The Shocking Truth About Sleep Medicine

There is a long history of people having trouble sleeping - over 60 million people in the US alone have some form of insomnia. And since there has been sleep issues, there has been sleep medicine helping us go to sleep, and stay asleep.

Many hail different sleep medicines as their 'magic pill' - being able to get to sleep is what they desire, and it's able to give them that. But are there downsides to taking 'artificial' sleep medicine?

The short answer is yes. If you're not convinced by the short answer, though, read on!

Side Effects

There are a surprising amount of side effects on many of the most popular sleep medicine that those who are taking it aren't aware of, and if they are, completely ignore.

Some of the numerous side effects can include something small - like dizziness, light headedness, and 'cotton mouth', or a very dry mouth that's hard to wet.

Other, more serious effects, can include addiction (See below), being tired throughout the day, decreased productivity, heart problems, blood problems, clotting, heart attacks, stroke, and sometimes even death.

I'm sure you're thinking, 'well, so many people take these medications, and no one ever gets hurt'. That's not true - do you think that these big pharmaceutical companies want you to know about the dangers?

Addiction

An unspoken worry amongst many of those prescribing and taking sleep medicine is the threat of addiction. Like a giant black cloud looming over, if you're not worried about it, you should be.

It is very, very common to become dependant on your sleep medicine, even if you have no prior history of addiction. The feeling of being able to sleep freely, without worry, and going to sleep instantly can be very gratifying.

And what's more, after a while the body gets used to being told to 'go to sleep' by the medicine. So much so, in fact, that it has a hard time going to sleep without it, even when it's tired enough to sleep!

Groggy and Asleep

Do you enjoy waking up refreshed, feeling good, and completely awake? Well, with sleep medicine, don't expect it - why? The most common complaint among those who take pills to induce sleep is that they have issues really feeling awake when the alarm goes off.

You see the problem is that you get 'sleep' but not good sleep! Your body and mind shut down so to speak, but it is not the natural healing sleep that you need, so you don't get the full effects that you should, and hence wake up feeling more tired than when you went to bed!

Others complain that instead of getting 7-8 hours of sleep, with their medication they get 9-10, which can be unhealthy and taking up a lot of your time.

Overall...

Sleep medicine has a good benefit - you get to sleep within a half an hour of taking a pill, and that can be very appealing. But look at the issues with it, too.

We're not saying that there will never be a good sleep medicine on the market. But right now, there are a lot of downsides with only one upside... an upside that you can get without the use of pills.

If you really must take something then opt for a herbal solution to help you instead of the processed chemical pills that are forced on us.