People with insomnia find it harder to forget embarrassing memories

From bhg.com.au

Everyone has a few embarrassing skeletons in their closet they would rather forget. Perhaps you had a little too much to drink on a first date, accidentally said something inappropriate during a job interview or were caught in a compromising position by an unaware family member. No matter who you are, what you do or how old you get, there will always be at least one or two embarrassing memories that make you cringe when anyone brings them up again.

Fortunately, for most of us those embarrassing memories don’t usually surface too often, or without stimuli. However, it appears that people who suffer from insomnia get to relive their most embarrassing moments highlights reel, over and over again. Talk about a double whammy.

The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience has just published new research that found people with insomnia have trouble getting rid of emotional stress, regulating their emotions and dealing with embarrassing memories.

                                                                     Getty

According to MRI scans of participants brains captured during the study, when people who slept well thought about an embarrassing moment, they were able to neutralize those memories, while those who didn’t sleep well couldn’t do the same.
The research also found that people who suffer from insomnia feel more shame about an embarrassing moment after a night of restless sleep.

https://www.bhg.com.au/people-with-insomnia-find-it-harder-to-forget-embarrassing-memories

So, if you find yourself ruminating over your most embarrassing moments often, it might be due to the quality of your sleep.

Restless Leg Syndrome or RLS - Restlessness While Sleeping: Symptoms and Cure

By Felix Godwin

Do you feel restlessness when sleeping, without any specific reason? Are you anxious of thinking deeply about something that you cannot control? Don't know why it is happening or are you looking for a tried and tested restlessness cure? No matter what your exact symptoms are, you can rest assured that you are not alone and there are people who have overcome their restlessness and similar issues by using natural methods such as relaxation, meditation and various yoga techniques. Also there are many cases which required medical intervention. Lets have a look at a few basic facts about general restlessness and RLS or restless leg syndrome.

Cannot sleep due to restlessness?
Do you find it difficult to sleep properly despite working very hard throughout the day? While insomnia or inability to sleep is one of the reasons of restlessness when sleeping, there are various other symptoms that can help you identify your issue. If you want to move constantly or your legs or arms get cramps while at rest, then read on. You cannot calm your mind or cannot stop thinking about something unpleasant, triggering more restless and anxiety? You may also feel the combination of both physical and mental restlessness.

Here are some common symptoms of restlessness

• Inability to focus on anything
• Unable to manage your time
• Unconscious or conscious leg movement
• Foot or hand tapping
• Cramps in arms or legs, when at rest
• Unnecessary palpitations
• Inability to sleep or insomnia
• Frequent distraction at work for no specific reason
• Are restlessness and anxiety related

Quick Tips to identify RLS or restless leg syndrome

1. Throbbing sensation in legs
2. Feeling of pins and needles in feet quite frequently
3. Painful cramping in calves
4. Burning or tingling sensation in legs

Moving the legs usually relieves the symptoms temporarily, but if it becomes frequent or worsens, then get medical help. You can also try a few yogic methods that work wonders for many people. However, yoga in general, requires discipline and regularity to give you any significant result. Just check what suits you the best.

Restless cure
There are various methods and home remedies to handle and minimise restlessness. If you believe that your problem is more of psychological in nature, then simply focusing on one task at a time can prove to be highly effective. Do not over-commit if you cannot deliver something within a certain time frame. In fact, under-commitment and over-delivering is the best possible way to control restlessness as you work within your limited resources without getting anxious about what if you'd not be able to deliver on time.

Restless leg cure

1. Mustard oil massage on both the legs, especially on calves
2. Soak your legs in warm water regularly
3. Cool and hot packs alternatively
4. Hamstring exercise also helps in some cases of RLS
5. Limit your caffeine intake

It goes without saying that when you are anxious about anything, your mind is working extra hard to reach a conclusion about the issue you are thinking. As it seems to be impossible, you become even more anxious, and it becomes visible in your behaviour, physical sensation and emotions. You can get annoyed at the slightest of provocation or even without any valid reason. Negative emotions will be more dominant and visible than positive ones, and you may feel that you are completely alright. Others can quickly identify your disorder and suggest a visit to your physician.

