Insomnia and sleep aid pills
Insomnia is a common sleep disorder among all ages, especially among senior citizens. In most cases Insomnia treatments range from natural sleep aid products to over the counter medications and prescription medicines. Insomnia symptoms can include poor concentration and memory retention. People suffering from insomnia usually awake prematurely during the night and have trouble getting back to sleep after they wake up. Insomnia can leave you feeling irritable without any obvious cause. People suffering from insomnia also frequently experience decreased alertness and mental sluggishness.
Insomnia symptoms can last for as little as a day or be carried on for many weeks. In case of Transient Insomnia, the symptoms last for a few nights. In Short-Term Insomnia, the symptoms stay for two to three weeks. If they last more than three weeks, the patient is suffering from Chronic Insomnia. Health experts also sometimes distinguish between primary and secondary insomnia. Primary insomnia is characterized by symptoms of difficulty in falling asleep, waking several times during sleep, and fatigue. These symptoms last for a month and has unknown cause. In secondary insomnia, there is a known underlying condition. Depression is usually the major cause of secondary insomnia.
In order to diagnose the condition of insomnia, the physician will want to make sure that the symptoms are not being caused by any other sleep disorder, disease or side effects caused by medication. Along with the symptoms of insomnia, other disorders may be detected in the same patient; these include mania, depression, phobias, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
So what can we do to cure insomnia?
Do not take naps if you are prone to insomnia attacks. Maintain a strict schedule for your bedtime and waking hour.
Eat your dinner at least four hours before your bed time. In some cases insomnia can be aggravated by digestive problems.
Avoid any drink that can cause sleeplessness. This can include coffee in any form, alcohol, and even tea (unless it is medicated). In case you must have your regular cup of coffee, at least ensure that you take it a minimum of four hours before your bedtime.
Start a daily exercise routine. In case you are not too fond of physical exercise, you can simply take a walk for 30 minutes daily. Once you have worked up to 30 minutes try to gradually increase it to one hour or so for best results.
If you find that you cannot sleep, do not fight it. Sleep usually comes after your body relaxes completely. The best thing to do is get up from the bed and do something that you enjoy that will help to relax the body.
Treatment for Insomnia
The Majority of people suffering from sleep disorders turn to sleep aid pills and prescription medications. Prescription sleep aids can prove to be work at first, but gradually some problems arise that need serious. These days, both over the counter medications and prescriptions pills are used for insomnia treatment.
Over the counter medications for insomnia are usually ineffective in log term insomnia treatment. First of all, they do not ensure the quality of sleep enjoyed by healthy people. They give about 5 % duration of deep sleep while in healthy sleep this duration is 10 % to 25 %. Secondly, over the counter drugs for insomnia mostly work by the action of antihistamines (anti-allergic chemicals) present in them. While antihistamines do cast a sedating effect, they are not to be used by people with prostate problems, angina, heart problems, and urinary problems. Antihistamines can add to the intensity of these conditions. Finally, over the counter drugs have a number of side effects like: drowsiness and dizziness (that may remain for twenty four hours), memory lapses, dry mouth, constipation, blurred vision, and urinary retention.
Various types of medications, collectively called hyptonics, are prescribed for insomnia treatment. Hypnotics generally fall in three categories: benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepines, and antidepressants. Most of the health experts agree on using insomnia medications for a short period only. In all cases of using over the counter drugs or prescribed sleep aid pills, it is important that the patient educate him/herself well on the possible side effects.
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