Dr Oz as I have touted about natural alternatives to prescription and over –the-counter (OTC) sleep aids. Why? We see in the news about celebrity deaths due to prescription drug abuse and recent news articles like the one from The Washington Post that described a study that suggest people who take sleeping pills as Ambien, Lunesta, Retoril and Sonata were more likely to die 2 ½ years earlier than those that do not use these drugs, with the risk rising along with the amount of medicine taken. People prescribed 18 or fewer sleeping pills a year have are 3.6 times as likely to die as those didn’t take these drugs. Also people taking high doses were 35% more likely to develop a major cancer, not including melanoma during that period. Studies show that 6 to 10 percent of Americans take sleep aids! Read more »
Lark Personal Sleep Coach
Lark announced today its association with sleep experts on its new Personal Sleep Coach. Lark the same company that has the first, patent-pending silent and natural-feeling wake-up silent alarm clock and wireless sleep tracker. The Personal Sleep Coach goes beyond simple sleep monitoring; it will help you to understand your sleep patterns and sleep health while giving you ideas on how to improve the quality and quantity of your sleep. Over time your Personal Sleep Coach will track your improvement and urges you to improve with words of encouragement. The new Lark coaching experience is a great Christmas gadget gift for those who have trouble falling asleep easy or can’t get enough sleep during the night. Read more »
Best Over The Counter Sleep Aid OTC
If you have read my articles at A Sleep Easy you know that keeping a sleep routine, eliminating caffeine before bedtime and taking a nap before 4pm are a few tips in getting a good night’s rest. Still for some people insomnia may not be that easy to overcome and you may consider taking an over-the-counter (OTC) sleep aid. But what is the best over-the-counter sleep aid for you? OTC sleep aides are meant to be taken on an occasional sleepless night because the more you take them the less effective they become. OTC sleep aides affects linger in your system the next day causing you feel listless which makes it difficult to stay focused at work or school. If you haven’t slept well for over two weeks I recommend that you talk to your doctor. There may be an underlying medical condition that is causing your insomnia. If you are considering OTC supplements it is important to know their side effects. Read more »
Alcohol is Not a Sleep Aid
One of the most important ways to get a good night’s sleep is establishing a healthy sleep routine. When I talk about a sleep routine, I not only encourage good sleep habits, but suggest making healthy lifestyle changes to promote high-quality and quantity of sleep. One healthy life style change is eliminating alcohol before bedtime. Alcohol is not a sleep aid as it is disruptive and tricky when it comes to sleep. How many of you have a drink or two after a long day of work to help you relax enough to fall asleep easy? Do you wake up during the night after the alcohol wears off? Alcohol causes you to miss out on deep sleep and waking up during the night will affect how you perform the next day. Read more »
Chillow Pillow
Have You Heard About the Chillow Pillow? A Chillow Pillow is a thin, soft thermo-regulated pad that slides into your pillowcase on top of your pillow that delivers a very soothing and relaxing effect. It is safe, hypoallergenic and nontoxic unlike other products. The Chillow Pillow is unlike gel filled packs that are usually too cold for comfort, its meant to be cool just enough for you to fall asleep easy, but if you want it colder you can put it in the refrigerator for 15 minutes. The cooling effect eases your migraines, hot flashes or sunburn. How does the Chillow Pillow work? Read more »
Magnesium Sleep Aid
All vital minerals are equally significant, but some are required in larger amounts for adequate nutrition. The difference in the amount required is referred to either as macro-mineral or micro-mineral. Macro-minerals are the larger minerals that the body needs to maintain a fluid balance and they include: calcium, magnesium and phosphorus that work together or independently and electrolytes; sodium, potassium and chloride. Micro-minerals or trace minerals are a larger group of nutrients that include chromium, copper, iodine, zinc and selenium, among others. Read more »
Sleep Aid Kava Kava Warning
