Insomnia
Will CBD Help You Sleep Better?
These are unsettling, anxious times. It's little wonder that many people are having trouble sleeping. As a result, they are eager to try even a nonstandard treatment if they believe that would help. W…
How You Can Get to Sleep Without Amitriptyline
Do you have trouble falling asleep? If so, you are not alone. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine estimates that up to 30 percent of American adults have some symptoms of insomnia. Some folks take …
Chronic Insomniacs Suffer More from Sleep Depriv…
People who usually have trouble getting to sleep often complain about impaired daytime function. Researchers haven’t been able to document that such chronic insomniacs actually do worse than people …
What Should You Eat to Sleep Better?
Americans are a nation of insomniacs. We stay up too late snacking and watching television or emailing friends and family. Burning the candle at both ends can lead to hypertension, obesity, automobile…
How Can You Overcome Midnight Motor Mind?
Some people with insomnia just can't get to sleep because their minds are racing. They may retrace the day and think of what they should have said or done differently. Perhaps they worry about events …
Can PM Sleeping Pills Cause Memory Problems?
Americans worry about their memories. A study published in JAMA Neurology (online, Nov. 15, 2019) surveyed over 1,000 people between 50 and 64 years of age. “Nearly 50% believed they are at least so…
Can Ashwagandha Help You Sleep Better?
Have you had trouble sleeping? If you have, you've probably looked for something that could ease you to sleep more quickly or ensure that you stay asleep all night. Could an Indian Ayurvedic herb call…
What Time Is Best to Take Melatonin?
How do you deal with sleeplessness? Although people frequently take sleeping pills such as zolpidem (Ambien, Intermezzo, Zolpimist), zaleplon (Sonata) or eszopiclone (Lunesta), they may become depende…
Beware Zolpidem Zombies on Airplanes
One of the most popular prescription sleeping pills in the pharmacy is zolpidem (Ambien). At last count, over 19 million prescriptions were dispensed annually. Despite its popularity, zolpidem remains…
Will Melatonin Help Travelers with Jet Lag?
Humans, like most other animals, have daily rhythms. When these are disrupted by shift work or jet lag, people may feel out of sorts, fatigued or even vulnerable to illness. Are there ways to get slee…
Amitriptyline for Sleep problems Is a Bad Idea
Amitriptyline (Elavil) is a very old antidepressant. It was first marketed in the U.S. in 1961. Amitriptyline has one FDA-approved indication: “For the relief of symptoms of depression.” For reaso…
What Took the FDA So Long to Warn About Z-Drug D…
The Food and Drug Administration seems to take great pride in approving new drugs. Last year was “An All-Time Record, And A Watershed,” according to Forbes (Jan. 14, 2019). The FDA shattered…
Popular Sleeping Pills Get FDA’s Black Box War…
The Food and Drug Administration has issued a black box warning for the most popular sleeping pills on the market. This is the heaviest tool in the FDA’s toolkit, short of banning a medicine outrigh…
Falling Asleep with Zolpidem | Waking up with He…
What do you do when you are caught on the horns of a dilemma? We describe such situations a couple of ways: “Between the devil and the deep blue sea” is one. A similar saying goes: “between a ro…
Show 1125: How Can You Find Your Sleep Solution?…
You may have read or heard that adequate sleep is a pillar of good health, like exercise and a healthy diet. Sleep affects blood pressure and heart disease, metabolism and obesity, the immune system, …
What Is the Other Drug Epidemic?
Much has been written about the epidemic of opioid drug misuse, overdose and death. With more than 130 people dying every day in this country as a result of opioid overdose, we all have a right to be …
Will Therapeutic Frankincense Help You Sleep?
In the Christmas story found in the Gospel of Matthew, wise men come from the east seeking the newborn king. They bring him presents: gold, frankincense and myrrh. This part of the story with these pr…
Will Raisins Help You Sleep More Soundly?
Would you like to sleep more soundly? Many readers complain that they need to rise to urinate several times a night. Then they frequently have trouble getting back to sleep. Several years ago, one per…
Will Lavender Oil Ease Your Anxiety and Insomnia…
Aromatherapy, the use of plant materials with notable fragrance, has long been popular in Europe. It is now becoming more widely adopted in the US as well. In this approach, people utilize the "essent…
Can Clonazepam Increase the Risk for Dementia?
Millions of people take benzodiazepines every day. Such drugs are variously described as anti-anxiety agents, sedatives, hypnotics (to aid sleep) or benzos for short. At last count about five million …
Does Too Little Sleep Make You Quicker to Anger?
