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Insomnia Medications

what you need to know!

Approximately 25% of Americans take insomnia medications every year.... that's a lot of people!

Of course, sleeping pills have been in use since the beginning of the 1900's, and even before that people were using natural or heral sleep remedies to help them get their full 8 hours.

If you can't fall asleep, wake several times in the night, or at 4am and can't get back to sleep, maybe one of the insomnia drugs available today can get you back on track.

Are insomnia medications right for me?

If you've been diagnosed by your doctor as suffering from insomnia, he may have prescribed one of the many prescription sleep aids on the market today.

However, some people (even doctors) still believe that the majority of insomnia medications produce nasty side effects or are highly addictive.

Older insomnia drugs, such as barbiturates (eg Seconal, Amytal or Nembutal) are rarely used today for exactly those reasons. But, todays' newer medications are much safer and have fewer side effects. Many of them have also proven to be much less addictive.

There are three main classes of drugs used to treat insomnia -

Benzodiazepine Hypnotics (BRA's)
These are a group of very effective insomnia medications, but their drawbacks include the fact that they are often heavily sedating and can be inclined to be addictive. Examples of this type of medication are Ativan, Xanax and Halcion

Non-Benzodiazepines
This is a newer class of drugs designed to treat insomnia. They are less sedating than BRA's and, when used correctly, are not as liable to cause dependency or addiction. These include the well-know Ambien, Sonata and Lunesta

Anti-depressants
Although normally used to treat depression/anxiety, these medications can have a sedating effect. They are especially useful in cases where the insomnia is a symptom of depression. These drugs can be additctive though and have a higher risk of overdose than the medications in some of the other categories. Examples include Aventyl, Desyrel, Paxil and even Valium.

OTC Sleep Aids
The active ingredient in most over the counter sleeping medications is an anti-histamine. These drugs can cause drowsiness (think what happens when you take Benadryl or Dramamine), but they do tend to have unwanted side effects. Some examples are Nytol, Sominex, Unisom or Sleep-Eze

Treating Insomnia

As you can see there are more than a handful of insomnia medications, and when prescribed or recommended by a doctor, and taken correctly, they can definitely be very helpful when treating insomnia.
insomnia drugs

But, there are also a lot of other insomnia remedies, from simple things like improving your sleep hygiene (hint: this may not mean what you think it does!), to trying natural insomnia remedies, like aromatherapy

Even something as simple as changing your bedtime routine or cutting down on caffeine can make a huge difference.

With help from your doctor, and the correct treatment plan, your insomnia will soon be history..... and your waking hours will be so much more enjoyable!

Page/Article Links:

Insomnia Tips

Natural Cures for Insomnia

Aromatherapy Benefits

Sleep Disorders

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