Kava is a plant native to the South Pacific and has been used for thousands of years in rituals and ceremonies. This shrub produces large, green, heart-shaped leaves that grow thickly on the branches. Long, slender flowers grow where the branches meet the stems. The roots look like bundles of woody, hairy branches. Today in the South Pacific kava is a popular social drink similar to alcohol in Western societies. In the West there have been safety concerns about kava due to cases of liver damage and even deaths and in March 2002 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a sleep aid kava kava warning. As a result, kava has been banned from the market in Switzerland, German, Canada and several other countries are considering similar action. This ban has hurt the export economy of the Pacific Islands countries. Due to these potential dangers, kava should be used only under the guidance of a qualified healthcare practitioner. Read more »
Tart Cherry Juice is Heart Smart and Sleep Savvy
The experts are saying that tart cherry juice is heart smart and sleep savvy…ok, maybe not in those exact words, but they have found that tart cherries have a unique combination of antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits that help reduce the risk of heart disease let alone a natural alternative to a sleeping pill. According to research presented at the Experimental Biology meeting in Washington DC, freeze-dried tart cherries have an ORAC or Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity over 10,000 and contain a diverse range of phytochemicals. Correlation between the high antioxidant capacity of fruits and vegetables, and the positive impact of diets high in fruits and vegetables, is believed to play a role in the free-radical theory of aging. Eight ounces of tart cherry juice for 4 weeks can lower inflammation in overweight adults and show a lowering of triglyceride levels as well. Animals that consume tart cherry powder reduced levels of C-reactive protein and cholesterol with a 65% reduction in early death. Read more »
How to Sleep Better with Dream Dust
What is Dream Dust? Natural Sleep Aid 60 ml Drug Free natural sleep aid made by Vitila Brands, a New York based developer. Targeted to 70 million Americans that can't fall asleeep easy and frequent users of over-the-counter sleep aids and prescription medications, this beverage is sold in a two ounce liquid dose and is formulated with natural ingredients which eliminate the next morning “groggy” side effect and additive properties. Competitively priced, Dream Dust has been designed to help those that are suffering from an occasional sleep problems to chronic insomnia that delivers effective results. Read more »
Sleep is a writer’s dream because sleep deprivation is big business
Everywhere you look these days; CNN, USA Today, MSNBC and even on the Dr. Oz Show, they are writing or talking about sleep or I should say the lack of it. Sleep deprivation can lead to many health problems like; obesity, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, and depression. BUT, sleep deprivation is a two edge sword because illnesses such as; epilepsy, lupus, fibromyalgia and even sleep related conditions; obstructive sleep apnea, night terrors, and sleepwalking are reasons many of us are getting less sleep than we need. Since we can’t fall asleep easy and stay asleep throughout the night (symptoms of insomnia) this can cause us to lose mental focus, become irritable and we may cause physical harm to ourselves as well as others by falling asleep during the day. Read more »
Valerian a Sleep Easy Supplement
Valerian a sleep easy supplement is a hard perennial flowering plant that was used as perfume in the sixteenth century. Today valerian is used for sleeping disorders, a muscle tension, restlessness and anxiety. Some studies suggest that it has sedative and anxiolytic effects that can help those that suffer from insomnia. Valerian typically works better [...] Read more »
Book Overview – I Can Make You Sleep by Paul McKenna
Paul McKenna, Ph.D., the author of I Can Make You Sleep states that he has a twenty year background studying insomnia. He has a one of a kind approach to improve your quality of sleep by using easy exercises and lifestyle changes. The book comes along with a hypnosis CD that restores your body’s natural sleep/wake cycle using both your conscious and unconscious mind that will enable you to fall asleep easy, sleep deep and have the energy you need to improve your daily life. Read more »
Need Sleep Got Milk
What can you do when you need sleep? Got Milk? Besides being an old piece of advice, there are many claims that a glass of warm milk will help you to fall asleep easy. In the New York Times it stated that milk is a sleeping aid, but it also put some old allegations about milk to rest and with a change in our usual point of view. Warm milk does aid in getting you to sleep, but not because it contains tryptophan the enzyme that is known to cause lethargy. You know, what's in turkey and pumpkin pie that causes all of us to want to take a nap after a larger than life holiday meal???? Read more »