Which TYPE of Insomnia do you suffer from?

Generally speaking, there are three types of insomnia that have been identified by the medical community.


What follows below is the identification of each type and a quick description.

1) TRANSIENT INSOMNIA
Duration: days to weeks
Causes: an illness or disorder, changes in the sleep environment, changes in timing of sleep, severe depression, stress, anxiety, jet lag
Effects: daytime sleepiness, fatigue, reduced psycho-motor functioning, irritability, reduced ability to perform creative tasks

2) ACUTE INSOMNIA
Duration: three weeks to six months
Causes: a disorder or illness, clinical depression, anxiety disorder, stress, a lack of calcium and magnesium, poor eating habits, eating too close to bedtime, unhealthy diet
Effects: fatigue, irritability, reduced cognitive functioning, daytime sleepiness, reduced energy for professional and social activities

3) CHRONIC INSOMNIA
Duration: six months to years (sometimes even 5, 10, 15 or 20 years)
Causes: a disease or illness such as hypoglycemia, muscle aches, indigestion, breathing problems, physical pain, stress, grief, clinical depression, anxiety disorder, caffeine consumption; the use of certain medications including:

a) the common decongestant pseudo-ephedrine, which is found in most cold and allergy medications

b) most appetite suppressants

c) many antidepressants

d) beta-blockers, which are drugs used to treat high blood pressure and heart ailments

e) thyroid hormone replacement drugs
*Insomnia may be the primary disorder or may be a secondary illness.
Effects: fatigue, drowsiness, muscular pain, mental fatigue, irritability, depression, reduced daily functioning, compromised productivity; often causes relationship and/or marital problems; contributes to other health problems

insomnia

Insomnia

Posted by admin on January 7th, 2011 under 5 HTPTags: , , ,  • No Comments

What are the side-effects of Ambian (Zolpidem)?

Why is Zolpidem prescribed?


Zolpidem is used to treat insomnia (difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep). Zolpidem belongs to a class of medications called sedative-hypnotics. It works by slowing activity in the brain to allow sleep.

How should this medicine be used?

Zolpidem comes as a tablet and an extended-release (long-acting) tablet to take by mouth. It is usually taken as needed at bedtime. Zolpidem will work faster if it is not taken with a meal or immediately after a meal. Follow the directions on your prescription label carefully, and ask your doctor or pharmacist to explain any part you do not understand. Take zolpidem exactly as directed.

You will probably become very sleepy soon after you take zolpidem and will remain sleepy for some time after you take the medication. Plan to go to bed right after you take zolpidem and to stay in bed for 7-8 hours. Do not take zolpidem if you will be unable to remain asleep for 7-8 hours after taking the medication. If you get up too soon after taking zolpidem, you may experience memory problems.

Swallow the extended release tablets whole; do not split, chew, or crush them.

Your sleep problems should improve within 7-10 days after you start taking zolpidem. Call your doctor if your sleep problems do not improve during this time or if they get worse at any time during your treatment.

Zolpidem should normally be taken for short periods of time. If you take zolpidem for 2 weeks or longer, zolpidem may not help you sleep as well as it did when you first began to take the medication. If you take zolpidem for a long time, you also may develop dependence (‘addiction,’ a need to continue taking the medication) on zolpidem. Talk to your doctor about the risks of taking zolpidem for 2 weeks or longer. Do not take a larger dose of zolpidem, take it more often, or take it for a longer time than prescribed by your doctor.

Do not stop taking zolpidem without talking to your doctor, especially if you have taken it for longer than 2 weeks. If you suddenly stop taking zolpidem, you may develop unpleasant feelings or you may experience more severe withdrawal symptoms such as shakiness, stomach and muscle cramps, vomiting, sweating, and rarely, seizures.

You may have more difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep on the first night after you stop taking zolpidem than you did before you started taking the medication. This is normal and usually gets better without treatment after one or two nights.

Your doctor or pharmacist will give you the manufacturer’s patient information sheet (Medication Guide) when you begin treatment with zolpidem and each time you refill your prescription. Read the information carefully and ask your doctor or pharmacist if you have any questions. You can also visit the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) website (http://www.fda.gov/downloads/Drugs/DrugSafety/ucm089833.pdf) or the manufacturer’s website to obtain the Medication Guide.

Other uses for this medicine

This medication may be prescribed for other uses; ask your doctor or pharmacist for more information.

What side effects can this medication cause?

Zolpidem may cause side effects. Tell your doctor if any of these symptoms are severe or do not go away:

  • drowsiness
  • weakness
  • headache
  • dizziness
  • ‘drugged feeling’

Some side effects can be serious. If you experience any of the following symptoms, call your doctor immediately:

  • rash
  • hives
  • itching
  • swelling of the eyes, face, lips, tongue, or throat
  • feeling that the throat is closing
  • difficulty breathing or swallowing
  • hoarseness
  • shortness of breath
  • nausea
  • vomiting
  • pounding heartbeat
  • chest pain
  • blurred vision or other vision problems

Zolpidem may cause other side effects. Call your doctor if you have any unusual problems while you are taking this medication.

