Treatment-For

Insomnia Cure

Treatment of insomnia is one thing but there are other priorities before starting an insomnia remedy or treatment

Education about the cause of insomnia, behaviour changes to promote good quality sleep and simple cognitive therapy options can all make a huge difference and can improve the quality of sleep. People get into bad sleep habits over many years and it’s really important to tackle that if a cure for insomnia is to be found.

How to improve “sleep hygeine”

• limit naps to less than 30 minutes each day
• avoid sedatives
• avoid stimulants like caffeine or vitamin C near bed time
• limit liquids for three hours before bed
• take moderate exercise every afternoon
• use a light therapy box for a period every morning

 Get a good sleep routine going and your insomnia will be sure to improve.

Do this:

• use your bed only for sleeping in
• only go to bed when you feel tired
• be strict - get up at the same time every day
• if you cant sleep after twenty minutes then get up
• only go back to bed when you feel sleepy
• don’t look at the clock ( in fact - don’t have a clock in your bed room if you can avoid it)

Some experts also suggest using relaxation techniques or tapes for insomnia - sometimes along with a special biofeedback machine

Over the counter insomnia treatment

Options for self purchased insomnia treatments include:

• valerian
• antihistamines
• melatonin
• and - of course - alcohol

You should take great care with these since they can all actually act to make insomnia worse. Alcohol is particularly bad for this. It produces sleepiness initially but then acts to decrease sleep quality and duration.

Medication for insomnia

Take great care with benzodiazepine sleeping tablets or liquids. The risk of becoming dependent on them is high and there is often a build up effect in the system. This “hangover effect” can result in day time drowsiness or other problems including falls or accidents in the elderly.

The effects of long acting sleeping pills can build up and eventually mimic a form of dementia.

Newer sleeping tablets may be safer but again - are best kept for short term use. These include drugs such as zolpiden, zalepon and eszoplicone

Please remember - the best way to ensure good quality sleep is to follow the advice given in the first half of this article. Try to avoid medication - it really should be the last resort

Entry Filed under: Uncategorized