You can do meditation or relaxation to control restlessness in general or restless leg syndrome. Read more about meditation facts and myths, and how it can be highly effective. Learn more about the benefits of savasana and how to do it correctly and use it for meditation.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Restless-Leg-Syndrome-or-RLS---Restelssness-While-Sleeping-Symptoms-and-Cure&id=10110687

What To Eat To Help Fight Insomnia, According To a Doctor

From rachaelrayshow.com

You've probably heard of melatonin — but here's a quick refresher from our friend, Dr. Ian Smith, just in case you need one.
"Melatonin is a hormone [that] puts your body into a peaceful restfulness, which prepares you for sleep," Dr. Ian says. "When it's light outside, your melatonin levels dip. You're awake and feeling great."

When it's dark outside, Dr. Ian continues, the brain secretes melatonin, because it knows it's time to go to sleep.
Most of us secrete enough melatonin, he explains, but as you age, you may not naturally produce enough.
Another possibility could be that "from a physiological standpoint, the melatonin is not doing its trick," according to the doc.

So if you're having trouble falling asleep at night, a shortage of melatonin could be the cause.
One audience member, named Magdala, asked Dr. Ian for his advice on foods that could help combat insomnia.
Not only did he answer, but he took it one step further — by providing a delicious recipe that includes a number of beneficial ingredients.
According to Dr. Ian, studies have shown that certain amino acids and nutrients can work together to help your body produce melatonin and promote sleep.
Dr. Ian lists four elements that are important for your melatonin: calcium, magnesium, protein and vitamin B6.
"All these things are in foods that help either make melatonin, or they make serotonin — which is a neurotransmitter that comes before the melatonin," he says.
Some foods, such as almonds and walnuts, naturally contain melatonin — so these nuts make a nice evening snack, says Dr. Ian.

"I always believe before going to sleep, 200 calories or less should be your snack," Dr. Ian says.
The doc shares one of his favourite recipes for a better night's sleep: A yogurt parfait!
The ingredients? Plain, low-fat Greek yogurt, strawberries, blueberries, bananas and a little bit of granola.
The low-fat yogurt is a good source of protein and calcium, berries contain antioxidants and bananas have magnesium, Dr. Ian explains.

Plus, he says a crunchy snack like granola can help suppress your appetite. Who knew?!

https://www.rachaelrayshow.com/articles/what-to-eat-to-help-fight-insomnia-according-to-a-doctor

Minor sleep loss can put your job at risk, study finds

From sciencedaily.com

Just 16 minutes shaved off your regular sleep routine can dramatically impact job performance the next day. A new study shows that slight dip of sleep causes workers to have poor judgement and fall off-task.

Losing just 16 minutes of sleep could be the difference between a clear-headed day at the office or one filled with distractions.
A new study published in the Sleep Health (Journal of the National Sleep Foundation) finds shorting your sleep routine during the work-week greatly interferes with job performance. University of South Florida researchers found workers are more likely to have poor judgement and fall off-task the next day.

                                                            Credit: © Tiko / Fotolia
Lead author Soomi Lee, PhD, assistant professor in the School of Aging Studies, and her colleagues surveyed 130 healthy employees who work in Information Technology and have at least one school-aged child. Participants reported that when they slept 16 minutes less than usual and had worse quality sleep, they experienced more cognitive issues the next day. That raised their stress levels, especially regarding issues related to work-life balance, resulting in them going to bed earlier and waking up earlier due to fatigue.

"These cyclical associations reflect that employees' sleep is vulnerable to daily cognitive stress and also a contributor to cognitively stressful experiences," said Lee. "Findings from this study provide empirical evidence for why workplaces need to make more efforts to promote their employees' sleep. Good sleepers may be better performers at work due to greater ability to stay focused an on-task with fewer errors and interpersonal conflicts."

Researchers also compared work-days to weekends. They conclude the consequences of less sleep is not as apparent when one has the next day off from work.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/04/190423133605.htm

Anxiety Symptoms and Recovery

By Dr. R.E. Freedman

We all have stressful lives because stress is a normal part of living. Stress keeps us on our toes and motivates us forward. This is to be expected but when stress grows out of control, the body often experiences stress reactions. This includes anxiety, panic attacks, fatigue and exhaustion. Being aware of the body's stress reactions helps us recognize when it's time to turn down the need to push too much and begin to nurture ourselves more. Look at anxiety reactions as red flags, warning one to slow down, moderate and nurture.