Zolpidem

Posted by admin on January 7th, 2011 under Ambian-Zolpidem, General UpdatesTags: , , ,  • No Comments

Binaural Beats- Find your rhythm.

There are endless reasons that people choose to meditate, for some it’s just a habit they’ve developed to help them start the day, but for others it’s their only way of reducing stress and tension in their lives.

There are tools that help with meditation, some like to listen to a binaural beat to give them an extra boost to reaching the desired state of mind.
Listening to a binaural beat speeds up the process of meditation, especially for those just getting started or who have a hard time concentrating.

Binaural beats use sounds of different frequencies to help stimulate various parts of the brain.  Different frequencies can be used to target pain, promote relaxation, or help ease the brain into an alpha state of mind (where it is most efficient).

Usually there will be two frequencies played, one going into each ear, and the brain will then create it’s own frequency to balance out the other two that are already playing.  This is how different parts of the brain can be targeted and encouraged to work in a different way.

Because the mind has to be in a specific frequency to experience true meditation the binaural beats are especially effective for those on the run or that don’t have hours a day to devote to meditation.  The frequencies are often hidden in other sounds, so they’re easy to listen to.  One of the greatest things about learning to use binaural beats is that they can be taken anywhere and used at any time.

BINAURAL BEATS

Posted by admin on January 5th, 2011 under Binaural BeatsTags: , ,  • No Comments

How Can I Finally Get A Decent Night’s Sleep?

Alteril can help you beat insomnia!

Most of us have nights when, no matter what we do, we can’t fall asleep. You know the drill. They’re those nights when you’ve got so many things on your mind. You’re worked up, maybe from stress, or money. Maybe there’s street noise and it’s keeping you up. Maybe you had a cup of coffee after dinner, and you’re actually stressed about it, because you recognize your body’s response to caffeine at night, and you’re thinking that you won’t sleep because of it.

There are those of us that have chronic insomnia. This is a sleep disorder that stays with a patient for life. You’d be surprised though, that more often than not, your sleepless nights, be they trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, waking up early or waking up groggy, are within your control. Let’s take a moment to analyze some of the leading causes of sleeplessness, and if they’re influencing the issues you’re having.

In fact, many of the leading causes of sleeplessness are completely within our control. Drinking coffee within several hours of sleeping is obviously not a good idea, as coffee is a source of caffeine. Depending on your physiology, you might also do well to avoid tea, and even decaffeinated tea, as they also have caffeine, albeit in smaller quantities.

Alcoholic beverages are also best avoided, as alcohol, contrary to popular belief, is a stimulant. Having a few beers before bed might make you pass out, but it will certainly affect the quality of your sleep, and you’ll more than likely wake up groggy, while wine and other alcoholic beverages can keep you from falling asleep at all.

Sleeping Habits

Sleeping habits also play a key role in determining your ability to sleep. Circadian rhythm is your body’s internal clock, which among other things, determines your instinct to sleep, and conversely, when to rise. Going to bed and getting up at different times can make it difficult for your body to set its schedule, contributing to bouts of sleeplessness.

There are, of course, issues beyond our control, that can affect our sleep. Stress is a leading contributor to sleepless nights. There is no getting around this, whether it’s related to money issues, your job, relationships or other situations in your life that has you up nights. Depression is another leading cause of sleeplessness that can’t be understated. These are issues that we all face, and while we often can’t remove the causes of stress and depression from our lives, we can control how we respond to them. Exercise, stress management, counselling and/or medication, when appropriate, can alleviate the symptoms of stress and depression and reduce the likelihood they’ll keep you from sleeping.

You can minimize your sleepless nights by maintaining a fixed sleeping schedule. This means going to bed and waking at the same time every night. Challenging as this might be, by setting a routine you allow your body to strengthen its circadian rhythm, making it easier to sleep and rise. This will also have a positive effect on your sleep quality. You’ll feel refreshed after sleeping.

And you won’t be cranky…

Use only for sex and sleep

You can also make your bedroom a conducive sleeping environment. Use your bed only for sex and sleep, and resist the urge to read or watch TV in bed. Keep your bedroom dark and cool. A good set of curtains or heavy blinds should block light, particularly in the summer months, when the sun sets later in the evening and rises early.

Some people find that the noise from a fan helps them sleep as well.

Now, for those nights when, no matter what you try, you just can’t sleep. Keep your alarm clock display out of sight, so you’re not tempted to look at it. If you’re not sleeping after half an hour, get up and do something. Reading is a good choice here, as it’s not overly stimulating and keeps you focused. Then go back to bed. Still not sleeping? Try a few more times. If it persists longer than a few hours, get up.

