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What's Keeping You Up At Night?
Thousands of men and women in America suffer from sleep problems that include trouble falling asleep, difficulty staying asleep or just not getting enough sound sleep. This rest deprivation is wreaking such havoc in their schedules that they are turning to prescription medications to alleviate the problem.
Nearly one-third of the population is tormented with insomnia and last year, doctors wrote almost 50 million prescriptions for sleep medications. Although these drugs are proven to facilitate the quality and quantity of sleep while they are being used, they are not a cure.
In a large percentage of cases, insomnia is just a resulting symptom of an underlying issue. It would be more beneficial in the long term to determine the causal factor of the sleep problem and treat that instead.
Although almost any condition can result in difficulty sleeping, some ailments are much more likely to provoke it. Here’s what we found to be some of the most common causes of sleep problems.
- Stress & Anxiety
- Menopause
- Restless Leg Syndrome
- Heartburn/Indigestion/Gas
- Allergies & Breathing Difficulties
If you have treated the possible underlying ailments and are still suffering from insomnia, it is not necessary to resort to conventional OTC (over-the-counter) and prescription medications because there are alternative treatment options available. Even making simple changes in sleep, hygiene and routine can help or trying more involved approaches like incorporating relaxation therapies ranging from guided imagery, to meditation techniques and yoga. You can also consider trying some of the herbal and homeopathic remedies that are available to help alleviate recurring sleepless and restless nights.
"Michael had been prescribed sleeping tablets by his doctor a year prior to consulting me. At that time he had been struggling with marital and financial problems and could not sleep properly. Now that his life was in order again, he found that he could not fall asleep without taking his sleeping tablets, and he realized that he had become addicted to them. We decided to slowly reduce his sleeping medication and substitute it with Serenite. At the same time, I instructed him to take up jogging, something that he had enjoyed before, and helped him to develop a routine in the evenings which would assist him to 'reset' his body clock to fall asleep at a particular time at night. Although the first few nights were a little difficult, within a week Michael was sleeping soundly again without needing to take any more prescription sleeping tablets."
- Michele Carelse, Clinical Psychologist
Feelgood Counseling
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