeping pill causes hallucinations, personality changes, lack of coordination, blurred vision and others. To get the sleep you need without the side effects you don't a herbal sleeping pill can be easily and cheaply acquired in health food stores, online and in some pharmacies. While a herbal sleeping pill won't have the over powering effect that a prescription sleeping pill will, it is much safer and has few if any side effects. A herbal sleeping pill also does not lend itself to dependence or addiction.

It is hard to deny that natural sleep is the best type of sleep. Using alcohol or drugs to "knock yourself out" does not lead to good, natural sleep and usually leaves the person groggy and drowsy the next day. This is better than getting no sleep at all, but when you do this for long periods of time it leads to problems in mental state as well as dependency on a drug to fall asleep. If you have been taking a sleep medication for a long period of time, use alcohol to sleep or any other recreational drug switching to natural sleep can be very difficult at first but will be worth it in the long term. If you are experiencing insomnia and are considering the use of a powerful drug to get to sleep you should look at your other options first. Improvements in diet and increasing physical activity are the simplest ways to combat insomnia, but the last that many people consider. It is of course easier to simply take a pill, but as I said this does not result in natural sleep. If you do not have time for more exercise, cannot afford an improvement in diet or if these things didn't work for you, you can take a natural supplement for natural sleep. These are far more mild than pharmaceuticals, do not have negative side effects and do not leave you feeling drowsy during the day.

Sleepwell