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Insomnia - Sleep Aids and Medications

By Moses Wright

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Published: 17Sep2008
Word count: 525
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Sometimes the non-medical types of treatments, such as environmental changes are not enough to treat your insomnia. It may be that these types of changes are not practical for some people. In cases like these, there are a number of medications and sleep aids that can be helpful.

This is usually a safe way to treat your insomnia, as long as it is used for a short time and according to the directions. Since this is the most common type of insomnia treatment, that is definitely good news.

Sleep aid medications come in prescription and over-the-counter forms. You cannot obtain a prescription unless you are currently seeing a physician. If you have accurately diagnosed the condition, you are probably under the care of a doctor already. This is essential for determining if the condition is caused by an underlying medical condition. If the underlying condition is depression, the insomnia can be successfully treated with some type of anti-depressant.

Hypnotics are usually used when the condition is diagnosed as only a sleep disorder. Hypnotics are designed to get you to sleep faster and keep you there longer. This will result in a better overall sleep cycle.

Hypnotics come in either half-life or full-life. Obviously, half-life hypnotics are designed to to stay in the system half of the time that full life hypnotics do. This is so daytime activities will not be disrupted. Although dosages vary, they are usually prescribed for short amounts of time and then decreased gradually over time.

One of the most commonly used over-the-counter sleep aids is the antihistamine. They are actually designed to treat allergic reactions by blocking certain chemicals that the body releases that cause these reactions. They are also used for inducing sleep because they have a calming effect. There is some debate about the effectiveness of this type of treatment. Over-the-counter sleep aids should never be taken with alcohol, even though they don't all contain pain relieving agents. You should always consult your doctor before taking them for pain, even though they do not require a prescription.

Insomnia can also be treated by using melatonin supplements. At night, the body produces melatonin in order to make it tired and let it know it's time to begin falling asleep. It does this by by making several changes in the body, including lowering body temperature and blood pressure.

It's important to make sure you do not over supplement the melatonin in the body. This can be dangerous if too much melatonin is introduced into the system. Melatonin is also not subjected to the same testing and restrictions that many other drugs are. This being the case, there is not as much information available about the long term effects and possible side effects.

Certain herbal substances, such as St. John's Wort, valerian root, chamomile, and lemon balm are believed to be effective treatments for insomnia. Just like certain other supplements, however, these are not subject to many of the restrictions and requirements that other treatments are. Again, this means that there are many unknowns regarding side effects and long term effectiveness.

Moses Wright is a health conscious webmaster and loves to help people stay healthy. He sets up this site to provide people with more information on Creating a Better Sleep Environment and Circadian Rhythm and Sleep online.

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