sleep

[V. F. Birling]

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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.

Lunesta is becoming an alternative to benzodiazepines like Xanax and many people use it instead of Ambien as well. This does not necessarily mean that Lunesta sleeping pills are any safer or more effective than the pharmaceutical alternatives. Lunesta sleeping pills have side effects, addictive qualities and withdrawal symptoms like nearly every other prescription insomnia treatment. Lunesta sleeping pills have been known to cause hallucination, memory problems and personality changes. People who abruptly stop taking Lunesta sleeping pills commonly experience symptoms like tremors, nausea, and sweats. The addictive qualities of Lunesta sleeping pills should not be overlooked, and if you are going to take them you should keep in mind that they were designed for the temporary treatment of sleep problems. Even still, addiction, withdrawal and dependency can still occur even with very short term use of Lunesta sleeping pills. Generally, pharmaceuticals should be avoided and Lunesta sleeping pills are no exception.

Lorazepam has shown moderate effectiveness in controlling anxiety and some effectiveness in the treatment of insomnia. Many people however find that Lorazepam stops working for them after a week or two while conversely another group of people use Lorazepam for long periods of time recreationally. This is because Lorazepam, like most benzodiazepines, produces a very pleasant and euphoric feeling that lends itself to addiction. Also to be taken into account is the fact that one can easily form a dependence on Lorazepam for dealing with anxiety or sleep. These problems will become amplified if one stops taking Lorazepam. Psychiatric science is in its infancy compared to other realms of science, and in the future hopefully there will be much more effective and side effect free drugs than Lorazepam; for now it is best to avoid using prescription anti anxiety drugs if possible and instead look for help in milder forms of treatment such as therapy, introspection as well as natural remedies. St John's Wort and other herbs have been used clinically all over the world and are quite effective in treating anxiety and insomnia. In my opinion, Lorazepam should only be used to correct severe chemical imbalances.

herbal sleep aid