Insomnia

Lifestyle changes, medications, and therapy can help treat this common sleep problem.

There are a number of ways to treat insomnia. Some treatments require medication, while others don’t.

If you have insomnia, your doctor can help you find a treatment that works best for you and your symptoms.

Lifestyle Changes

Some people find that simple changes to their daily routine can help with insomnia.

The following actions may help you sleep better:

Sleep Medications

Your doctor may recommend a prescription medicine to help you sleep if your ...

There is an abundant—and ever-growing—body of evidence that indicates sleep plays an important role in cardiovascular health. Poor sleep is associated with a range of heart problems, including high blood pressure and increased risk of heart attack. Now, new research shows a link between insomnia and heart failure. Nearly 6 million adults in the United States suffer from heart failure, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Heart failure is directly responsible for more than 55,000 deaths every year, and ...

With the average worker losing 11.3 days of productivity to insomnia each year, employers should be losing sleep

Not sleeping enough can have serious health costs. But it can have pretty big financial costs, too, according to a new study in the journal Sleep. Insomnia is “an under-appreciated problem,” says lead author Ronald Kessler, at Harvard Medical School. “Americans are not missing work because of insomnia,” but they are doing lousy work because they’re tired. “It’s difficult to find a condition ...

A list of celebrities and politicians who can’t — or didn’t — sleep, and the methods they’ve used to cope. (Turpentine-soaked mattress, anyone?)

Americans aren’t getting enough sleep, according to a new survey. But a lack of sleep is nothing new, and it doesn’t rule out success in non-nocturnal life. Here are some notable insomniacs, and how they dealt with their sleeplessness:

1. Arianna Huffington, blogger and commentator

The Huffington Post founder has earned fame as both a workaholic and an insomniac, but ...

Two sleep experts say they’ve devised a simple way to help insomniacs get some shuteye: Chilling their brains. Will that really work?

Good news for the 1 in 10 Americans afflicted with chronic insomnia: According to a new study, you might be able to forgo the sleeping pills, white noise machines, warm milk, hypnosis tapes, and other slumber strategies, and simply cool your forehead to lull yourself to sleep. University of Pittsburgh sleep experts Dr. Eric Nofzinger and Dr. Daniel Buysse ...

Can’t sleep? Non-prescription sleeping pills may be the ticket to dreamland, but beware. Some sleep medication for insomnia can cause a hangover effect the next day.

Shelves in drug, discount, and grocery stores are stocked with a dizzying array of insomnia aids these days. From sleeping pills to get-to-sleep hormones to herbal remedies, more and more over-the-counter (OTC) insomnia treatments are available for sleep-deprived customers. But do they work?

“Some products available without a prescription can be helpful for occasional ...

If you are always sleepy, you are probably looking for some sleep remedies. In your quest to cure insomnia, you may want to consider yoga, meditation, and other alternative sleep remedies.

Pharmaceuticals may be among the most common treatments for insomnia, but alternative approaches have also been shown to be effective in addressing the problem.

According to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM), more than 1.6 million Americans treat their insomnia or sleep disorders with a form of ...

If you feel like you have to resort to taking prescription sleeping pills to get over your insomnia, think again.

Would you pay someone to teach you how to sleep? For insomnia sufferers, the idea isn’t crazy. Because when you’ve tried just about every remedy out there, and you don’t want to rely on prescription sleep aids, sleep “lessons” may be the next logical step. Below are three great, medication-free ways to improve your snooze.

Try a three-step approach

Sleep expert Michael ...

A century-old technique called progressive muscle relaxation could relieve your insomnia. Learn how this relaxation therapy may help you feel and sleep better.

If you’re trying to find a solution for insomnia, your doctor may recommend progressive muscle relaxation to help you sleep. Progressive muscle relaxation is a relaxation therapy first developed by Chicago physician Edmund Jacobson, MD in 1915 and published in the 1920s.

“Progressive muscle relaxation is a relaxation exercise in which you systematically tense and then relax all ...

Good sleep hygiene means creating a quiet, inviting haven that makes insomnia a thing of the past and falling asleep a lot easier. Learn some ways to control noise so you get some much needed shut-eye.

When you get serious about falling asleep and waking up rested, you’ll take on the task of practicing good sleep hygiene. It’s all about making sure your physical environment provides an inviting space conducive to falling and staying asleep.

Insomnia: Sound Off

First, prevent insomnia by ...