Healthy Notes » sleep aid http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog Helpful Hints For Living Well Mon, 02 Jan 2012 19:43:52 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 Ambien Overdose Information http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2011/10/ambien-overdose-information/ http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2011/10/ambien-overdose-information/#comments Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:05:13 +0000 admin http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/?p=131 AmbienOverdose.org is valuable repository of information on experiences people have had with Ambien. If you have something you’d like to share, please visit the Tell Us Your Story page on it’s site. All stories on Ambien Overdose are written, posted, and owned by it’s visitors.

At my Healthy Notes blog I am committed to finding natural alternatives to traditional pharmaceuticals. So I wanted to give mention to this website. Natural sleep aids are best!

]]> http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2011/10/ambien-overdose-information/feed/ 0 Want to Lose Weight? Try Sleeping! http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2011/10/want-to-lose-weight-try-sleeping/ http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2011/10/want-to-lose-weight-try-sleeping/#comments Fri, 07 Oct 2011 07:03:44 +0000 admin http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/?p=3 Sounds pretty simple doesn’t it? Then why do so many of us view regular sleep as something that is really not all that important? I’ll just make up the sleep on the weekend, or on my next vacation, we say. Well, unfortunately studies are showing it just does not work like that when it comes to sleep. A sleep deficit cannot be made up by getting an occasional complete night sleep. Sleep must come in a natural, regular and consistent pattern to achieve the desired results. We spend millions of dollars on diets, vitamins, medicine, and on doctors for our health. But, we ignore the most important and most simple thing. Good Sleep.

Our modern world in is a very sleep deprived society, and a very obese society. The average night’s sleep has decreased from about nine hours in 1910 to about 7.5 hours in 1975, a trend that continues. More than half of people over 50 complain about not getting enough quality sleep. If things are busy at work the first thing that we often sacrifice is our sleep time. Meanwhile our population just keeps getting fatter.

How does this relate to weight loss? All of the body and brains natural ability to heal, rebuild, and recover are done during sleep. With a lack of sleep all of our natural bodily functions start to slow down dramatically including your metabolism. Your metabolism is responsible for speeding up the digestion of food out of your system. The slower your metabolic rate the more your body hangs on to unneeded calories and fat. There are hundreds of products on the market designed to help with speeding up our metabolism, but the easiest and healthiest thing we can do burn more calories is to get serious about getting our sleep patterns normal.

So, what is the best solution? First and foremost is allocating the necessary time to sleep. Second is the ability to get good sleep during this period. If that is not a problem for you than consider yourself lucky. Millions of us would like to sleep better at night but just cannot seem to turn our brains off. What is the best insomnia cure? Doctors will prescribe pharmaceutical sleeping pills, but do we really want to be on prescription sleeping drugs the rest of our lives? I know I don’t. The best and safest solution is to find a really good natural sleep aid that works for you. Some sleep aids these days will offer money back guarantees, so you can try them without financial risk. A safe and effective natural sleeping pill will usually contain nutrients like melatonin, valerian root, hops, and other natural sleeping aids. There are several very good natural sleeping aids available online. With all we do to try to lose weight these days don’t overlook the importance and effectiveness of a good nights sleep.

]]> http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2011/10/want-to-lose-weight-try-sleeping/feed/ 8 Sleep Apnea http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/09/sleep-apnea/ http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/09/sleep-apnea/#comments Tue, 28 Sep 2010 20:42:58 +0000 admin http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/?p=626 Sleep apnea is a very common condition in which you have pauses in breathing or shallow breathing when sleeping. These breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to a couple minutes. They can occur in some sufferers 5 to 30 times or even more each hour. Normal breathing usually will naturally start again, sometimes with a loud choking sound.

Sleep apnea usually is a chronic condition that can disrupt your sleep. People often move out of deep sleep and into light sleep when your breathing pauses or becomes shallow. Being that deep sleep is not maintained; the result is poor sleep quality that makes you tired the next day. Sleep apnea is one of the leading causes of lack off good sleep quality.

Since it happens in the middle of the night, sleep apnea often goes undiagnosed. Doctors usually can’t detect the condition during routine office visits. Also, there are no blood tests for the condition. To accurately diagnose it a person must be monitored during their natural sleep. Most people who have sleep apnea don’t know they have it because it only occurs during sleep. A sleeping partner may first notice the signs of sleep apnea. So it is possible that one may have this condition for many years without ever being aware.

