Difficulty Sleeping a.k.a. Insomnia

When you're not feeling well, having difficulty sleeping is probably the last thing you want to have to deal with on top of that. Insomnia comes in various "flavors," if you will, which can include difficulty falling asleep or difficulty staying asleep and these in turn can lead to drowsiness, fatigue, changing moods and an inability to concentrate.

If you are having difficulty sleeping, here are some tips and techniques you can use at home to try to treat the problem:

• Avoid heavy evening meals, especially just before bedtime: this is self-explanatory. You should also avoid drinking lots of fluids close to your bedtime to reduce the chances of you having to wake up to urinate in the middle of the night.
• Detect and remove any stress or stressors: if worry, grief, work situations, or other external circumstances are causing you stress which in turn is causing your sleeplessness, then you need to try to remove these (if possible). Talk things through with a trusted friend or confidante, join a support group, or seek help and assistance from a counselor.
• Maintain a regular sleep-wake schedule: pick a specific time for going to sleep and waking up and stick with the schedule, this will help to get your body used a particular routine for resting and waking.
• Relax prior to bedtime: try to spend at least one hour before your bedtime doing something that you find relaxing like taking a warm bath, reading, listening to music, or watching TV.
• Avoid alcohol before bedtime: though on the one hand alcohol can make you drowsy, it also tends to disrupt sleep patterns which will only worsen insomnia. Also try to avoid smoking as well as nicotine makes more wide awake.
• Cut out the caffeine: drinking caffeinated drinks in the morning or early in the afternoon is okay but you should avoid them any time after that.



Drugs That Can Cause
Difficulty Sleeping

• Albuterol (Accuneb, ProAir HFA, Proventil HFA, Ventolin)
• Amantadine (Symmetrel)
• Aminophylline
• Amiodarone (Cordarone)
• Amphetamine (Adderall, Dexedrine)
• Aripiprazole (Abilify)
• Aspirin (Bayer, Ecotrin)
• Atorvastatin (Lipitor)
• Bupropion (Wellbutrin)
• Buspirone (BuSpar)
• Caffeine (No Doz, Vivarin)
• Clonazepam (Klonopin)
• Clonidine (Catapres)
• Dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine)
• Diazepam (Valium)
• Efavirenz (Sustiva)
• Esomeprazole (Nexium)
• Fish Oil
• Fluvoxamine (Luvox, Luvox CR)
• Ibuprofen (Advil, Excedrin IB, Ibu-Tab, Midol IB, Motrin, Nuprin, Pamprin-IB)
• Lamotrigine (Lamictal)
• Lansoprazole (Prevacid)
• Levothyroxine (Synthroid)
• Lorazepam (Ativan)
• Melatonin
• Methylphenidate (Concerta, Daytrana, Focalin, Metadate, Methylin, Ritalin)
• Modafinil (Provigil)
• Montelukast (Singulair)
• Oxazepam (Serax)
• Pergolide (Permax)
• Phenylephrine (Sudafed PE)
• Pramipexole (Mirapex)
• Pregabalin (Lyrica)
• Propranolol (Inderal)
• Pseudoephedrine (Sudafed)
• Pyrimethamine (Daraprim)
• Ramelteon (Rozerem)
• Selegiline (Eldepryl)
• Sibutramine (Meridia)
• Simvastatin (Zocor)
• Tamsulosin (Flomax)
• Temazepam (Restoril)
• Tolcapone (Tasmar)





A miracle drug is any medicine you can get
children to take without screaming.



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June 13, 2009




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