photo credit: .candy

otc sleep aids

Insomnia is one of the most common complaints when patients go to their doctors. While it is not a debilitating sickness in itself, insomnia may cause bodily harm in the long run. This condition may cause huge amounts of stress to long-term sufferers which may further lead to stress-related diseases such as cardiac disorders. Furthermore, lack of sleep affects the overall performance of a person’s daily activities including his work, social life and personal life.

While there are many ways to prevent insomnia such as changing your daily habits, sometimes it just wouldn’t work enough for you to get a good night’s sleep. In this article, I will write about over-the-counter or OTC medications which may help you to sleep if you have short-term or transient insomnia.

ANTIHISTAMINES

These medications, which are most commonly used in cases of allergies, are the most common over-the-counter drugs for insomnia. Histamine, a chemical messenger released by the brain during allergic attacks, is also a chemical that promotes wakefulness. By suppressing the action of histamine, antihistamine medications also promote sleepiness. This is why we feel very drowsy every time we take antihistamine medications.

Commonly, the antihistamines sold and marketed today as OTC medications for insomnia normally contains one of these two types:

1. Diphenhydramine citrate or Diphenhydramine hydrochloride. Brand names include Nytol, Benadryl, Compoz, and Sominex.




2. Doxylamine succinate. Brand names include Unisom Sleeptabs and Nighttime Sleep Aid

While these medications are effective in alleviating symptoms of short-term insomnia, it is not proven to be effective in patients suffering from insomnia for 2 weeks or longer. The main reason for this is the side-effects associated with the long-term use of these OTC sleep aids.

Side Effects of Antihistamines as OTC Sleep Aids

1. Prolonged drowsiness that may carry to the next day. This side effect depends on the people who take antihistamines, some of which may display none or severe daytime drowsiness.
2. Headaches and feelings of dizziness.
3. Dry mouth and throat.
4. Reduced alertness and lack of focus, coordination and concentration. Driving is prohibited while you take this medication, as the activity requires you to have mental alertness and coordination.
5. Gastrointestinal side effects such as vomiting and constipation.
6. While the effects of antihistamine in pregnant or lactating women are still under study, medical practitioners discourage its use during pregnancy. Also, these drugs could be secreted into the milk of lactating mothers which may have harmful effects on the newborn.

Furthermore, it is not advisable for the person who is taking these kinds of OTC sleep aids to drink alcohol because antihistamines add greatly to the sedative effects of alcohol. Taking these kinds of medications with medications that cause drowsiness is also discouraged.

Other Problems Associated with OTC Sleep Aids

For patients who have taken OTC sleep aids for a week or more, they will most likely develop a drug tolerance to it. This means that larger doses of this medication may be required to achieve the desired effect.

Another problem associated with taking OTC sleep aids is the eventual drug dependence of the person taking the medications. A person may not be able to sleep anymore without taking the medication. Abrupt stopping of drug intake may also cause withdrawal symptoms.

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Since we spend about one-third of our life sleeping, neck pain sufferers can benefit from a well designed pillow in their management strategy. There are many neck pillow which offer good support and pain relief. You may have to try more than one to find the best pillow for you and your needs, but let’s try to get some basics down and then look at a method to help you determine the right one.

Guideline for choosing a neck pillow:

photo credit: helgasms!

neck pillow

The right neck pillow will cradle your head and support your neck without distorting the normal posture and alignment. If your neck pillow is not supporting you properly you can experience stiff neck, headaches or even pain in the shoulder, arm and hand. It is important to avoid using too little or no neck pillow at all which places the unsupported neck under strain all night long. Using too many pillows or too firm of a pillow can push the neck up and pinch the joints together.

Sleeping procedure:

Sleeping is often difficult for people with neck pain. Whether you sleep on your side or back, your pillow must be soft enough to mold to your head and still fill in the space between your bed and your neck. Your head is bigger than your neck so supporting both without distorting the position of your neck. We have discussed many ways to help with neck pain. Don’t lose the gains you have made with posture correction, exercises or any of the great neck products we offer by sleeping on the wrong pillow.

The symptoms of poor neck alignment resulting from a poor supporting neck pillow may include snoring, headaches, insomnia, numbness in the arms and hands and neck pain or stiffness.

Read the rest of this entry »

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Most people can expect to experience some neck pain in their lifetimes. Using a neck pillow is a great way to help relieve pain, stiffness and headaches. Difficulty in achieving neck pain relief is also associated with poor psychological health, worrying, and becoming angry or frustrated in response to neck pain. Greater optimism, a coping style that involves self-assurance, and having less need to socialize, are associated with better prognosis.

Effect of neck pain:

The disability caused by neck pain may extend beyond obvious symptoms to impose a substantial financial burden and a major impact on the lives of those affected and seeking relief. The right pillow can also help with a more restful and healing night’s sleep. One of the most profound benefits is the effect using a good neck pillow can have on the curve and alignment of the neck when used properly over a period of time.

Read the rest of this entry »

Technorati Tags: best sleep, best sleep aid, insomnia, neck pillow, sleep aid, sleep remedies

photo credit: waffler

sleep cycle

I am a big fan of lifehacker’s posts. Today I found out this one:

How to Reboot Your Sleep Cycle and Get the Rest You Deserve.

