More Must be Done to Combat Insomnia and Other Sleep Disorders

One of the most common sleep disorders is insomnia.  Many people have had episodes of not being to sleep at night in varying degrees. Studies have shown that 25% of adults are in the borderline of having insomnia.  When one is suffering from insomnia, the effects on life and work would sometimes be devastating. The lack of sleep causes fatigue, lack of concentration, mood swings and other disturbing personality changes. This in turn creates a ripple effect towards one’s relationships, work life and life in general.

Those who have sleep disorders may have a chronic situation. There are long-time victims. Depression and anxiety are more common with insomniacs. Plus they are more prone to develop heart failure, diabetes and other life-threatening illnesses. Insomniacs are also at risk to drug and alcohol abuse. Although the condition is dangerous, insomnia is most of the time ignored and no remedy is made to correct the condition. A study about chronic insomnia states that physician should include sleep practices by patients to see if it is an underlying cause of diseases.

Sleep specialists have expressed the need to remedy and recognize if a person is an insomniac.  They also stressed that treatment should be in line with proven effective methods.  Chronic insomnia must not be treated with anti-depressants or antihistamines. There is no known pill that can remedy such situation at this point in time.

There are two therapies that are recognized by the U.S.National Institute of Health (NIH) for sleep disorders. Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and hypnotic drugs have been validated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as acceptable treatments. They have had good results in the treatment of insomnia.

Cognitive behavioural therapy, more popularly known as CBT, utilizes techniques on relaxation, sleep habit changes, stimulus application and other sleep-related activities like food intake, exercise regimen and the environment especially the bedroom. This therapy has no adverse effect with lasting results.

Reviews have shown that there is a pressing need for public information campaigns about insomnia and the effective therapies. Over the counter pills are frowned upon by sleep disorders experts and should not be used as remedy.  Health care practitioners should be trained to handle insomnia problems and recommend approved therapies. People can obtain more information from the American Sleep Association.