A recent survey found that more people are sleeping less than six hours a night, and sleep difficulties visit 75% of us at least a few nights per week. A short-lived bout of insomnia is generally nothing to worry about. The bigger concern is chronic sleep loss, which can contribute to health problems such as weight gain, high blood pressure, and a decrease in the immune system’s power. Despite the fact that 35 million prescriptions for sleep medicine were written in the United States in 2005 (twice as many as in 2000), many docs don’t prescribe medications that are intended to get at the source of the problem. Here is a brief review of what you might have been experiencing already and potential solutions to your problem.
If you’re just beginning to experience some mild sleep problems,try Benadryl.
Benadryl is a brand name of McNeil Healthcare (UK) Limited and is used to sell hay fever treatments in various forms around the world. In the U.S. Benadryl products contain the 1st generation antihistamine Diphenhydramine.
This nonaddictive over-the-counter (OTC) option contains an ingredient that makes you groggy (it’s also the ngredient in many sleep medications). If you don’t have pain or other symptoms, stick to straight Benadryl. Otherwise, you can add an OTC painkiller. Downside: You may feel groggy in the morning and suffer memory problems. If so, stop using the medication.
When you’re jet-lagged, or your work schedule varies frequently, you could try Melatonin
A hormone produced by the pineal gland, melatonin is intimately involved in regulating the sleeping and waking cycles, among other processes.
Available in health-food stores, this supplement helps reset your body clock and is a first-line therapy for travel-related sleep issues. The dose varies between 0.5 and 5 milligrams, so you’ll have to experiment with dosing to see what works best for you.
For sleep issues over an extended period of time, ask about Ambien, Ambien CR, Lunesta, or Rozerem
Ambiem is a trademark used for the drug zolpidem - a prescription medication used for the short-term treatment of insomnia, as well as some brain disorders.
This long-acting prescription will give you less of a hangover than other drugs, but some docs believe it is addictive. The controlled-release (CR) version will give you a boost after 4 hours in order to avoid middle-of-the-night awakening. Lunesta works like Ambien but is thought to be nonaddictive. Rozerem works like melatonin and should be nonaddictive.
If you wake up in the middle of the night, check Sonata
This is another name for a drug named zaleplon.
This fast-acting hypnotic drug, available by prescription, is good if you wake up in the middle of the night, because it’s quickly effective and won’t last all night. It works to get you back to sleep, but it will not keep you asleep.
You can’t fall asleep because you’re worried or depressed - see about Desyrel (trazodone)
Trazodone (trade names Desyrel, Molipaxin, Trittico, Thombran, Trialodine, Trazorel) is a psychoactive compound with sedative, anxiolytic, and antidepressant properties.
This antidepressant is less expensive than some of the popular sleep drugs, and it’s actually one of the most frequently prescribed sleep medications because it’s effective and nonaddictive. One side effect for men: priapism (maintaining an erection for a lot longer than you want). Amitriptyline, an older antidepressant, may also be effective, but it has caused constipation in our patients.
When you kick so much that you’re considering going to sleep in runners, try Requip
Requip (the brand name under which ropinirole is sold) is used in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Since 2008 it is also available in generic form (patent expired).
This drug helps with restless legs syndrome (RLS). But another option is just drinking a little diet tonic water at dinner. It contains quinine — an ingredient that helps quiet muscle cramps.
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