Hope you find it useful.

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Technorati Tags: best sleep, best sleep aid, hacks, sleep aid

photo credit: alicepopkorn

Calm down

Insomnia has been a problem for people throughout the ages, and continues to plague humanity today.  We need sleep, desperately – our bodies and minds do not function well at all without it.  Yet, in today’s fast-moving society, there are a lot of obstacles to a full seven or eight hours worth of sleep.  To get around these obstacles and sink into a restful sleep, we resort to many treatments and cures – such as over-the-counter sleeping aids.

OTC sleeping aids are relatively new, and are constantly generating buzz in the news as new products are developed and released.  With hundreds of products out there, and company after company promoting their line of sleep aids, the market is completely saturated with potential treatments.  Here is the latest buzz about OTC sleeping aids and whether or not they really work.

Melatonin And Side Effects

Melatonin, a hormone found in your brain that regulates your day-night cycle, has been used widely as a OTC sleeping aid for the past couple of decades.  In the United States, it is classified as a food supplement and therefore isn’t regulated, but in the United Kingdom, it is classified as a hormone and is available only as a prescription.  This is because of the potential side effects associated with melatonin.

Melatonin became very popular because it is viewed as an all-natural, completely safe way to help one get to sleep.  But, while melatonin is effective at regulating sleep, it is not free from side effects.  Researchers have found that using melatonin can cause headaches, abdominal pain, nausea, low sex drive, and grogginess, among other effects.  This isn’t to say that melatonin doesn’t work, but one should be aware of side effects, even if they are not universal.

Short-Term Vs. Long-Term Treatment

One popular misconception is that OTC sleeping aids are good for long-term use, i.e. over several months or years. While the problems that cause insomnia may persist, OTC sleeping aids shouldn’t be used for long-term treatment.  The reason is because these products are designed to treat the symptoms of short-term insomnia, not the causes.  The causes usually have to be treated through other means (some of which are medical).

photo credit: darkpatator

Calm

You do not want to get in the habit of taking an OTC sleeping aid on a regular basis in order to get sleep, even if it is natural. Eventually you have to fix the problems and causes of chronic insomnia if you want lasting solutions.  But, it is okay to use OTC sleeping aids in short-term situations, and to deal with bouts of insomnia that pop up every now and then.

Sleeping Aids And Restorative Sleep

One of the main functions of sleep is to give the body a chance to rest and recuperate.  This is called restorative sleep, and it is vital to life. There is evidence that OTC sleeping aids can interfere with restorative sleep and prevent the therapeutic effects that sleep brings to your body.  This means that you may very well feel worse than you did before you started the medication!

For this reason, make sure to consult with a physician before beginning a course of treatment that involves OTC sleeping aids.

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Today I found a real gem. It is this articles on medicine net. At first glance the article seems long but it is interesting and has a lot of information. I recommend you find a time and read it. I specially like the 13 tips given on page 2 of the article, maybe one of them is your best sleep aid! Maybe a combination of some of them is your best sleep aid. I attached a few quotes from the article, as a teaser, so you do find the time to read it.

“… Sleep was long considered just a uniform block of time when you are not awake. Thanks to sleep studies done over the past several decades, it is now known that sleep has distinctive stages that cycle throughout the night. Your brain stays active throughout sleep, but different things happen during each stage. For instance, certain stages of sleep are indeed for us to feel well rested and energetic the next day, and other stages help us learn or make memories…”

“… In brief, a number of vital tasks carried out during sleep help maintain good health and enable people to function at their best. On the other hand, not getting enough sleep can be dangerous-for example, you are more likely to be in a car crash if you drive when you are drowsy…”

“… Health: Sleep is also important for good health. Studies show that not getting enough sleep or getting poor quality sleep on a regular basis increases the risk of having high blood pressure, heart disease, and other medical conditions… ”

“…Hormones released during sleep also affect how the body uses energy. Studies find that the less people sleep, the more likely they are to be overweight or obese, to develop diabetes, and to prefer eating foods that are high in calories and carbohydrates…”

Here is the link again, just click here to read the article. Do not forget to return here and leave a comment telling us if you liked it and what part of it was informative for you.

Technorati Tags: best sleep aid, cures for insomnia, insomnia herbal, relax, relaxation, sleeping remedies

If you do not know it by now, sleeping is a widely researched topic. Its importance keeps both the academic and heath system interest high and the research funding keeps flowing in. One key result of this research is a well developed classification system for sleeping disorders. I think it is both interesting to know the basics of it and could be beneficiary when looking for the best sleep aid. Below is a brief intro to this classification system, with some references. Since I am not a researcher or and MD, this by no means intends to be a scientific review, merely a summary that can give you a general idea.

Sleeping disorders are classified by the “International Classification of Sleep Disorders” (ICSD). The ICSD is a resource created by a group of sleep research organization from around the world. One interesting way of classifying sleep disorder is:

• Dyssomnias
• Parasomnias
• Sleep Disorders Associated with Other Disorders

photo credit: BoVa…

Further reading:

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