]]> http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/09/sleep-apnea/feed/ 4 The Sleep Aid Tryptophan http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/the-sleep-aid-tryptophan/ http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/the-sleep-aid-tryptophan/#comments Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:35:47 +0000 admin http://www.guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/?p=601 Until 1990 tryptophan was by far the most popular natural sleep aid on the market. In 1990 the United States Food and Drug Administration pulled all tryptophan from store shelves due to a sudden outbreak of eosinophilic-myalgia syndrome that occurred among some people who had taken the sleep aid. Once the United States banned the nutrient many other countries soon followed. Ultimately almost five thousand people reported getting sick and twenty seven people died from the serious illness. The symptoms included muscle pain, weakness, and severe joint pain. A lengthy investigation determined that the problem was a contaminated batch that was manufactured by a Japanese company called Showa Denko KK, which had recently changed a production process to incorporate genetically engineered bacteria.  The ban remained in effect until 2001.

In February of 2001, the FDA removed the ban on selling tryptophan, but kept an importation restriction.  This is the statement that they released:

“Based on the scientific evidence that is available at the present time, we cannot determine with certainty that the occurrence of EMS in susceptible persons consuming L-tryptophan supplements derives from the content of L-tryptophan, an impurity contained in the L-tryptophan, or a combination of the two in association with other, as yet unknown, external factors.”

Since 2002, tryptophan has been available again in the United States and no reports of Eosinophilic-myalgia syndrome have been reported.  There are definitely manufacturing companies currently making high quality tryptophans. I believe it is safe. It is a precursor of the sleep-inducing substances serotonin and melatonin. This means it is the raw material that the brain uses to build these relaxing neurotransmitters. By taking it in supplement form we are making more available to produce the neurotransmitters that are used to induce deep sleep.

Melatonin is currently the most popular and well respected of the natural sleeping  aids available. It is a more direct precursor to serotonin than is tryptophan. Melatonin is also much cheaper. I almost always will recommend melatonin to my clients as the first thing to try to resolve sleep problems naturally. But one thing I have found is that for some reason the people that do not respond well to melatonin can sometimes find it effective. For many people it is a useful natural sleep aid, but tryptophan has never really regained the popularity that it once enjoyed prior to 1990.

]]> http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/the-sleep-aid-tryptophan/feed/ 4 The Sleep Aid Unisom http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/the-sleep-aid-unisom/ http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/the-sleep-aid-unisom/#comments Fri, 20 Aug 2010 03:44:09 +0000 admin http://www.guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/?p=590 Known serious side affects that the sleep aid Unisom may cause include: pounding or irregular heartbeat, hallucinations and confusion, irregular urination, easy bruising or bleeding, and severe dizziness. Severe allergic rash including severe swelling of the face may also occur with the use of this sleep aid. The preceding side effects are serious and should be treated with extreme immediacy. Do not hesitate to contact a doctor if one or multiple serious side effects arise.
As a last resort do not use this sleep aid for more than a few nights in a row. Talk to your doctor about other treatment options such as natural sleep aids that are safer for you if you have long-term insomnia that persists for more than a few nights at a time.

In general the sleep aid Unisom works for many people, if your definition of working is just getting to sleep. Since the drug in Unisom is a very heavy sedative most users will fall asleep quickly.  While Unisom may put those who take it to sleep, Unisom will not provide restful or rejuvenating natural sleep, causing many to wake up more tired than when they went to sleep in the first place and feel groggy through the day.  This can begin a routine of taking the sleep aid to fall asleep, being foggy through the day, and becoming so exhausted that another round of Unisom is needed to get back to sleep. This is why it is important to evaluate the active ingredients and reviews of any sleep aid product you may try. Unlike all natural sleep aid products, Unisom does nothing to promote natural sleep or restful sleep cycles.

]]> http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/the-sleep-aid-unisom/feed/ 5 The Natural Sleep Aid Melatonin http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/the-natural-sleep-aid-melatonin/ http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/the-natural-sleep-aid-melatonin/#comments Sun, 08 Aug 2010 19:39:17 +0000 admin http://www.guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/?p=571

Melatonin is the natural hormone that is released by the pineal gland in the brain in response to darkness.  This hormone is what tells your brain it is time to start getting sleepy. It Helps regulate other hormones in the body and works to maintain the body’s circadian rhythm.  Circadian rhythm is the internal clock that regulates the 24 hour day cycle. Once it becomes dark outside the body will begin to produce more melatonin.

With the invention of the light bulb and particularly florescent lighting that is so bright the natural day and night cycle has been thrown into hormonal confusion. Being exposed to bright lights during the nighttime or to little light during the daytime can greatly effect the body’s melatonin production. Sometimes our modern inventions can lead to unforeseen changes within the body. Then there is the often unnatural work schedules and travel that people are forced to maintain. These factors have lead to levels of melatonin and other natural hormones being much to low to trigger sound sleep.

Much of the research on melatonin has been done on its relation to aging. Young children generally have the highest levels of nighttime melatonin and senior citizens generally have the lowest levels. Many researchers believe that this lower melatonin level is the main reason why so many older adults have sleep problems. There is also a school of thought that says if we add melatonin and other hormones back into out systems through supplementation we can slow down the aging process. Therefore melatonin is often an integral part of any life extension hormonal replacement therapy program.