Here is a list of anxiety symptoms or red flags warning you to slow down:
Racing Heart or Palpitations
Light-headedness
Dizziness
Insomnia
Racing Thoughts
Trembling
Lack of Appetite
Feelings of Doom

Naturally, it's best to rule out any physical reason for these symptoms before assuming they are strictly anxiety related.

Most believe these feelings are arising out of the nowhere but this is not the case. So much depends on your perspective and how you are thinking. If you perceive the world as a dangerous place, your thoughts often turn negative and fearful.

Fearful thoughts fuel body reactions. They often begin with "what if" and release adrenaline in response to the negative thought. Adrenaline causes the heart to race, light-headedness and other feelings of anxiety. Small releases of adrenaline all day long lead to a trembling, over-reactive body or what we call sensitization.

A sensitized body begins with a thought. It all begins with a thought. Once you learn to change the way you think, you will have succeeded in interrupting the cycle of anxiety. It is basically the fear, adrenaline, fear cycle. Once understood and corrected, life returns to normal. You are no longer victimized by anxiety reactions.

Process for Recovery
- Recognize Your Thoughts- Be aware of your inner dialogue. How many times are you beginning sentences with "what if" and thinking fearfully? Remember: Fear releases adrenaline which fuels anxiety. "What if" thoughts are fearful and release adrenaline.
- Don't Run From Symptoms- If you experience anxiety symptoms, allow them to be there without changing them. Once you run from them or try to stop them, you are fuelling them. This is a paradox. Do the opposite and they will melt away.
Remember: Symptoms will instantly stop without your fear to fuel them.
- Breathe- No more breath holding or overbreathing in fear. Slow down your breathing and everything returns to normal.
Remember: Dizziness and feelings of light-headedness are the result of overbreathing or breath holding.
- Let Go- Release the tight hold you have on yourself and focus on the moment. Lose yourself in whatever you are doing. You are not ill. Anxiety is only the result of the fearful label you are putting on life.
Remember: It's fine to be cautious but it is also all right to enjoy yourself. Let go of the habit of viewing life as dangerous.

Basically, you have full control over how you feel. Anxiety symptoms are upsetting but they are not dangerous. Change the way you think and you have succeeded in changing the way you feel. This is simple, effective and without side effects, adverse reactions or withdrawal symptoms, as many experience with the use of medications.

You are not ill. Anxiety is basically a learned behaviour that you can easily unlearn.

Each and every anxiety symptom has a logical explanation and can be reversed. Never forget this, even if a new symptom pops up. They often come in cycles but once you aware of this fact and how to interrupt them, you are in charge of your life again. You are no longer the victim of anxiety symptoms. It's time to move forward and look at life as an enjoyable adventure rather than a dangerous experience.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Anxiety-Symptoms-and-Recovery&id=10095906

Dr. Gifford-Jones: Fighting insomnia without drugs or doctors

From mpnnow.com/news

Do you have trouble getting to sleep? Are you counting sheep and getting nowhere? Today, for many people a good night’s sleep is an elusive dream. Now, a report from The Harvard Medical School says that anxiety and stress often cause insomnia. And it’s refreshing to read that its solution doesn’t involve doctors or drugs.
A prolonged lack of sleep can have devastating consequences. For instance, the huge oil spill by the Exon Valdez and the Chernobyl nuclear disaster were both believed to be related to sleep deprivation.
But chronic insomnia can be life-threatening in other ways. Dr. William Dement, a renowned sleep researcher at Stanford University in California, says there’s compelling evidence that how well and how long we sleep is an important indicator of how long we live!

