Have you seen all the television ads for prescription sleep aids recently? It seems like today's answers to sleep problems are contained in bottles of Ambien, Lunesta and other pharmaceutical lab creations. But are sleeping pills really the best answer for chronic sleeplessness? The problem with these chemical sleep aids is not in their effectiveness--they really will make you drowsy and enable you to fall asleep and stay asleep. But the real test comes in long term results. Are these prescription solutions truly insomnia cures, or are the simply a quick fix that will need to be replaced with something else later on?
Insomnia is a serious health issue that should not be taken lightly. The initial reaction of many health professionals is to prescribe one of several available sleep medications. However, these are not the best long term solution to chronic sleep difficulties.
First of all, your physician probably won't be too happy prescribing sleep aids for longer than a few months. Regardless of what the ads say, these products simply aren't meant to be used continuously. Secondly, it's easy to build up resistance to the effects of sleeping pills. They'll work great when you first start, but will be less effective the longer you take them.
Even though you will probably sleep better at night, you may not get the boost you're looking for during the day. Everyone reacts differently to medications, but you may find that your first few hours every morning are a little foggy. This can usually be avoided if you're able to sleep longer, but you don't always have that option.
Becoming dependent on prescription sleep aids is also quite common. It's easy to start taking pills but very difficult to stop. Whenever you choose to stop taking the pills, you had better count on three nights of unbelievable restlessness. You may not get any sleep at all, and it will take a lot of willpower to stay off the medications.
Here's what you really want to do. You want to cure your insomnia, not just treat it every night. And that's why the very best insomnia cures are not found at the drugstore. Cures actually come from making some lifestyle changes to reduce stress and decrease anxiety. You can also make changes to your sleeping environment and diet that will work wonders. And if you do need occasional help falling asleep, you can take advantage of natural sleep aids. So if you're having trouble sleeping, investigate natural alternatives before rushing to your local pharmacy.
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