Can’t sleep? Finding alternatives to prescription sleep aids

      “If people count sheep when they can’t sleep, what do sheep count?”  That may be an old joke, but insomnia is no laughing matter. 

     People today sleep 20% less than they did 100 years ago.  More than half of Americans lose sleep due to stress or anxiety, with more than 30% of our population suffering from insomnia.  To combat this, approximately 10 million people in the United States use prescription sleep aids (better-sleep-better-life.com).

     But a recent NBC TODAY piece by Linda Carroll asked if we are too reliant on prescription medications for sleeplessness and pain.  The report stated that Americans are taking more prescription medications than ever – with a full five million prescriptions being written each year for sleep aids. 

     “We seem to be a country that turns to drugs for solutions more than many other industrialized, wealthy countries do,” said Dr. Jerry Avorn, an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and chief of the division of pharmacoepidemiology and pharmacoeconomics at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, in his interview with Carroll in the same Today segment.

     Avorn says drug advertising is a big part of the problem.  In the 1990’s when it became legal for drug makers to advertise, the demand for prescription medications skyrocketed.

     “That created this sense on the part of many patients that, ‘Oh, I saw that ad on television, I think I should be on that medicine,” Avorn stated. 

     “I think it is a dual problem,” Dr. Gail Saltz commented to Today’s Hoda Koth.  Speaking of advertised meds, she stated, “Patients are quick to ask for them and doctors are quick to give them.  And some doctors are giving them who are not doing the kind of evaluation that you would hope for.”  The problem she added is that some of these drugs can lead to dependence.  Saltz is a TODAY contributor and associate professor of psychiatry at The New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill – Cornell School of Medicine.

     “In many cases patients would be better served if they got behavior therapy instead of drugs.  So, people with insomnia would be taught good sleep hygiene instead of being given a prescription,” Saltz continued.

        Nina Kate, writing for organicauthority.com gave a list of ways to produce good sleeping habits without medication.  Here are a few:

• Create a relaxing environment – making sure your room is dark, hide your clocks and possibly running a fan for soothing sounds.
• Abstain from alcohol before bedtime.
• Cut out afternoon caffeine.
• Take a warm bath before bed, or relax with meditation.

     Another approach, used and recommended by others for dealing with the stress that often produces insomnia is gratitude.  “Under affliction in the very depths, stop and contemplate what you have to be grateful for” Christian healer Mary Baker Eddy once said (The Mary Baker Eddy Collection). 

     Recent studies by University of California -Davis psychology professor Robert Emmons confirm the importance of gratitude.  “Gratitude research is beginning to suggest that feelings of thankfulness have tremendous positive value in helping people cope with daily problems, especially stress,” Emmons told WebMD.

   “Leslie Sann (Living by Design) encourages people to practice joy, resilience, strength and, especially, gratitude. She has authored the guidebook, The Art of Spiritual Resilience.

     In her recent blog, Happy for my Happy (www.lesliesann.com), she talked about gratitude as the great transformer.  She shared this experience: “I opened my email last night and there was an unexpected request that knocked me off balance.  I found my stomach rolling and a deep anxiety arising in me.  The email made an unclear request, and how I am to respond was uncertain to me.  In the face of the unknown, fear was triggered.”

     She continued, “In bed that night I found myself rolling around in the disturbance and I fell into it completely.  Holding myself close with my loving attention I reminded myself that life is FOR me and this too is an opportunity and a gift, even if I don’t know what it might be.  I COULD choose to be grateful for my current discomfort.  And so I was.…I was calmed and able to fall asleep.”

     She finished with this counsel, “Even in the midst of adversity, even if what is going on is not what we want to be experiencing, we can trust our ability to meet every challenge with resilience, courage and strength when we choose an attitude of gratitude.”

     Can’t sleep?  Gratitude can help tackle the anxiety that keeps us awake.

Thomas (Tim) Mitchinson is a self-syndicated health columnist and media representative for Christian Science in Illinois