In situations like this, the body needs tough love. Yes it’s highly unpleasant going through the day without sleep, but by doing so you’re making your body and brain even more tired. You will sleep again, this much is certain. By denying yourself sleep on these difficult nights you’re raising your sleep deprivation. And very soon, your only instinct will be to sleep!

Then, once you’ve gone through your unpleasant, sleep-deprived day, do the following things.

Eat your dinner at least three hours before bed, so your body has time to digest the meal before you start shutting down for the night. Refrain from excessive alcohol (this varies according to the individual, but more than two drinks several hours before bed is probably pushing it). Don’t drink coffee, caffeinated soft drinks like Coke, or even tea.

About two hours before bed, take Alteril, an all-natural sleeping aid that contains melatonin, a sleep inducer found in warm milk that encourages sleep. Yet because the ingredients are natural, Alteril doesn’t come with the dangerous side effects associated with sleeping pills, including dependance and withdrawal symptoms.

Stick to low-stimuli activities before bed. No action or horror movies. No reviewing money issues or watching sports. Just keep it light. Reading is good. So is light conversation, or surfing the net.

Then, assuming you’ve got eight hours before your alarm is scheduled to ring, go to bed.

You will sleep very, very well.

Get to the bottom line

The bottom line when trying to beat sleeplessness is to manage what you can control. Don’t drink caffeine or alcohol, eat large meals or deal with stressful issues before bed. Go to bed and rise at the same time every day, including on weekends. Make your bedroom a sleeping environment, dark and cool, and use your bed only for sex and sleep. Take a natural sleeping aid like Alteril for short-term sleeping problems, avoid prescription sleeping pills, and consult with your doctor in the unlikely event that your sleeping issues last longer than a month.

By managing the factors that influence your sleeping patterns and taking a safe and proven sleeping aid like Alteril to ensure you get a good night’s rest when you need it most, you’re setting healthy sleeping habits that will see you through the highs and lows of life that, whether stressful or not, will have you sleeping soundly.

Posted by admin on January 6th, 2011 under Natural Insomnia CuresTags: , ,  • No Comments

Is Garlic A Good Natural Sleep Aid?

Alternative herbal medicines are being used by many in today’s societies to promote a healthy lifestyle. Despite the availability of modern medical treatment methods, many are still opting for the natural healing method to avoid side-effects and getting as much savings as possible from the treatment.

In most cases, herbal products today vary according to their formulation and functions. Most of the ones you see today are carefully formulated for weight loss. Some comes in the form of diet supplements to give the body enough energy to last the day, as well as to build up the immune system to ward of any signs of ailments easily.

Why Go For Herbal Medicines?

Herbal medicines are proven to be safe by many doctors and medical experts today. It is formulated with 100% natural ingredients that have no side-effects in the body unless taken in large doses outside the boundaries of the prescription. Since the ingredients are mostly from plant and animal extracts, they are cheaper compared to synthetic medicines developed by pharmaceutical companies today.

One of the advantages of using herbal medicine is that it promotes the natural healing method. Unlike synthetic drugs that only affect a specific part of our body or only address one type of health problem, herbal medicines are formulated to boost every single function in the human anatomy.

If you see that one herbal product is for weight loss, then you can be sure that it has some extra ingredients that has other functions that is related to weight loss — like hunger suppressant, added nutrients, and so on. To add to your knowledge about herbal medicines, here are some examples of the famous ones being used today.

The Ever-Popular Garlic for curing insomnia?

Garlic is one of the most potent herbal medicines used as home remedies today. It has the most number of uses compared to other plants used in herbal products. Aside from being a useful kitchen spice for a great recipe, garlic can also be used to keep you heart and liver healthy. They are great for the common cold and offer a tasty brew when used as a health drink.

One of the medicinal qualities of Garlic is its ability to treat heart problems. It is a common remedy for people with high-blood pressure, lower cholesterol levels, and reduces the risk of heart attacks. Many also use garlic as an anti-bacterial agent for many skin conditions.

Green Tea Leaves

The Green Tea Leaves you see in the market today is actually a potent herbal medicine if used correctly. Drinking it at least twice a day can help oxidize your fat to make it easier for your body to burn. This a great dietary supplement for people who are suffering from overweight or obesity with high cholesterol levels.

Many say that Green Tea Leaves also has a calming effect that is perfect for those who are always under the mercy of stress. Its extracts has the ability to get rid of nasty toxins in our body that usually cause signs of aging to appear on our face or in other parts of the body. You can either take them as tea or buy them as pills.

There are other alternative herbal medicines used to promote a healthy body. Keep in mind that you have to be specific with what you want for your treatment before using them to avoid complications. Just make sure that it is from a credible medical or pharmaceutical company, as well as follow the exact prescription or dosage to ensure that you won’t be having any problems with it during and after use.

Posted by admin on March 27th, 2012 under 5 HTPTags: , , , , ,  • No Comments

 

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