So, is there a magic number for the hours of sleep we need to keep healthy? An English proverb claims, “Six hours for a man, seven for a woman and eight for a fool.” But according to the National Sleep Foundation, whichever you are, eight hours is required for good health and safety. But only one-third of us get this amount.
Insomnia is no friend to those who have pre-diabetes. Researchers at the University of Chicago studied a group of young men who were restricted to four hours of sleep a night. This caused a decrease in the secretion of insulin, a 40 percent decrease in the rate sugar was cleared from the blood and an increase in blood sugar. If the study had continued, the end result would have eventually been diabetes.
Professor Mathew Walker at the University of California says, “sleep loss is one of the greatest public health challenges we face in the 21st century”. For instance, long distance truck drivers have a 200 to 500 percent greater risk of accident. And when a truck driver is killed, he or she takes 4.5 other people with them.
Another study at the University of California showed that men deprived of one night of partial sleep resulted in an immune system that was less effective. They found that “natural killer cells” which fight viral infections and cancer were compromised.

So how can Harvard doctors cure insomnia without drugs? I admit I expected them to pass along a great new scientific achievement. So I was shocked to hear that these professors believe that weighted blankets may be the answer for those who stare at the ceiling and count sheep all night.
Dr. Christina Cusin, an assistant professor of psychiatry at The Harvard Medical School, reports, “weighted blankets have been around for a long time to treat children with autism or behavioural disturbances”.
She adds, “It’s one of the sensory tools commonly used in psychiatric units. Patients who are in distress may choose different types of sensory activities, such as holding a cold object, smelling different aromas, doing arts and craft to try to calm down.
“But weighted blankets are supposed to work in the same way. Tight swaddling helps newborns feel snug and secure so they dose off more quickly. The blanket simulates a comforting hug, calming the nervous system.”
These blankets look like regular ones. But they’re filled with plastic beads or pellets to make them heavier and can weigh from three to upwards of twenty pounds.
If you believe a weighted blanket might be the answer to insomnia, buy one that weighs 10 percent of your own weight. So someone weighing 150 pounds needs a blanket weighing 15 pounds.
But do they work? Dr. Cusin says it’s impossible to do a scientific double-blind study as all subjects would automatically know the blanket is heavier. Luckily, she says there’s little risk to these blankets, but to check with your doctor before using one, particularly if for small children. And be ready to pay about $100 to $200 dollars to cuddle up in it.
I hope it gives happy dreams. As F. Scott Fitzgerald, the author, remarked, “The worst thing in the world is trying to sleep and not to.”

https://www.mpnnow.com/news/20190423/dr-gifford-jones-fighting-insomnia-without-drugs-or-doctors

Pillow talk: Top tips on how to beat insomnia and get the perfect night’s sleep

From sundaypost.com

For many of us, bedtime can become an anxious wait for sleep that never comes and endless hours staring at the ceiling.

If that sounds like you then you are not alone.
In fact, research by the UK’s Sleep Council says in today’s fast-paced society, almost a third of us get a poor sleep most nights.
Nearly three quarters of us get less than the average sleep requirement of seven or eight hours a night – and 12% get less than five.
Even more alarmingly, 35% of us have suffered from sleep problems for more than five years.
Sleep deprivation can leave us exhausted, irritable and unwell. But it has also been linked to a whole host of chronic conditions including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, strokes, high blood pressure, obesity and depression.

                                                                        (Getty Images)

If a full eight hours’ sleep is elusive, it could be due to a variety of medical conditions.
Insomnia, and changes to typical sleep patterns, are often an early sign of perimenopause.
Racing thoughts, and persistent feelings of stress, make it difficult for many women experiencing menopause to unwind.
If you experience night sweats, a simple blood test at your GPs will confirm if you are going through hormone changes. Wearing cotton PJs can help.
If you are also a habitual snorer you may be suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), where breathing becomes temporarily impaired and blood pressure rises. A doctor can help determine if you have OSA and offer treatment options.

Restless Legs Syndrome (RLS), when limbs twitch and jerk, can also cause a restless night. One in 10 adults suffer from RLS, and the chance of developing this disorder increases with age.
Certain medications including those prescribed for high blood pressure, heart conditions and depression can cause the condition.
To alleviate RLS, a doctor may suggest cutting back on caffeine and alcohol, taking an iron supplement, and creating a targeted exercise regimen.
Asthma, diabetes, and gastroesophageal reflux disease can all negatively impact the ease of breathing, thereby making sleep more challenging for older adults.

