Over the Counter Sleep Aids: What You Need to Know to relieve Insomnia. Four products for a natural approach.

Insomnia affects about 30% of all adults — Sleep Deprivation or Insomnia is a common complaint

Insomnia is a symptoms, not a disease

Insomnia is a common sleep complaint. Insomnia, can be divided into 3 main types: early insomnia (difficulty falling asleep) mid-insomnia (difficulty staying asleep) and late insomnia (difficulty with early morning awakening.)

You may have trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or getting good quality sleep, or some combination of all three. This happens even if you have the time and the right environment to sleep well. Insomnia can get in the way of your daily activities and may make you feel sleepy during the day.

Diseases that can cause sleep disorders

Obstructive sleep apnea
Heart conditions – such as angina or heart failure.
Neurological conditions – such as Alzheimer's disease or Parkinson's disease.
Kidney disease
Diabetes
Chronic pain
Opiate induced insomnia
Adrenal Failure
Post traumatic stress disorder, depression

We will discuss the disease states individually, at a later date, as each one is worthy of focus. For purposes here, we will assume that we are dealing with mild, situational insomnia, not due to major medical illness.

Theanine (l-theanine) is an amino acid found in tea leaves. In addition to providing benefits as an anti-oxidant, theanine is useful in sleep induction, as well.

L-Theanine provides an interesting combination of salutary benefits. It acts as a non-sedating relaxant by enhancing alpha wave production in the brain. It improves mental focus during wakeful hours, yet it enhances sleep quality. The alpha-wave enhancing effect is very useful for students, promoting concentration, yet it does not cause sleep disturbances that result from the use of caffeine and amphetamines. The effective dosage range of L-Theanine ranges between 50 and 200 mg, or more, per day.

While 3 or 4 cups of tea would be expected to contain 100-200mg of l-theanine, this same volume of tea contains a great deal of caffeine. The caffeine itself will improve concentration, but headache can occur as the caffeine wears off, and sleep disorders are common with caffeine ingestion. Decaffeinated tea would be a good choice, but the decaffeinating process destroys the L-theanine.

After ingestion of capsular or tablet forms of l-theanine, blood levels will reach maximum peak blood levels in about 30 mins, and peak in 2-4 hours. For maximal effect, it is best taken in the morning to enhance concentration, and immediately before bed to enhance sleep.

I have my patients use one of our Green Tea Extract Capsules at bed time, combined with a melatonin 10 mg capsule. This is a very gentle approach to sleep induction.

In patients with anxiety and/or depression, the addition of 5-HTP can be added. Dosage is discussed, below.

Sleep Disorder is remarkably common. For a general idea as to how prevalent this problem might be, simply watch television and count the number of commercials that pop up for prescription sleep medications.

The Problems:

Sleep Dysfunction or insomnia is a symptom, not a primary disease state.
Without sorting through WHY a person has difficulty sleeping, it is impossible to correct the underlying problem.
Taking a medication that is ‘new to nature’ rarely corrects any underlying problem. That is, a medication that is formulated from chemicals that are not native to the organism (human, in this case) cannot by nature correct an imbalance. Only restoration of the missing piece, chemical or nutrient will restore proper balance.
It is unclear, in most cases, which chemical is out of balance or inadequate.

My approach to correcting sleep problems begins with teaching correct sleep habits, but it includes interventions such as L-Theanine, Melatonin, and colostrum. I will use 5-HTP, as well, if the clinical situation is appropriate.

We will discuss 'Sleep Hygiene' in another blog, or two........ Comprehensive topic, to be certain.