You could be better off getting your sleep with hypnosis rather than sleeping pills for insomnia.
In a study with patients with post traumatic syndrome and consequential sleeping issues, it was found that hypnotherapy outperformed the drug Zolpidem (whose trade name is Ambien). Not only did the group with hypnotherapy reduce their post traumatic symptoms, the hypnotherapy group showed an improvement in all of the sleep variables that the researchers were assessing.
You might have heard about Ambien and other insomnia drugs such as Sonata, Lunesta, and Imovance/Zimovance through their constant advertising. These sleeping pills have quite a few potential side affects including headaches; dizziness; morning sleepiness; drowsiness during the day (which could increase your chance of falling, and affect driving); and reduced ability to function during the day. One study showed that older women taking Ambien could have a higher risk of getting hip fractures. Plus, if you get out of bed before getting 7-8 hours of sleep, you could experience memory loss. And, if you take sleeping pills for longer than 2 weeks, you might experience an addiction, and the first night without sleeping pills you may have more difficulty in going to sleep than before. You might also experience changes to your mental health, such as aggressiveness, hallucinations, memory problems, and depression.
Sources:
The International Journal of Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. 2008 Jul;56(3):270-80.
National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI), Comparing Newer Drugs for Insomnia
Hmm – pretty scary side affects. How many pills will you need to overcome the effects of sleeping pills? If you have severe insomnia, the risks of taking sleeping pills could outweigh the risks involved in not getting enough sleep. However, the effectiveness of getting sleep through hypnosis doesn’t surprise me. I have had many sleepless nights due to stress, too much caffeine and, probably, too little exercise. So, I downloaded online hypnosis dowloads to my iPhone so I can hypnotize sleep anytime during the night. These self-hypnosis downloads sure do beat counting sheep, or trying to solve those business problems in the middle of the night (which always, of course, leads to bizarre, totally unworkable solutions).
Self-hypnosis downloads are inexpensive – many for as little as $12.95. And, they come with a 100% 90-Day Money-Back Guarantee. They might be worth a try – either before you take those sleeping pills, or after the 2-week maximum dosage. Try one of the following, or search for those issues that are keeping you awake in the search box on the right. What is a good night’s sleep worth?