However, healthy sleep habits can help relieve these conditions’ negative impacts on sleep.
Dr Renata Riha, of the Sleep Research Unit at Edinburgh University, says sleep is one of the three pillars of health, alongside good nutrition and physical exercise.
She said: “Some people don’t think sleep is important and try to fit a 25-hour lifestyle into a 24-hour day.
“The main reasons for not sleeping range from anxiety and depression, to worry, anger and medical conditions. But modern-day habits from bad diets and too much caffeine, to using phones and tablets too late at night, can also have a detrimental impact on our sleep patterns. It can lead to increased inflammation in the body and have an impact on all body organs, including the skin.”

Breaking the insomnia cycle can be difficult but the author of a new book, 222 Ways To Trick Yourself To Sleep, says she may have the answer. Using the latest scientific studies, Kim Jones has come up with a long list of tips and tricks to help you get a good night’s rest.
She says: “You may be surprised to learn that everything from warming your feet and how you breathe to reframing your thoughts and mindset, can all help to get you off to sleep.”

Some top tips to try…

Rock yourself to sleep

Researchers from the University of Geneva found that adults who took a nap in a rocking bed fell asleep faster than in a bed that was stationary.

Curb binge-watching

Resist the urge to watch ‘just one more’ episode. A study found that binge-viewing habits were associated with poor sleep, fatigue and symptoms of insomnia whereas regular TV viewing wasn’t.

Give yourself a face massage

A study published in Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice found that women who had a 20-minute facial massage experienced a drop in blood pressure, as well as getting sleepy.

Listen to soothing music

Source some string-based beats with no extreme variations in volume and no repeated melody. This allows your mind to wander dreamily because you’re not anticipating the repeat.

Go green

Add plants to clear the air for a better sleep. NASA’s Clean Air Study says plants like peace lilies and chrysanthemums are good at removing household toxins.

Have a laugh

A study published by the Korean Journal of Adult Nursing found that elderly people who were prescribed laughter therapy improved their sleep and reduced their symptoms of depression.

Cover clock faces

If you start clock watching, you’ll start stressing about how much sleep you’re missing and it will be harder to drift off. Just set your alarm and turn it away.

Get some vitamin sea

A report by the National Trust found that people who took a coastal walk slept on average 47 minutes longer that night than they did the night before – and 35 minutes longer than those taking a walk inland.

Chill your pillow

Put your pillow in the fridge for the day. Because your neck and temples contain pulse points where blood vessels are close to the skin, it helps cool your blood down quickly so the rest of your body feels less hot.

Play mind games

Give your brain some mental exercise to do when you hit the hay. Try counting backwards from 100 – or even 1000 – in groups of five.

https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/pillow-talk-top-tips-on-how-to-beat-insomnia-and-get-the-perfect-nights-sleep/

Don’t lose sleep over insomnia

From augustafreepress.com

Losing precious sleep is terrible to experience, but sadly, it’s a common situation for many Americans. According to the American Sleep Apnea Association, at least 50 to 70 million people in the United States deal with sleep-related problems. So if you do, you’re not alone!
You might not even realize that there’s something wrong with your sleep. For example, insomnia, a common sleep disorder, can sometimes go unnoticed. Those who have the condition may wake frequently, but not recall those wakeful moments. But it still impacts their rest, making them tired and lethargic.
Such effects from insomnia and other sleeping conditions can be catastrophic. Wanting to sleep but not having the ability to do so can be frustrating and isolating. And by next morning, that lack of sleep can make doing even the simplest activities difficult. Traveling to work could become exhausting, and then using up what little energy you have left to stay polite and friendly to co-workers could feel infuriating.
You don’t have to suffer from such troubles, though. There are quite a few ways to treat sleeping difficulties. And this article is here to help you navigate the waters of one of those difficulties in particular: insomnia.

Consider getting medication

If your insomnia is particularly severe, consider getting medication for your condition. While not the first choice of treatment for insomnia usually, prescription medication should help you if you feel incapacitated by your sleeping disorder.
To determine if medication is the right choice for your situation, talk to a doctor. Once you’ve given them your medical history, they should know whether medication will solve your sleeping problem. And if that is the case, they’ll also have a good idea on what medication is likely to work. For instance, they may decide that you should go on trazodone.
Whatever medication they feel is appropriate, don’t worry about the expense. Just order your prescription medication from an international or Canada drug centre like Canadian Med Centre. Doing this will enable you to connect to licensed pharmacies abroad in countries with stricter prescription pricing regulations. And in return, these pharmacies can connect you to medication at affordable prices.

