Treatments for Insomnia and Insomnia Relief

Insomnia treatments aim to provide cures for insomnia, or at least some measure of insomnia relief. Treatments for insomnia range from behavioral changes, medication and education to hypnosis.

In many cases, insomnia is a symptom of some underlying condition. In order to provide long-lasting insomnia relief, treatment must address the underlying cause. When no underlying cause is evident, treatment for insomnia aims to reduce sleep disruption as much as possible.

Changes in lifestyle and sleep habits may provide insomnia relief, and are usually considered before medication or behavioral therapy. Sometimes cures for insomnia require changes in basic sleep hygiene. People looking for insomnia relief should:

Nutrition and insomnia may be related and changes to one's diet can provide insomnia relief for some people. If heartburn or GERD causes insomnia, eating smaller evening meals and avoiding foods that cause heartburn can provide insomnia relief.

If attempts to improve sleep hygiene fail to relieve insomnia, behavioral therapy may help. Behavioral treatments for insomnia aim to change how individuals perceive sleep and how well they control their sleep environment.

Many people living with insomnia develop negative thoughts centered around their inability to sleep. Anxiety over one's inability to sleep can worsen symptoms of insomnia. Cognitive behavioral therapy provides insomnia relief by helping people change their thoughts and attitudes towards sleep.

Sleep restriction therapy provides some people with insomnia relief. Instead of lying awake in bed for long periods, people practicing sleep restriction therapy get up if they have not gone to sleep within thirty minutes. Once they get out of bed they do something relaxing, such as deep slow breathing, reading or anything that does not stimulate them. Once they feel sleepy, they return to bed and try to sleep again.

Sleep restriction treatments for insomnia aim to reduce the anxiety of lying awake in bed. Over time, people undergoing sleep restriction become tired and sleepier earlier in the evening and fall asleep more easily, which brings insomnia relief.

Sleep restriction is one of the more intensive cures for insomnia. As people become very tired on a sleep restriction regime, driving and other activities where alertness is required for safety should be restricted until the person begins to experience insomnia relief and sleeps on a regular schedule.

Stimulus control may also provide insomnia relief, and aims to make the bedroom as conducive to sleep as possible. This may involve changing pillows, preventing light from entering the room and controlling the room's temperature. To promote sleep, the bedroom should be used only for sleeping and sexual activity: TV watching, reading or other activities should be kept out of the bedroom.

Treatments for insomnia may include medication, although drug therapy is rarely used for long-term insomnia relief. Cures for insomnia more often rely on changes to lifestyle and treating underlying causes.

When treatments for insomnia include medication, several drug options are available. Nonbenzodiazepine sedatives such as eszopiclone, zolpidem, and zaleplon work quickly and are non-addictive, so are often the first choices for short-term insomnia relief.

Hypnotics are potent insomnia medications that are used only for short-term relief in selected cases. Hypnotics are powerful medications that disrupt overall sleep quality, cause daytime drowsiness and are highly addictive.

Insomnia medications taken over long periods can exacerbate insomnia symptoms. This is especially true of over-the-counter sleeping pills. Over time, the body builds up a resistance to the medication and larger doses are required for insomnia relief. This, coupled with the addiction risk of many sleeping pills, restricts the usefulness of most medicinal "cures" for insomnia.

Melatonin is a hormone released at night by the brain's pineal gland. Melatonin appears to control the body's sleep cycle, and decreases with age.

The prescription drug Ramelteon stimulates melatonin receptors in the brain, promoting sleep. Melatonin supplements have been touted as treatments for insomnia, although clinical trials are needed to confirm that supplementing melatonin aids in insomnia relief.

Hypnosis has been used as an insomnia treatment. In addition to insomnia hypnosis, progressive relaxation techniques are used to relax the body and mind prior to sleep, and may provide some people with insomnia relief.

Up to one third of people in the US exhibit signs of insomnia and many institutes are devoted to the study of sleep. New insomnia treatments and possible cures for insomnia are constantly being tested in clinical trials and studies. The more medical science learns about the nature of sleep, the sooner people seeking insomnia relief can have a good night's rest.

eMedicine Health (2007). Insomnia. Retrieved July 5, 2007, from the eMedicine Health Web site: http://www.emedicinehealth.com/insomnia/article_em.htm.