There’s nothing like a poor night of sleep to set you on the wrong foot for the day to come.
While there are a lot of great natural insomnia cures out there, sometimes you just don’t have the time or the ingredients necessary to make them work.
And although pharmaceutical solutions may help, they end up taking a huge toll on your health and wellness in the process. People with sleeping problems want to relieve insomnia naturally, if possible.
THE PROBLEM WITH SLEEPING PILLS
Most sleeping pill sold on the market aren’t just used to cure insomnia.
Benzodiazepines like Xanax, Valium, Ativan, and Librium are anti-anxiety medications while barbiturates are used in anesthesia.
These drugs bring about sleep by inducing drowsiness. However, they have a high risk of dependency.
Newer drugs like Lunesta, Sonata, Ambien, Rozerem, and Belsomra are less addictive but they have their own set of risks.
Common side effects of sleeping pills include :
Burning or tingling in the hands, arms, feet, or legs
Changes in appetite
Constipation
Diarrhea
Difficulty keeping balance
Dizziness
Daytime drowsiness
Dry mouth or throat
Gas
Headache
Heartburn
Impairment the next day
Mental slowing or problems with attention or memory
Stomach pain or tenderness
Uncontrollable shaking of a part of the body
Unusual dreams
Weakness
Additionally, sleeping pills can cause severe breathing problems in people with asthma or other respiratory conditions. They can even cause “parasomnias”, unusual behaviors that occur while sleeping and that you have no control over, like sleepwalking.
Some people may experience an allergic reaction to sleep medication, including blurred vision, chest pain, swelling in the throat, and anaphylaxis.