›› Cure For Insomnia
Not getting enough
sleep can make your life miserable. As a long time sufferer
of insomnia, I know what it’s like to go for days with little
to no sleep. As exhausted as you feel, as soon as you lay
down in bed your brain suddenly clicks into the
‘on’ position, and you find yourself racing over
thoughts and concerns you didn’t even know you had.
I have spent a long time looking for a cure for insomnia, and
I’ll share my experience with you.
First thing I tried; drugs! As a tax paying American, I
worship pharmaceuticals as much as everyone else. Fast acting
and effective, drugs can certainly help you get to sleep, but are they
a cure for insomnia? Perhaps, but not a very healthy
one. The drugs you take to help sleep fall into two basic
categories; prescription and over the counter. Unfortunately,
none of them are without some side effects.
I find that most of the over the counter drugs leave me feeling funky
and irritable the next day. The only non-prescription
chemical I think even comes close to being a cure for insomnia is
melatonin. Melatonin is a hormone secreted naturally by your
pineal gland. What melatonin does isn’t exactly
fully understood, but it seems to have something to do with regulating
sleep patterns. I find that taking a melatonin supplement
knocks me right out without any noticeable symptoms the next
day. Unfortunately, it only seems to have this effect for me
if used once in awhile. Using melatonin even twice in a row
doesn’t seem to work as well, and the third consecutive time
I take it does nothing. Additionally, since it is so unclear
about what melatonin may do, I’m a little cautious about
using it too often.
Prescription drugs are generally extremely effective remedies for
insomnia. However, they are not without drawbacks and serious
side effects as well, and shouldn’t be thought of as a cure
for insomnia. The most commonly prescribed drugs for insomnia
fall under the benzodiazapine family of chemicals, which are all very
addictive. It is very easy to become dependent on these
drugs, and once you are you wont be able to sleep at all without
them.
In the long run, the best cure for insomnia I’ve found is
regular and vigorous exercise. Once I got more serious about
my workout routine, I found myself sleeping like a baby at
night. Just 3-4 times a week I got for a short
20-30 minute run, and on the off days I do some push-ups, sit-ups, and
lift free weights. Most people can’t stand the
thought of exercise, but just 20 minutes of a day is a very small price
to pay for better sleep!
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A Healthy Dose of Good Advice
