INSOMNIA: prolonged and usually abnormal inability to obtain adequate sleep -- called also agrypnia.
An estimated 60% of Americans deal with sleeplessness at least occasionally. The number of hours you sleep doesn't matter so long as you feel well rested. If you habitually can't sleep and don't feel well rested, a professional may be needed to determine if there are underlying factors, such as anemia, an infection, sleep- disturbing medications, or sleep apnea (in which sleep is disturbed by improper breathing -- transient cessation of respiration whether normal (as in hibernating animals) or abnormal (as that caused by certain drugs). If no physical problem explains your insomnia, you may just need to retrain your body and mind. Sleeping well is a habit. 4 out of 10 insomniacs get a good night's sleep on placebos (sugar pills that they think are sleeping pills).
DRUG TREATMENT: For the desperate, there are prescription sleeping pills -- barbiturates and benzodiazepines. These drugs can depress brain function, have unwanted side effects, and can be addicting and cause crises on withdrawal. They also tend to lose effectiveness after about two weeks of continuous use, so users must keep increasing the dose. That means increasing the buildup of metabolites (byproducts of the drug's active ingredients), along with hangover-like side effects. Elderly people branded as senile may actually be suffering from the side effects of these drugs. The sleep they induce is drug like, with insufficient time spent dreaming; and withdrawal can lead to rebound insomnia and other side effects, including anxiety, restlessness, headache, tremors, and visual disturbances. Prescription sleeping pills can be fatal in people with certain health problems, and you can't necessarily tell ahead of time who is susceptible. The drugs can also be fatal if mixed with other drugs, or with narcotics or alcohol.
NATURAL REMEDY: A safe natural remedy is melatonin, a hormone secreted by the pineal gland when darkness falls. Besides being effective in inducing sleep and combating jet lag, melatonin seems to have immune-stimulating and anti-aging properties. 10% of insomniacs report no effects from its use, and another 10% complain of side-effects including nightmares, headaches, morning grogginess, mild depression, and low sex drive. Anecdotal evidence also suggests that melatonin works better for men than women. It is not recommended for habitual use by people under 40.
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