Young Adult Is Able To Get Off Sleeping Pills

Posted on January 5 2010

Written by Brad Oostindie, MA, LLP

According to the National Institutes of Health, one in three adults has occasional insomnia and one in ten adults has chronic insomnia. About 8% of the insured population took sleeping pills in 2006, versus 5% in 1998.  The increased use of sleeping pills has been particularly sharp for young adults.  The issue with using many of these sleeping medications is the addictive quality of them and the impairment they give even into the next morning in terms of focus and attention because of the sedative type quality of the medication.  Also, they tend to impede the natural sleep process (sleep stages we go through during the night) making the medicated sleep less efficient than natural sleep.  So, even though they promote sleeping, the quality of the sleep is lessened because the natural sleep cycles are impeded.

Sam (not his real name), a young adult in charge of running a business and supervising several employees, was one of the 10% of adults with chronic insomnia.  About a year or so ago he was prescribed a sleep aid to address this issue, and was a nightly user of it at the time he contacted Ready To Focus.  His insomnia resulted from a bigger issue with anxiety and stress.  With a combination of biofeedback and neurofeedback training he was able to stop taking the medication very quickly.  He also substituted over the counter melatonin (a natural sleep producer) to help restore his sleep cycle.  Lastly, we are addressing his sleep (and anxiety) issues with use of a full spectrum light that he will use for 15-20 minutes each morning in conjunction with his biofeedback/neurofeedback schedule.  This type of specialized lamp has been scientifically shown to improve the sleep-wake cycle and improve mood. 

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