Insomnia Medications Can Help Reset Internal Clock
For many people insomnia is an occasional nuisance, causing them to lose sleep for a night or two while for others it is an ongoing problem. For occasional insomnia, medications sold over the counter can help a person fall asleep and stay asleep throughout the night, however side effects of some of these medications may cause other problems. Additionally, taking insomnia medications can mask other, more serious sleep disturbances.
Typically, insomnia is described as the inability to fall asleep and stay asleep, and some of the common causes include stress and pain. Several different insomnia medications can help the person get to sleep. However, some of them can create a dependency on the medications after long-term use. Additionally, some of the over the counter insomnia medications contain antihistamines that can cause a negative interaction with any other medications being taken.
Some of the newer insomnia medications on the market work well in helping people fall asleep quickly but during tests many were waking up in the middle of the night. They were then reformulated for an extended release of the medication to allow them to remain asleep throughout the night. One of the cautions that come with many of the current crop of medications is that the person should have the time to sleep at least seven or eight hours as getting up sooner could cause sleepiness during the day.
Some Medications Target Cause Instead Of Symptom
In most cases insomnia is a symptom of other problems and taking insomnia medications that are aimed at the problem can be better than simply taking a sleeping pill. For example, one medication is aimed at the sleep cycle and not at depressing the central nervous system. This helps reset the circadian clock without the threat of being abused and has shown to be safe for long-term use.
Antidepressants may be prescribed as one of the insomnia medications for those who have trouble sleeping due to stress or depression. The medication treats the depression, which in turn usually helps the person fall asleep faster. Some of the older insomnia medications were designed to stay in the system longer and are used for sleep disorders such as sleep walking and night terror.
These drugs can cause sleepiness during the day as well as create a dependency where the person will always need them to fall asleep. These insomnia medications are not available over the counter and should not be taken unless directed by your doctor.