With the power to change night into day and day into night, and with the crazy work and travel schedules that many people are required to maintain is it really any wonder that our hormonal rhythms are thrown out of whack? No wonder why so many people have such trouble sleeping. The good news is that melatonin is virtually side effect free. I have seen doctors prescribing it to children as young as 4 years old. The key to effective use of this natural sleeping aid is to find the appropriate dosage for you. Most adults find around 3 milligrams to be a good starting dosage.  The trick is to find the dose that induces sleep, but that does not make you feel groggy the next morning.

Melatonin is a truly natural hormone that many people are deficient in. In many cases by supplementing with melatonin we are effectively adding back a vital nutrient that we may be lacking. As far as natural sleep aids go it is probably the first one to try. For many people it works well by itself, but for others it works better when combined with other supporting natural sleeping aids such as valerian and hops.

]]> http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/the-natural-sleep-aid-melatonin/feed/ 16 Why Natural Sleeping Aids? http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/why-natural-sleeping-aids/ http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/why-natural-sleeping-aids/#comments Wed, 04 Aug 2010 18:35:19 +0000 admin http://www.guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/?p=535 Unlike pharmaceutical sleeping aids, natural sleep aids are designed to work with the bodies own chemical structure and hormonal system. Essentially a good natural sleep aid should be adding to the body important nutrients like melatonin and magnesium that our bodies may be lacking. In approaching sleep problems in this manner natural sleep aids will usually result in a much deeper sleep and you will likely feel much better in the morning. Pharmaceutical sleeping aids contain such powerful drugs that they can surely knock you out, but how will you feel the next morning? Many people feel in a tired haze all day. This is not what we want from a sleeping aid. If you do not feel better the next day, then what was the point of the sleeping aid in the first place?

]]> http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/08/why-natural-sleeping-aids/feed/ 20 The Sleep Aid Lunesta http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/07/the-sleep-aid-lunesta/ http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/07/the-sleep-aid-lunesta/#comments Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:11:52 +0000 admin http://www.guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/?p=507 The sleep aid Lunesta Lunesta is one of the most common sleep aids being prescribed in the world. There are some serious side effects to this medication. Below are some recent comments from Lunesta users.

Comment #1

I was initially happy and thrilled, thinking I finally found the answer to my sleep problem. My enthusiasm quickly waned when I noticed that the sleep aid Lunesta is making me feel down all the time. I kept taking the drug, thinking I’d get better with time. After a while I started getting pangs of panic, but kept going hoping that it would get better. After about a week and a half I kind snapped at a coworker, something I haven’t done before. In a nutshell, this medicine made me feel weird and emotional. I would not recommend it.

Comment #2

It has taken me over 7-8 mo’s to realize Lunesta messed my chemical balance in my brain. I did not think a sleep aid would do this, and my doctor did not warn me. You will end up taking other drugs because you or your Dr. will not catch the spiral. I am sick but relieved that I will not feel out of my skin and body anymore. If it works for you that is great. Just be careful. It creeps up on you.

Comment #3

I never had a panic attack in my life until I started taking the sleep aid Lunesta. Within a couple months, I developed a ton of anxiety related symptoms. The symptoms were so severe that I literally thought I was dying. I had constant anxiety, heart palpitations, racing heart, and panic attacks. I couldn’t eat due to the anxiety and lost a ton of weight. I went to a few different doctors and they all thought I was crazy, one even told me I was bi-polar. I had no idea the sleep aid Lunesta was the cause until I started doing some research and found that this was in fact a symptom. Within 2 days of stopping Lunesta, every single symptom was gone!!! I was emotionally addicted to it and was scared to stop (thinking I wouldn’t be able to sleep on my own) but within a few nights I was sleeping through the night again without the use of chemical sleep aids.

Comment #4

Don’t get started on it this sleep aid. It’s expensive and not worth it in the long run. The side effects – fatigue, depression, loss of libido, are worse than the insomnia

Comment #5

Horribly hot, clammy and just generally made me feel sick, was extremely sleepy – could have slept if it were not for the horrible head pain right between my eyes. Even just the slightest eye movement made me nauseous. I switched from the sleep aid Ambien after taking it for 5 years I started having problems with concentration during the day, and lost “hours” not knowing how I got to bed etc. Don’t know what I will do now. I still feel vertigo and it has been 12 hours since I ingested the Lunesta. The taste in the mouth is nothing compared to the horrendous night I had trying to sleep from the pain and vertigo.

Lunesta comes with a long list of possible side effects. Anxiety, depression and impotence are among the most common. Only use this sleep aid as the last resort. Try a natural sleep aid first.

]]> http://guaranteedtosleep.com/blog/2010/07/the-sleep-aid-lunesta/feed/ 3