sleep

[Sara Huttner]

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Herbal sleep aids are thankfully becoming more common, though it is troubling how much less frequently they are used than pharmaceutical drugs. Pharmaceutical sleeping pills should be reserved for only the most severe and treatment resistant cases of insomnia, and even then they should only be used on a temporary basis. Most people using them do not meet this criteria, and some of these people have been using prescription drugs for years when a far healthier herbal sleep remedy is available. Not only are herbal sleep aids much easier on the liver and kidneys, but they do not leave the user with a groggy and hung over feeling the next morning. Prescription drugs can have far more serious negative effects than just daytime drowsiness, sometimes they result in full blown hallucination, drastic personality change as well as others. Unfortunately after years of using pharmaceuticals, most patients now require them to get to sleep. Cessation of pharmaceutical drugs for sleep can be extremely difficult, but a herbal sleep aid can make the process much easier.

Many people recognize the heavily marketed product Xanax, but very few know the chemical name alprazolam. Usually used for the treatment of anxiety, alprazolam is sometimes used in the treatment of insomnia as well because of the effect high levels of anxiety have on sleep. While it is the first thing people think to try when suffering from anxiety related insomnia (and sometimes the alprazolam is the first thing doctors recommend as well) it should only be used as a last resort because of the side effects and dependency issues. Alprazolam gives an immediate and euphoric feeling to many of its users, and this also can result in addiction. For anxiety related insomnia, there are self relaxation techniques and herbal supplements which are far more effective than a lot of people give credit to and should be considered before the use of pharmaceutical drugs. Alprazolam can cause hallucination, loss of sex drive, blurred vision and many, many other things and should be considered your last resort.

If you've been experiencing sleeping problems on a regular basis, chances are that you are willing to do nearly anything to deal with them. There is no need to tell you about all of the negative effects that sleeping problems can have on you, chances are you are already experiencing them. Because the psychological and physical effects are so unpleasant, people often take the quickest, easiest solution available; and this usually comes in the form of a pharmaceutical. Even though symptom relief for sleeping problems can be temporarily provided by pharmaceuticals, they do not address the root of the problem and have negative effects when used in the long term treatment of sleeping problems. Instead you may want to look at making changes in your life to reduce stress, or relieve it. You can also improve your diet, and try using herbal supplements to deal with sleeping problems. Natural remedies can improve sleep patterns without side effects or withdrawal issues; they also do not lend themselves to addiction or abuse, and there is not possibility of overdose associated with herbal supplements designed for the treatment of sleeping problems.

herbal sleep aid