44 Percent Of Americans Are Problem Sleepers

[wizer]

According to a new Consumer Reports survey to be published in the September issue, 44% of Americans are “Problem Sleepers;” they have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or wake up too early at least eight nights per month. In fact, survey respondents told Consumer Reports they are turning to drugs when other remedies can be just as effective. Even sound machines, which can be purchased from $20-$129, can be helpful, often as helpful as drugs, notes the magazine.

In a nationwide survey of 1,466 adults, conducted by the Consumer Reports National Research Center in April 2008, CR asked people how well they slept the night, week, and month before participating in the survey. The key findings:

    * Many people turn to drugs to solve sleep problems; almost 1 in 5 Americans took prescription or over-the-counter medicines at least once a week to help them sleep. Although sleep medications are usually recommended for no more than two weeks, 14 percent of those surveyed took some type of pill on at least eight of the past 30 nights; 5 percent turn to pills every night of the month.
    * Sixty-three percent of those who took sleep medications experienced side effects; 24 percent said they became dependent on the medication they used; and 21 percent said that repeated use reduced the drug’s effectiveness.
    * Among the 15 percent of respondents who had taken a prescription drug during the preceding month, a disturbingly high 38 percent said they’d been on the medication for more than two years.
    * More than a quarter of respondents said it took them 30 minutes or longer to fall asleep the previous night, and one quarter awakened in the middle of the night and couldn’t go back to sleep for at least a half-hour. A third woke up much earlier than they’d hoped.
    * CR’s survey found that of six characteristics that problem sleepers had in common, the most prevalent was high stress levels. Most of the time, respondents were anxious over family or money concerns, health issues or work woes.

Sound Machines — A Viable Alternative

Sound machines were found to be almost as effective as pills, with 70 percent of people who tried sound machines saying the machines helped most nights. However, for people suffering from the most severe cases of sleep disturbance, only 50 percent said sound machines helped as much.

Other remedies were less effective: when over-the-counter drugs were used, they helped 57 percent of people most nights, a consistent sleep and wake routine helped 50 percent on most nights and muscle relaxation helped 40 percent on most nights.

[GoodWitch]

I fall asleep fine. But I wake up in a couple of hours and can't get back to sleep. I take ambien in the middle of the night a lot. It only keeps me asleep a couple of hours!

[Skylla]

I fall asleep fine. But I wake up in a couple of hours and can't get back to sleep. I take ambien in the middle of the night a lot. It only keeps me asleep a couple of hours!

I also have no problem falling asleep....I am usually exhausted.....but it seems like I always wake up in the middle of the night.

[wizer]

I fall asleep fine. But I wake up in a couple of hours and can't get back to sleep. I take ambien in the middle of the night a lot. It only keeps me asleep a couple of hours!

I took ambien a few times when I was stressed out in the last months of when I was still living home and my marriage was going to pieces.

I don't think ambien is meant to be used the way you are using it GW...its got a normal "life span" of about 7 hours. If you are taking it in the middle of the night then first off you arent getting a full nights sleep which you really need and secondly you are probably still under the effect of the medication when you leave the house in the morning..and that's probably not such a good thing.

[GoodWitch]

I took ambien a few times when I was stressed out in the last months of when I was still living home and my marriage was going to pieces.

I don't think ambien is meant to be used the way you are using it GW...its got a normal "life span" of about 7 hours. If you are taking it in the middle of the night then first off you arent getting a full nights sleep which you really need and secondly you are probably still under the effect of the medication when you leave the house in the morning..and that's probably not such a good thing.

It only lasts a couple of hours for me - I wake up fully and I'm hyper. It's weird.  Most days, I don't leave the house in the  morning - I work from home. In any event, it doesn't keep me down as long as it should.

[wizer]

It only lasts a couple of hours for me - I wake up fully and I'm hyper. It's weird.  Most days, I don't leave the house in the  morning - I work from home. In any event, it doesn't keep me down as long as it should.

That IS weird. Ambien is strong stuff...and there are pages and pages of unusual experiences people have had with it, posted all over the internet. One common example is "sleep driving" while under the infuence of ambien.

When I took it, it was almost scary. I would take a pill, and lay there thinking "I am not going to be able to fall asleep"..then I would look up at the blinds and see sunlight streaming through and realize it was 7 hours later.

[Greek]

Take temazepam (restoril). Older med but great. Its the active metabolite of valium, gets in and gets out. You feek refreshed when you wake up.  Ambien LOL: There was a case of some guy on it who called the cops because someone was breaking in and eating his food at night!   He was sleep eating.

[GoodWitch]

I wish it, or anything, would knock me out like that! I've heard about that "sleep-eating" thing - I know I don't do that LOL

Valium makes me hyper as hell! So does percoset & painkillers in general. Weird, I know.

[Greek]

I wish it, or anything, would knock me out like that! I've heard about that "sleep-eating" thing - I know I don't do that LOL

Valium makes me hyper as hell! So does percoset & painkillers in general. Weird, I know.

I do not react well to pain killers, they suck and make me foggy. I do like valiums

[GoodWitch]

I do not react well to pain killers, they suck and make me foggy. I do like valiums

The last time I was prescribed painkillers (percoset) a couple of years ago, they did NOT really help w/pain, kept me awake and I was hearing things LOL I remember coming home from the hospital and being here alone, bouncing off the walls all night. I kept hearing someone behind me saying my name. (no, my parrot was NOT out of his cage LOL)
  I was also taking 800 mg of Ibuprofen a day for 2 weeks - I think that was more helpful than the persoset!

[Greek]

The last time I was prescribed painkillers (percoset) a couple of years ago, they did NOT really help w/pain, kept me awake and I was hearing things LOL I remember coming home from the hospital and being here alone, bouncing off the walls all night. I kept hearing someone behind me saying my name. (no, my parrot was NOT out of his cage LOL)
  I was also taking 800 mg of Ibuprofen a day for 2 weeks - I think that was more helpful than the persoset!

When I broke my leg and had surgery I had them take the morphine drip out. The doc sent me home with tylenol 3s. I only took them once.  Reg tylenol did just as good

[GoodWitch]

When I broke my leg and had surgery I had them take the morphine drip out. The doc sent me home with tylenol 3s. I only took them once.  Reg tylenol did just as good

The prescription Motrin is 800 mg of ibuprofen - same as taking 3 OTC 200 mg. ones.

[Greek]

The prescription Motrin is 800 mg of ibuprofen - same as taking 3 OTC 200 mg. ones.

MATH?  800 = 4 X 200

[GoodWitch]

MATH?  800 = 4 X 200

I didn't use a calculator! That's what happens!  

(Math = something I took in summer school more than 35 years ago!)

[Greek]

Motrin works for me, quite well. For whatever reason it does nothing for muscle soreness though.