Sleep Disorders

Insomnia cures are so widely talked about that pretty much everyone think they have the end all/ be all/ cure all to fix your sleepless nights. I've heard everything from "start drinking booze at night" to "don't eat cereal in the morning". Obviously both are ridiculous, but they are not harmless. One can lead to alcoholism, the other will put Captain Crunch out of business.

What's strange is that of any medical condition, curing insomnia can be done using old wives tales in some cases. So before you write off a suggestion given by your well meaning friends, check it out. Do some research because it is possible that there is some real potential behind the myths and magic cures everyone touts.

Don't get me wrong, some people will tell you things that are completely ridiculous, but there are more than a few obvious and common sense approaches to curing insomnia that have a great deal of merit.

If you are one of many with chronic insomnia then perhaps medication should be used on a short term basis, if only to cure the initial curse of sleeplessness, and to help you have productive days in an interim period. However to use sleeping pills as a long term solution is curing a symptom at the expense of the disease. This is something you should truly avoid.

Having said that - there are many drugs that can help you get a good night's sleep. Below are the ones available by prescription, and the ones most likely to help.

• Stilnox, Ambien (Zolpidem tartrate)
• Xanax (Alprazolam)
• Valium (Diazepam)
• Ativan (Lorazepam)

These are the most popular and most widely used pharmacological treatments for insomnia. You will find that should your doctor prescribe this for you he becomes rather anal about giving you a long term prescription for these drugs. There is a valid reason for this - these drugs are highly addictive and can be very hard to stop using. The dichotomy of these meds is that any withdrawal from such pills normally leads to the exact opposite of their intended initial effect. In other words, your insomnia can increase from ceasing this medication.

That is why most long term insomnia cures should be specifically absent of medicinal remedy. The fact is that unless you have a diagnosed medical condition that requires sleep meds, using pills for more than a few weeks can be far more detrimental than beneficial to your well being.

In my main web site I show the various methods to implement insomnia cures. It is more often then not a multi-phaseal approach, but I have had a great deal of success in helping people with this condition.

So if you are seeking out an insomnia cure, there are things you can do that - with time and patience - will work to cure your problem.

There is an excellent resource site, located here; http://insomniacures101.blogspot.com. The webmaster has many suggestions and goes into great detail about helping people that suffer from this condition. I hope you visit.

Insomnia can cause a person to go to the most insane lengths - just to find a good night's sleep. If you actually polled any local Alcoholic's Anonymous group, you would be quite suprised to find out that many alcoholics started drinking heavily in order to fall asleep.This is not the way to go. Alcohol not only will not cure insomnia, it leads you to disturbed sleep, and in fact you are rendering your body unconscious with alcohol, a seperate state from sleep.

To be blunt, the restorative power of sleep will not occur by drinking yourself to sleep. So if you have tried this before, stop doing it now, because alcohol is a dangerous substance to be used to solve any problem.

There are certain natural "cures" for insomnia, as I have found out by visiting http://insomniacures101.blogspot.com, and I will detail 2 of the most common below.

1. Valerian Root - this substance was usd historically as a sedative, anti-convulsant, migraine treatment and pain reliever. It has been known to provide mild calming and relaxing properties in an individual with mild insomnia.
2. Melatonin - melatonin is produced in the pineal gland and is said to assist with the body's circadian cycle by chemically causing drowsiness and a lower body temperature at appropriate rest times. Melatonin has been known to provide calming benefits to those suffering from certain types of transient insomnia. It has been known to cause headaches and vivid dreaming as side effects.

How do these substances stack up against the barrage of prescription and over the counter sleep medications? Well, since everyone has their own tolerance level to medications and natural substances, what is good for one person may be useless for another. How you metabolize these substances determines how well they will treat your insomnia.

Prescription medicines, such as the ones I listed above are easily the most effective at causing the onset of sleep. But as I have said previously, they come at a potentially steep price. In fact only one medication, Lunesta, has been deemed safe as a long term solution to insomnia. Most others have serious side effects from overuse.

I consider over the counter sleep aids, such as Sominex and Gravol (diphenhydramine) to be absolute rubbish and I would certainly advise against the use of these medications - in any case. They negatively effect the nervous system and leave very undesirable results once you wake.

So of all the potential cures available, I would suggest trying a natural cure, such as the 2 I have provided as examples, or go straight to your GP for a prescription. Avoid any over the counter sleep medicines because they definitely can do more harm than good.