There are millions of people around the world who struggle with sleeping problems, but fortunately, there are many treatments available. But before popping on those pills, one must think that treatment for sleeping problems really depends on the specific issue that needs to be resolved. For example, if a person is simply trying to reduce how much he or she snores, using specially designed pillows and breathing strips may just do the trick. If a person is not getting enough sleep, there are both natural sleep aids and sleep medications that can help induce sleep. However, there are more medications readily available for all those people who constantly battle with sleepless nights.
Sleep disorders such as insomnia can be naturally relieved with herbal teas, infusions, and baths. Professional herbalists do not prescribe herbs simply to treat symptoms such as insomnia. They do so in order to correct the imbalances within the body that cause those symptoms. Sedative herbs such as hops and valerian are very popular sleep aids used to relax the nervous system so that one can enjoy natural, restorative sleep. Each herb contains a variety of active constituents and has a main action and several subsidiary actions which determine the conditions for which it is most appropriate. Recent increased interest in the areas of complementary and alternative medicine shows it is virtually risk free and has a wide range of treatment options worth exploring.
Over-the-counter or OTC drugs are one of the common sleep aid treatments that a lot of drugstores offer in a wide range of choices. But people are more likely to consider the possibility of drug interactions and the high risk of sleep aid side effects each time they think of using OTC or prescription drugs.
Just recently, a report from the New York Times stated that two popular sleeping aids have been demonstrating extremely odd side effects. The reports said that there were some users of the most widely prescribed drugs in the market today which started complaining online and to their doctors about unusual reactions ranging from fairly benign sleepwalking episodes to hallucinations, violent outbursts, nocturnal binge eating, and the most troubling of all, driving while asleep.
Sleep medicines may cause a special type of memory loss or “amnesia.” When this occurs, a person may not remember what has happened for several hours after taking the medicine. But it is always safe to talk to a doctor if a person is experiencing memory problems because of the sleeping pills.
The recent reports of strange and dangerous sleep aid side effects associated with leading conventional sleep medications have awakened Americans to the risks of prescription and OTC drugs. Drugmakers are now revising the labels on the two popular sleep aids to warn that these sleeping pills might result in unusual and destructive behavior.
There are many unconventional options available to try in conjunction with or in place of conventional OTC or prescription drugs. Acupuncture, reflexology, chiropractic, relaxation, meditation, homeopathic and herbal medicines are just a few to choose from and one can be sure that there are no unusual sleep aid side effects that will happen to them.