ALCOHOL AS A SNOOZE AID: Insomniacs spend more on booze than sleeping pills.
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Desperately seeking a good night's sleep, insomniacs spend more money on alcohol than medical help and sleep aids combined, according to a study published today in the journal Sleep. But experts say turning to the bottle is the last thing you should do if you can't fall asleep at night.
The study, led by Meagan Daley, a professor of psychology and business at Laval University in Quebec, found that insomniacs in that Canadian province spend an annual $275 million ($340 million Canadian) on alcohol to lull them to sleep at night compared with $14.7 million on over-the-counter and prescription sleep meds and $69.4 million on insomnia-related health care consultations. Simply put, the sleepless in Quebec spend over three times more on alcoholic "sleeping aids" than on medical interventions specifically designed to promote z's—even though alcohol is more expensive.
"Generic versions of sleep medications are a few cents a pill," Daley says. "Even the regular main brand sleep medications are cheaper than taking a drink or two."
What's more, alcohol doesn't help you snooze. Quite the contrary. It actually exacerbates symptoms of insomnia, says Maher Karam-Hage, an addiction psychiatrist at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. For most people, drinking a glass of wine with dinner will not compromise a good night's sleep, but three to four drinks before bed can cause you to wake up in the middle of the night, he says.
"Drinking on a long-term basis can lead to suppression of deep sleep," says Karam-Hage, noting that type of sleep is responsible for the "refreshing effect" that a good night's rest has on the mind and body. "The net effect is that you feel tired all the time." In contrast, most of the newer Rx sleeping pills on the market, such as Ambien and Sonata, do not appear to cause late-night sleep interruptions, according to Karam-Hage. These meds induce sleep and may help a person get seven to eight hours of shut-eye, but generally should not be taken longer than seven to 10 days and may have side effects. Karam-Hage says that people who have mild sleep issues and shun meds might try getting up at the same time daily. He says they might also try to hit the hay at the same time nightly but that doing so is not as critical as waking at a consistent hour.
Do you like to power naps? Keep them under 10 minutes, Karam-Hage suggests, noting that longer naps can keep you up at night. About 10 percent of people in the developing world suffer from chronic insomnia, a condition in which a person's life is negatively impacted because he or she sleeps less than six hours for at least three nights a week for a minimum of one month, Daley says. This could result from difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep or waking prematurely. "A third of the population [has] sleeping problems," she says. "Sleep problems are huge."
Daley's study was designed to examine the economic toll of insomnia. The researchers estimated that the total cost of this condition in Quebec is a whopping $5.4 billion ($6.6 billion Canadian)—about 1 percent of the country's gross domestic product. The largest proportion – 76 percent -- of costs ($4 billion) stemmed from lost productivity hours.
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7 Comments
Add CommentAnother pseudo-scientific homage to pharmaceuticals.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIt really is unbelievable what gets passed off as scientific these days.
Most sleeping problem in my opinion are often not a medical condition. The true issue is the body should sleep when it wants and as long as it needs, as that is natural and normal. The root issue of "sleeping problems" is our artificial social time construct where everyone everywhere is expected to conform to sleeping and waking at set times usually conforming to desired working hours. Those who's bodies do not naturally conform well to this artificial construct are termed to be defective. This helps re-enforce popular social desires and also creates a very lucrative "medical condition" for some to exploit. Tyranny of the majority? perhaps.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI also would like for someone to do a study on how people would react to sleeping something like 2-3 hours sleep every 4 hours. Or something like that.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHow long it would be for subjects to adjust... in my opinion it could improve mental functions. I know this would be socially impossible at this point.
I have always had problems falling asleep. I never smoked and drink about 5 cups of coffee a year. So i would appreciate if scientists could somehow improve this basic process that affects everyone. And i don't mean with a softer mattress/pillow... although that was appreciated.
People sleep how often their body needs it... or they sleep how often their life permits it. Meditation, self-hypnosis, and herbal remedies are a gentler, natural and non-addictive solution to the same problem. My biggest problem is getting my brain to shut up so I can sleep. Meditation and self-hypnosis techniques work very well to quiet the mind and I use them every night to get to sleep. No drugs for me, who needs them when I've got what I need right between my ears?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswell there is a mind molecule called thc that can be smoked with the herb marijuana. i would have to say it is the cure for insomniacs Because of the way marijuana impacts the Autonomic Nervous System which expands the breath and relaxes the body, its potential for health and healing are enormous, and have been completely unrealized by Western Medicine. There are more pros then cons when it comes to marijuana lets get real people smoke a joint and lets all be happy.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thischeck out the site if i have your support
http://www.benefitsofmarijuana.com/benefits.php
I have insomnia and I have ever since I was in high school. I started a bad habit back then, Nyquil and it has continued into my forty first b-day. I think it is self induced and I am beggining to recognize that is is largely psychological. i do not care what the medical evidence shows, for me alcohol clearly zonks me out, maybe it is because I do not drink often, but when I do I am out for the night. Most nights I have a difficult time falling to sleep and if I wake up in the middle of the night I seldom can fall back asleep. Ambien CR works for me, but after too many days it has a rebound effect. I have noticed lately that if I do the one thing I absolutely hate to do, turn off the t.v. and lie very still , snuggled close to my husband in a dark cool room I am out .
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI have times where I'll go a couple of weeks having a hard time sleeping.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this(I used to be far worse but I now use a breathing machine that keeps 10 psi flowing into my nose.)
I tried Lunesta but you have to take it an hour before bed and sleep a solid 8 hours once it kicks in. I don't KNOW I'll need it until it's way too late to take it.
So far the best solution I've found:
2-3 good swallows of Nyqil followed by 3-4 swallows rum (Good 'ol Capt Morgan) and a couple swallows of milk to settle the stomache.
Works great but I am careful to reserve it as a last resort!