Nothing to Lose Sleep Over

By Dr. Steven Warfield

You toss, you turn and suddenly you lie there wide awake in the middle of the night.  Unable to get back to sleep you try counting sheep.  Or worse, you reach for the bottle of pills by the side of 

the bed.  Anything to get a few hours of shut eye before the alarm goes off and you are forced to head back to work.  For some people, the underlying cause of the condition could be the stresses of everyday life or something that didn’t agree with them after dinner last night.  For others, insomnia is an all-too-familiar way of life.

What many people don’t realize is that insomnia affects more than half of all adults.  While the underlying triggers for this condition can include everything from stress and depression to alcohol or coffee, many people’s lack of sleep can be traced back to spinal misalignments that can block nerve impulses.  That’s right, insomnia can be caused by subluxations which are ultimately treatable.

Along with many other factors, the central nervous system controls the hormones and brain chemicals that regulate sleep.  Therefore anything that interferes with the sending or receiving of nerve signals can cause malfunctions in the body that may not only trigger insomnia but many other underlying problems including stress, depression and indigestion.  (Restless Leg Syndrome which can also keep sufferers up at night can in many cases also be attributed to subluxations.)

Far from dealing with these symptoms, many medications actually amplify the underlying causes.  Anti-depressants (like Zoloft and Prozac) and anti-anxiety medications (such as Valium and Xanax) have been known to cause such things as heartburn, constipation, headache among other side effects.

Not only can insomnia be caused by many different factors, but there are actually three different types of insomnia: Acute, Chronic and Transient.

1.      Acute Insomnia: This type of insomnia is classified as lasting for more than one week but less than one month. It is indicated by difficulty in going to sleep or staying asleep. When sleep does occur, it is characterized as fitful.

2.      Chronic Insomnia: This type of insomnia persists for more than one month. The effects of chronic insomnia can include mental fatigue, muscle fatigue and hallucinations. Sufferers of chronic insomnia may feel like everything is moving in slow motion.

            3.      Transient Insomnia: This type of insomnia lasts             for less than one week. It can be caused by                       other health conditions, alterations in your sleep               environment or changes to the timing of your                     sleep. This condition routinely occurs twice per               year when we reset our clocks.

The worst thing about insomnia is that it can have a profound effect on everything else in our lives, including performance at work or how we relate to friends and family.  By ailing to get a good night’s sleep, many sufferers find themselves dozing on the job or behind the wheel, neither of which is conducive to a healthy lifestyle.

In a study conducted by the Division of Health Sciences at Murdoch University, Perth, Australia  221 patients who suffered from insomnia were given chiropractic treatment.  Of those, 154 patients reported their sleep pattern was immediately improved and all but one patient reported some improvement during the course of treatment.

The Journal of the American Chiropractic Association states, “Many patients do not tell their doctors that they suffer from sleep disorders, but it is very common for patients to advise their chiropractors that they sleep much better after being treated for a variety of conditions not usually associated with sleep deprivation. Chiropractic treatment in general is a good alternative for those individuals who do not feel rested and who do not wish to take prescription drugs to assist them in obtaining quality sleep.”

While sleeping pills may provide a short term solution to insomniacs, these medications produce a number of side effects including the suppression of breathing, which can be dangerous to asthmatics.  While many of the latest advances in sleeping pills claim to be less habit forming, common side effects of prescription sleeping pills such as Lunesta, Sonata, Ambien, Rozerem, and Halcion may include:

·         Burning or tingling in the hands, arms, feet, or legs

·         Changes in appetite

·         Constipation

·         Diarrhea

·         Difficulty keeping balance

·         Dizziness

·         Drowsiness

·         Dry mouth or throat

·         Headache

·         Heartburn

·         Stomach pain or tenderness

·         Unusual dreams

Chiropractic treatment on the other hand produces no discernible side effect since it uses no drugs.  It is safe for children and the elderly.  More importantly, it is designed to correct the underlying conditions that are known to interfere with the optimal operation of the central nervous system.  So if you or anyone you know suffers from insomnia make an appointment to see a chiropractor right away.  After all, this is one condition that’s nothing to lose sleep over.

Dr.’s Steven Warfield and Dave Edenfield offer the most advanced treatments for back pain, sciatica, neck pain, whiplash and headaches. They also treat auto accident victims with state-of-the-art technologies.  For more information visit http://endyourpain.org or http://chiropractor-jacksonville-fl.com