Would it be unhealthy to use assistance every day of your life when going to sleep?

Yes, you’ll build a tolerance, then a dependency.

Also, consider your kidneys and liver since they have to process all the chemicals.

any suggestions?

I also suffer from bouts of insomnia, some due to back pain. I stopped taking pain meds about 10yrs ago after experiencing acupuncture, have you tried it or considered it? It worked for me to reduce the pain so much better than the meds and weekly massage. These days I can get away with a tune up visit about twice a year. Check it out.

@vzzbzz I haven’t tried it. Sounds like a good idea. I’m glad your pain has subsided.

@Facade: Many health insurance policies cover it and I’ve found it to be less expensive than massage, less jarring in response than chiropractors and euphoric.

@VzzBzz I currently have no health insurance, but thanks for the info.

@VzzBzz Do you know if that can be good for foot cramps? I’m ready to try just about anything. I’m trying to get in to see a podiatrist, now. Perhaps I should start sniffing out a pin doctor…

It’s called addiction.

@Judi I don’t know why I didn’t think of that. it’s so obvious.

Yes, it would be unhealthy.

From everything I’ve ever heard or read, it would be considered unhealthy. The real trick is to figure out what the cause of your insomnia is. I’m told that insomnia directly caused by a bona fide chemical imbalance is relatively rare. Therefore, drugs as sleeping aids don’t usually address the real cause of the insomnia and you’re just putting chemicals into your body to mask the symptoms (insomnia) of whatever the real issue is. If it’s just to help you through a brief patch of insomnia (perhaps caused by stress or something), then drugs can be helpful, but at some point you still have to figure out what the cause of the insomnia is in order to resolve the issue. Otherwise, at some point your body will likely find some other way to tell you that something is wrong. Talk to your doctor, or a counsellor. It may take some time, but they can help you explore possible causes and solutions.

why are we all still awake?

As a side note, if you’re taking prescription and natural remedies, have you talked to your pharmacist about all the remedies you’re taking? Natural does not mean neutral – they can alter the effects of prescription medications. Talk to your pharmacist to make sure you aren’t mixing the wrong substances.

Some of the newer Rx sleeping pills are supposedly safe to take forever if you need to. Sadly, they don’t work for me. It’s 3:15 AM here.

unhealthy yes.

Once your body gets used to it, I wonder if it will continue to aid in your getting to sleep. When I lived in Poland, I had terrible insomnia. It turned out that teaching in the evening was causing me to be “wired” for the rest of the night. When I switched to teaching in the morning, and ending that by 3pm, I found that by 9 or 10 I was exhausted, and dropped like a rock.

Also, I think you set your—-what is it called? Internal clock? Biorhythm? And that you have to change this in order to get back on track.

Some of the sleeping aids may not have adverse results for you, but just because something is herbal or homeopathic doesn’t mean it can’t have negative side effects. You have to search for what each individual one may do, and be extremely careful about mixing.

Try to identify what it is that is preventing you from sleeping, and put a different routine into place to help get you tired. Good luck.

Have you tried changing your sleeping situation? Several years ago, I started sleeping on a magnetic mattress pad and it changed my sleep for the better. It’s fairly expensive, but I sleep better and deeper and just get higher quality sleep. This is where I got mine.

@KatawaGrey I have, but not by changing beds. I sleep with earplugs. It helps a lot.