America is tired. We are not falling asleep without prescriptions or sleeping nearly as much as we want or need to. It’s a national epidemic. Sleep deprivation triggers anxiety and anxiety triggers sleep disorders like dizziness, disorientation, confusion, long-term memory loss. 70,000,000 Americans are struggling with sleep disorders who are spending $41,000,000,000 (yes, that’s right, “billion”) dollars a year on sleep inducers.
Doctors are concerned. Ironically, it is they who are sounding the alarm about both our addiction to prescription sleeping pills and the false promise they beget. No? Are you relying on Ambien? Lunesta? Over the counter sleep aids?
If so, did you know?
- The majority of people using sleeping pills are women. This may have something to do with their multitasking brains that require 20 more minutes of deep rest.
- The very doctors writing sleep prescriptions are same ones verbally instructing us not use them every night.
- Taking symptom-based (Ambien, Lunesta . . .) pills nightly is a prescription for dependence.
- Despite warning labels, people take them with other dangerous prescription combinations.
- One of the most overused, over the counter solutions, the antihistamine Diphenhydramine (Benadryl), induces sleep by blocking cellular histamine receptors after crossing the blood-brain barrier.
- Though diphenhydramine relaxes adults it can stimulate children.
- Chronic use of pharmaceutical sleep medications can actually lessen your deep REM sleep.
- Pharmaceutical sleeping pills do not deal with the underlying issues. They are a band-aid solution with all of the “earmarks of addiction” waiting to happen.
- Did you know that insomnia can also be triggered by goji berries, salami, red wine, sugar and other refined carbohydrates?