Sleep deprivation has been linked to diabetes, weight gain, high blood pressure, forgetfulness, accidents, lowered immunity and delayed reaction times. Now, add grumpiness and anger to the list of con…
A DUI Driving Citation After Taking Ambien (Zolp…
Americans love sleeping pills, especially Ambien (zolpidem). At last count nearly 20 million prescriptions are dispensed annually in the U.S. Once people start taking Ambien (zolpidem), many keep on t…
Is Melatonin Safe for Night Shift Nurse?
People who do shift work put their bodies through a lot of stress. Most of us adapt to getting up in the morning and going to bed at night. If we are reasonably regular about the times, our body clock…
Should You Stop Taking Your Sleeping Pills?
Older individuals who take a benzodiazepine are more likely to experience falls. Medications like alprazolam (Xanax), diazepam (Valium) or lorazepam (Ativan) are frequently used as sleeping pills or f…
Will Blue Light from Screens Harm Your Vision?
Could your digital viewing habits be harming your eyes? Computers, cell phones and hand-held devices all put out blue light that reaches the retina. The Problems with Blue Light: Two new studies sugge…
Will Getting to Sleep Wreck Your Digestion?
When you are looking for a way to overcome insomnia, you might well reach for a pill called zolpidem. Sold for years under the brand name Ambien, it is probably the most popular prescription sleeping …
Can You Get A Good Night’s Sleep in the Hospit…
Seems like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Get a good night’s sleep in the hospital? Who are we kidding? New research from the Netherlands confirms that patients lose a lot of sleep when they are hospita…
Can a Chinese Fungus Help You Sleep Better?
Millions of people have trouble sleeping. For some, the main problem is falling asleep. Others report difficulty staying asleep. One reader who wakes up too early and can't fall back to sleep wonders …
Are You Taking A Sleeping Pill That Messes with …
Sleeping pills are big business. That is especially true for over-the-counter drugs. Millions of people take “PM” pain relievers regularly because they fear they may not fall asleep easily. Diphen…
Chantix and Insomnia | Disturbed Sleep and Bad D…
Chantix (varenicline) has been widely advertised on television. Perhaps you have seen some of the commercials. In this one Mark smiles and says he quit smoking with Chantix. The announcer lists a bunc…
Can the Antidepressant Amitriptyline Mess Up Mem…
It is estimated that nearly two million people take the antidepressant amitriptyline every day. We suspect that most are not taking this drug to improve mood. That’s because amitriptyline (Elavil) h…
Is NyQuil A Good Way To Stay Asleep?
We often wonder whether people read the label of their over-the-counter medicines. If they did, would most know what they were taking? Nyquil Cold & Flu formula is advertised to “relieve your s…
Skimping on Magnesium May Mean Trouble Sleeping
How often does a treatment for one problem lead to another problem? We suspect it may be more common than anyone could imagine. Who would guess that low magnesium levels resulting from a heartburn med…
Will Bright Light at Bedtime Lower Melatonin Lev…
How much does light exposure affect melatonin levels? A new study suggests that late-day exposure may lower levels significantly (Akacem, Wright and LeBourgeois, Physiological Reports, March 4, 2018).…
Should You Worry About Serious Melatonin Side Ef…
More than three million Americans take melatonin to get to sleep. That's twice the number that used this supplement in 2007 (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health). This makes melat…
What Are the Most Dangerous Drugs for Older Adul…
Imagine you are a space alien from the Planet Xelziga. You land somewhere in North America and turn on your television monitoring system. As you attempt to learn the basics about human behavior, you m…
How To Choose Safe and Effective Over-The-Counte…
Americans love to play doctor. And the FDA has made it easy. That’s because the agency has allowed Pharma companies to switch many Rx drugs to OTC in a big way. We spend $33 billion on over-the-coun…
Will Valerian Help You Sleep Better?
Who has not had the experience of tossing and turning, unable to fall asleep? Anxiety about a new job or an upcoming trip often keeps people awake for a few days. Others find that ruminating about rel…
Do You Absorb Magnesium from Your Armpits?
Milk of magnesia is a time-honored medicine to treat constipation. But that is not the only use for this versatile compound. We first heard about using milk of magnesia in the armpits to suppress odor…
Can Magnesium Help You Sleep Without Causing Dia…
Have you seen warnings that too little sleep will ruin your health? Sleep deprivation keeps the brain from functioning optimally (Slama et al, Sleep, Dec. 2017). It can also lead to insulin resistance…