So, what is insomnia? Well in my own opinion, insomnia used to be a syndrome or disorder but today is just an excuse for a poor sleep. What do people say when they can’t sleep?…”I had insomnia” of course!

The definition that you’ll find most often of insomnia is that it is a disorder. It’s a disorder that prevents people from sleeping or to stay asleep for a “reasonable” amount of time. I think that can easily be interpreted into whatever you want. What exactly is a reasonable amount of time? That could range anywhere from between 4 and 10 hours!

Don’t get me wrong! I’m not saying that people don’t suffer from insomnia! I’m just stating that insomnia is now a blanket term used to describe so many sleep problems that should all be separate so that they can be treated properly.

Maybe part of the reason behind this are all of the drug companies pushing new sleeping drugs onto the market. After all, they need a market to sell to!

If you want to see how much of a blanket term insomnia is, apparently about 60 million Americans suffer from insomnia each year (according to the US Department of Health and Human Services). So basically what this amounts to is a huge market for drugs that really aren’t needed. I say that they’re not needed because in most cases they’re not and as we all know prescription drugs are hugely over prescribed.

If you suffer from infrequent insomnia, you may be a good candidate for drug therapy. Although, if you suffer from insomnia or another disorder frequently, you may want to stay far clear of drugs. It seems like an easy way out but what drug companies don’t want you to know is that a lot of sleep-aid drugs contain narcotics or other addictive ingredients. After using the drugs for several week, they will usually lose their efficacy. This will mean you will have to increase your dose as your body becomes more and more tolerant. Not only that, but now you will most likely have a dependency to it because of it being a narcotic (or addictive ingredients) and getting off of it will be a pain!…while staying on it is no longer benefiting your body or your sleep.

There’s actually a great article on insomnia. It includes treatment options, and frequently asked questions. It is also written by quite a credible source, you can check it out at The College of Family Physicians of Canada website. Also, if you maybe think you are suffering from insomnia and want a few more natural ideas to try to get some sleep, you can check out this list of insomnia cures and sleep aids.