Practise relaxation techniques

For those of you who don’t feel like their insomnia is severe enough to warrant medication, try relaxation techniques instead. Most of these techniques are something you can do on your own to help calm your body and prepare it for rest. More specifically, they aim to reduce physical tension and disrupt any thought processes that might affect your sleep.
There are a number of techniques you can try. Here are some you might want to consider:

• Progressive muscle relaxation — With this technique, you tense one group of body muscles separately, and then, you relax them. You do this for all of your muscles until eventually your body stops tensing and grows sleepy.
• Biofeedback — Using biofeedback with the help of a professional can help you see in real time how your body reacts to certain stimuli. From there, you can determine what helps you relax the best.
• Visualizations — This technique involves you imagining relaxing imagery. For instance, you may think of waves washing across a beach, and after a while, this may help you rest easier.

Talk to a therapist

Another way you can loosen the hold insomnia has on you is by going to a therapist. More specifically, try finding one who is licensed in cognitive-behavioural therapy. This form of therapy teaches you how to think differently and act on that new type of thinking. So with it, you can essentially re-train your mind on how to deal with insomnia and sleep. Gradually, you might realize that you no longer need to even think about it before you’re off to snooze-land in bed.

Remember to make your bedroom a sleep-positive room

Lastly, make sure you don’t forget the importance of your sleep environment. Many people use their bedroom for all kinds of activities aside from sleep. This can confuse your brain on when you should go to bed. So keep attention-grabbing items like phones and video games outside of your bedroom, and focus on turning your bedroom into a room exclusive to rest and sexual activities.
You’ll also want to limit any light and dust-attracting clutter in your bedroom to avoid keeping yourself awake or being troubled by allergies or asthma. After all, your bedroom should be designed to help you rest so you don’t have to lose sleep over obstacles like insomnia.
If you can’t fully alter your bedroom for sleep-friendly purposes, just keep in mind the other methods that can help you get your much-needed rest.

https://augustafreepress.com/dont-lose-sleep-over-insomnia/

Be cautious with sleeping aids

From journalgazette.net/features

Drugs an option, but behavioural changes preferred

Jill U. Adams | Washington Post

A lot of people out there don't get enough sleep – more than 1 in 3 American adults, according to the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
If you're one of them, you probably know there are two main treatments for improving sleep: behavioural methods and medications.
When you're desperate for a good night's sleep, medications sure do sound appealing. But there are caveats with them all – the prescription pills, the over-the-counter products and the herbal supplements.

Before describing the medications in detail, I'll remind you that the prevailing wisdom is that cognitive behavioural therapy, which involves changing habits and bedtime rituals, is the first-line treatment for insomnia. Sleep experts say CBT is more effective and longer lasting than medication for most people – but then again, maybe you're not most people.
“There's clearly a subset of patients who don't improve with CBT,” says Andrew Krystal, who directs the sleep research program at the University of California at San Francisco. There's also a problem with access, he says, as CBT requires effort. Even some of the seemingly simple online versions have fees attached.

Another thing to consider before looking at medications is that sleep troubles often result from something else, such as sleep apnea or depression. Also, alcohol and caffeine intake can interfere with good sleep, as can certain medications, says Constance Dunlap, a District of Columbia psychiatrist.
A doctor can help you rule out or address these issues. “I get a lot of information,” Dunlap says.
For instance, a sleep study can identify awakenings from sleep apnea.
“My patients who have tried CPAP?” Dunlap says, referring to continuous positive airway pressure therapy for sleep apnea. “One hundred percent of them feel better.”
If the primary problem is depression or anxiety, Dunlap says physicians will address that problem along with the secondary insomnia.

But here is an overview for those interested in the various sleep medications and supplements.

Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines, such as Ativan and Xanax, are in a class of medications prescribed for sleep problems, but they carry concern about addiction. That's why clinical practice guidelines discourage using them more than four weeks.
The goal is to limit use, says physician Douglas Kirsch, a sleep expert in Charlotte, North Carolina, who is president of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
A 2014 study documented benzodiazepine prescription rates and long-term use as highest in people over age 65 – and older people are at higher risk of side effects such as cognitive impairment and falls. There's some evidence associating benzodiazepine use with dementia, though no causal relationship has been determined, Kirsch says.
In a 2018 study, researchers estimated that 30.6 million American adults use benzodiazepines: 25.3 million use them “as prescribed” (in addition to insomnia, the drugs are used for anxiety, seizures and panic attacks); the other 5.3 million are misusing the medication (most commonly, they get the drug from a friend or relative).

Z-drugs
Ambien, Lunesta, and Sonata – the “Z-drugs” that don't contain benzodiazepines but have similar effects – are common prescription medications for insomnia. They all have generic versions. Their claim to fame is that they help you fall asleep.
“If you do use a medication like Ambien, make sure you're getting enough time in bed,” says Kirsch. “Don't take it at midnight if you're waking up at 5 a.m.”
That's because the drug's intoxicating effects may still be present. Women are prescribed lower doses than men because they metabolize the drug more slowly.
Even with seven-plus hours in bed, Kirsch says, “The biggest side effect is feeling groggy in the morning.”

The Z-drugs are thought to be safer than their benzodiazepine cousins with regard to side effects and dependency, but they're not free of such concerns. That's why doctors encourage patients to use the lowest dose for as few nights as they need.
Krystal says many people's lives are improved by using Z-drugs to help them sleep. But “it's very difficult to know how long insomnia lasts,” he says.
If you're using the drugs nightly, how would you know whether you still have insomnia? Krystal says he plans periodic breaks from his patients' medication routines to see if the underlying problem has changed.

Over-the-counter
Over-the-counter sleep aids such as Unisom, ZzzQuil and Tylenol PM contain an antihistamine drug.
Usually it's diphenhydramine, which is the same as Benadryl. Benadryl, of course, has a side effect of drowsiness, which in sleep aids is, in fact, the intended effect.
But there's been little research on how diphenhydramine helps insomnia and, Kirsch says, “They are not free of side effects” – morning grogginess and dry mouth are common – “in older folks particularly.”
Diphenhydramine is deemed inappropriate for adults age 65 and older. The sleep aids can trigger cognitive impairments, dizziness and falls, in addition to increasing risk for liver and kidney dysfunction.

Trials, blockers
A different antihistamine compound has been developed specifically to combat sleep troubles – the prescription drug Silenor contains a low dose of doxepin.
Krystal ran a randomized controlled trial funded by the drug maker and found the drug helped older people improve sleep time and sleep quality. Subjects still awoke in the middle of the night, but they fell back asleep sooner than before. Also, they had fewer early morning awakenings, and side effects were inconsequential.
Krystal says that Silenor blocks the body's natural arousal system, which is mediated by histamine. Since that study, he continues to study the mechanisms of awakening, which, when blocked, represent a new strategy of aiding sleep – rather then enhancing drowsiness or sleepiness, as the other sleep aids do.
Another wake-promoting signal in the body is a small protein called orexin. Belsomra is a prescription orexin blocker that helps people keep sleeping toward morning and has little morning sedation.

Herbal aids
Melatonin is perhaps the best known of the body's natural signals for sleep. The hormone tends to rise with the darkening of the night.
Taking melatonin supplements may help some people by preparing the body for sleep. That means timing can make a difference, Kirsch says. “If melatonin at bedtime doesn't work, try taking it earlier in the evening.”
Still, Kirsch warns that melatonin preparations are not well regulated and that the actual amount in a 1-milligram tablet can vary considerably.
A number of herbal supplements, such as valerian, make claims about helping with sleep, but the scientific evidence for this is thin or non-existent.
As with other supplements, quality control is not well regulated.

The National Centre for Complementary and Integrative Health at the National Institutes of Health offers clear explanations of what is known – and what isn't – about the effectiveness, and risks, of various sleep supplements.
There are quite a lot of potential solutions for poor sleep. Medications are one path.
“If somebody wants to try sleep meds, do it in concert with a doctor so you can best understand how to do it,” Kirsch says. “There are different kinds of insomnia.”

http://www.journalgazette.net/features/20190408/be-cautious-with-sleeping-aids