Natural Sleeping Aids

Alcohol (A Variation of OTC Medication)

It is not uncommon for individuals to use alcohol as a sleep inducer. Because it is a potent central nervous system sedative, sleep onset is hastened. However, tolerance to this effect occurs fairly rapidly. What's more, though alcohol may help induce sleep, sleep in the latter portions of the night becomes disturbed. As the alcohol is metabolized, the sedative wears off and a marked arousal response may occur due to sympathetic nervous system activity. The result may range from shallow fragmented sleep, if alcohol consumption was moderate, to long periods of wakefulness after heavy drinking. The net effect is generally a less refreshing night of sleep. Tolerance, dependence, and discontinuations effects are also significant concerns when alcohol is used as a sleep aid. Tolerance to alcohol develops rapidly, often prompting the individual to drink a larger quantity for the desired sedating effect.

Discontinuation of alcohol leads to profoundly disturbed sleep, which is likely to persist for several weeks to many months after alcohol is completely discontinued. Experts strongly advise not using alcohol to promote sleep.

Sleep Medication: Not a Cure

So many physical, psychological, and behavioral factors are known to be causes of insomnia, it seems logical that no single medication, or class of medication, could be beneficial for all patients. Indeed, this is the case. Further, sleeping medications of any type provide only symptomatic relief. This means that although sleep may be improved, the drugs have no direct effect on the cause of the insomnia. There is no pharmacological cure for insomnia. Because of this, it is now recognized that treatment of persistent insomnia must focus on the underlying cause(s) of the condition rather than simply producing sleep pharmacologically. This does not mean that medication should never be used in an adjunctive fashion for chronic insomnia. That is, while the underlying causes of disrupted sleep are being addressed directly, relief might be provided temporarily for the patient in the form of a sleeping medication. Additionally, as noted above, medications can be useful in some cases of transient or short-term insomnia.

OUTWITTING INSOMNIA, ELLEN MOHR CATALANO

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