sleep

[Florian Stocki]

For more information visit my sleep news, articles and reviews site.

If you've begun to take a sleeping aid, you've just joined one of the largest groups of people using prescription drugs. There are many people suffering from different types of insomnia all over North America and it is of course natural to look for a sleeping aid when you are not getting the sleep that you need. The unfortunate part is that many people are using a sleeping aid that was never designed for them. The pharmaceutical sleeping aid you were prescribed was designed for the short term treatment of a chemical imbalance which is causing anxiety, and therefore causing insomnia. But there are countless people using these sleep aids that do not have a chemical imbalance and have been taking them long term. This, as you could guess, leads to a whole new list of problems. The side effects of a prescription sleeping aid can be hard to handle, especially in the long term. Taking a pharmaceutical sleeping aid for more than a few weeks can easily develop into a dependency where one cannot sleep without using the sleep aid. Finally, your sleep aid may be damaging your body more than you know, mainly the liver and kidneys are affected. For all of these reasons it is best to look to nature for your sleeping aid.

Prescription sleep aids are widely available, but they are only meant for short term use. Many people (and even doctors) seem to forget that these sleep aids have dependency and addiction issues, and were never meant to be taken in the long term. Taking prescription sleep aids for more than a few weeks puts you at risk of having to rely on them to get to sleep. Once you stop using prescription sleep aids at this point the rebound insomnia and other withdrawal symptoms can be excruciating. It is best not to start using prescription sleep aids if possible, and instead use herbal remedies to get to sleep. There are rarely any negative effects to taking herbal sleep remedies over prescription sleep aids, and they will not lead to dependency or addiction. For the best results I recommend looking for something with Valerian root and/or St John's Wort, the most effective herbal sedatives.

Looking to get better sleep? It is not only the amount of sleep you get in a night, but the quality of that sleep. There are many different stages of sleep, and to get better sleep at night you should consider the amount of REM, and deep sleep you get. It has been shown that getting better sleep during the REM cycle improves mood and energy levels, whereas lacking it leaves people irritable and often drowsy. Lacking in deep sleep can have a similar effect, you may have experienced this before; an instance where you got your regular seven or eight hours but did not feel refreshed. The question is "How do we get better sleep?" You must address physical and psychological factors which may be keeping you from getting better sleep. A poor diet or lack of exercise can be damaging to the sleep cycle. If you cut down on fatty foods and increase your exercise, you may notice you are getting not only more but better sleep. Dealing with stress and anxiety will also help you get better sleep. Even though you might not be aware of it, being anxious can keep you from falling into a deep sleep. For both physical and psychological health, herbal supplements are available to help you get better sleep.

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