Are You Sleepless in America?
Is the Economy Keeping You Awake at Night?
If so, you might be happy to know that you are not alone. A recent National Sleep Foundation poll has found that 1 in 4 Americans say that concerns and worries over personal finances, fear of job loss, and the economy is keeping them up at night.
Instead of sleeping, we are spending more time tossing and turning and watching late night television shows.
We are also taking more drugs.
Prescriptions for sleep medications has also grown, topping 56 million in 2008. Good news, I guess, for the pharmaceutical companies selling GABA-enhancing ‘Z drugs’ (Ambien, Lunesta, Rozerem) that promote sleep, decrease anxiety or relax muscles.
But while these pills may have their upside in that they help you sleep, there is also a downside - a whole list of adverse reactions ranging from next-day drowsiness to memory loss and drug dependence.
A National Institutes of Health-funded analysis, published in 2005, even indicates that the upside might not even be all that great. Their study reported that these ‘Z drugs’ only reduced the average time it took to fall asleep by around 18 minutes. Worse yet, the total increased sleeping time was only about 28 minutes.
Which should really make you ask, ‘are the adverse reactions worth it?’
So what’s the answer?
What’s the best way to deal with insomnia?
Well, many sleep experts skipping the pills and trying to fall asleep on our own. But that might be easier said than done.
But a good place to start is by checking out these sleep tips from Gayle Greene, a bona fide insomniac and author of the book Insomniac.
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