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Insomnia And Its Treatments

By: Abbey Grace Yap

Sleep disorders come in many different forms, but insomnia is considered of the most commonly experienced by a lot of people. There are approximately 64 million American adults who are experiencing insomnia every time night descends.

Insomnia
Insomnia is a sleeping disorder that is characterized by an continuous inability to sleep or inability to get good sleep in the evenings. Most insomniacs complain of an inability to rest their eyes and ease their minds for more than a couple of minutes.

The three kinds of insomnia are identified as transient, acute, and chronic. Transient insomnia lasts from days to weeks, usually from changes in sleeping hours and environment. Acute insomnia is defined by an insomnia that lasts between three weeks to six months. Chronic insomnia is characterized by insomnia that lasts for years.

A night of insomnia is often followed by fatigue, sleepiness, difficulty focusing, and thinking. Then there's also the morning headaches that come with being unable to rest fully all night.

Causes
Insomnia can stem out from a lot of different causes: physical, psychological, and environmental. Medications like psychoactive drugs, or stimulants like caffeine, cocaine, amphetamines, and methamphetamines, can disrupt a person's ability to fall asleep or maintain sleep. Hormone shifts that happen before menstruation and during menopause can also attribute to developing insomnia. Mental disorders such as clinical depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and general anxiety disorder may cause a person to be unable to sleep. Medical conditions like Wilson's syndrome, or neurological disorders, brain lesions, or traumatic brain injuries can also cause insomnia. In some instances, very poor sleep hygiene in both the body and the sleeping environment can cause a difficulty in sleeping or staying asleep. A change in a person's body clock brought about by moving into a country of a different time zone may cause difficulty in sleeping. Lastly, abuse of sleeping aids may result in rebound insomnia.

Treatments
Like what has been mentioned above, insomnia may not be the disease itself but rather a symptom or indicator of the physical or psychological disorder behind it. If this were the case, having the physical and mental condition taken care of might help remove the insomnia.

In some cases, medications like benzodiazepines (temazepam, flunitrazepam, and flurazepam), non-benzodiazepines (Ambien, Sonata, and Lunesta), antidepressants (amitriptyline, doxepin, and trazodone), melatonin (Rozerem), antihistamines (Benadryl), and atypical antipsychotics (Seroquel) are sometimes prescribed for insomnia because of their sedative effect. It is important to discuss all pros and cons of using these medications with your doctor before taking it as a sleeping aid to determine whether it is safe for you to use these medications.

Cognitive behavioral therapy has been said to be more effective in correcting insomnia compared to medications. This therapy involves correcting incorrect ideas about sleep, as well as improve sleeping habits.

Herbs have been used as miscellaneous treatment for insomnia. Herbs like valerian root, chamomile, lavender, and passion flower have been said to be effective. Cannabis, although still considered illegal, has been suggested as an effective treatment for insomnia. Alcohol, which has a sedative property, can also be used by insomniacs.

Article Source: http://www.articlemonk.com

The writer, Abbey Grace Yap, is an active advocate for health consciousness and disease awareness. She possesses a deep passion in discovering new health-related information and sharing it to her readers.DrugstoreTM.com is a reputable online drug store. From sexual health to a woman's health, sleeping aids to weight loss pills, our online pharmacy offers convenient customer access to various health medicines, including an array of health product and medicare prescription drug.Buy Soma | Buy Fioricet

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