Sleep is essential, but not everyone can easily fall and stay asleep every night. In fact, over 70 million people in the United States suffer from at least one sleep disorder. This can become the reason why they regularly lose sleep and, eventually, damage their overall health and wellness.

Sleep deprivation can adversely affect the quality of your life as it can result in hypertension, heart attack, faulty brain function, memory loss, and even immune system deficiency.

Fortunately, you won’t have to twist and turn despite having sleep disorders because there are now 15 natural sleep aids that are backed by science. Some of the most effective and common examples include melatonin, valerian roots, lemon balm, and chamomile tea. Using these sleeping aids regularly will enable you to improve the quality of sleep and enjoy these benefits:

1. Effective Even After Short-Term Use

Losing sleep regularly can lead to countless health conditions. Aside from those already mentioned, sleep deprivation can also lead to drastic mood changes that can eventually take a toll on your relationships.

Sleep deprivation can also increase your susceptibility to road accidents and injuries as you’ll lose the ability to think and concentrate when you’re on the road. The longer you lose sleep, the more prone you are to these consequences.

By using sleeping aids regularly, you won’t have to worry about this problem anymore because these are actually effective even after short-term use. This means that you won’t have to wait for weeks or months to see the results of your sleeping aids. You can immediately notice the effects of these sleeping aids on the same day that you start using them.

Take melatonin, for example. This hormone is naturally produced by the human body and is responsible for your sleep-wake cycle. However, because of unhealthy lifestyle choices and poor diet, the melatonin levels in your body can drastically decrease and lead to insomnia and sleeplessness.

Using sleeping aids that are high in melatonin can combat this deficiency, making it easier for you to fall asleep every night. In fact, according to studies, scientists have found that melatonin helps people with insomnia to fall asleep by an average of seven minutes.

1. Helpful For People Who Are Severely Sleep-Deprived

While some people have the luxury of sticking to a regular sleeping pattern or schedule, others are forced to change their body clocks regularly. People who work in the healthcare and food industry usually have rotating schedules. It means that they work at different times of the day.

More often than not, these individuals will work during day time and, for the next week, will be expected to work during the graveyard shift.

Although required by their jobs, this kind of lifestyle can be very dangerous to their health. Erratic changes in the work schedule will make it hard for a person to maintain a routine and can eventually interfere with the schedule and quality of their sleep. If the person is not used to having this kind of lifestyle, they may regularly lose sleep and become less productive in their respective jobs.

If your current job requires you to follow unstable work schedules, and you regularly see yourself struggling to get some shuteye, sleeping aids can become the solution to your problem.

As mentioned, sleeping aids can provide fast results, which means that you can take them whenever you want to and immediately see results on the same day. Regardless if you’re going to work during the day or night this week, you can use sleeping aids so you can immediately fall asleep the moment your duty ends.

If you start incorporating chamomile tea in your lifestyle, for example, it’ll be very easy for you to manage anxiety and initiate sleep as this sleeping aid contains antioxidants, flavonoids, and sesquiterpenes. These compounds work as natural depressants, effectively treat insomnia, and help reduce inflammation. So, if you’re scared of not getting enough sleep because of your erratic schedule, make sure to drink chamomile tea as often as possible!

1. Lesser Side Effects

Sleeping disorders are no longer new today. In fact, countless businesses have produced drugs to help people combat insomnia and other sleep disorders. Regardless of the severity of your sleep disorder and your budget, it’s easy to find a sleeping pill that’s perfect for your needs.

Although beneficial, these sleeping pills also come with several drawbacks. Using these regularly can lead to addiction or tolerance development. It means that you’ll have to use higher doses of sleeping pills in order to achieve the same results in the long run.

If you have been using Diphenhydramine to induce sleep, for example, you might have to look for a product that comes in higher dosage after weeks of using it. Over time, this can cause several side effects, namely blurred vision, constipation, daytime drowsiness, and dry mouth.

If you choose to use natural sleeping aids, you won’t have to worry about experiencing severe side effects and health risks. Natural sleeping aids, such as lemon balm, are free from any type of chemicals and can even be made in the comforts of your own home. You can make lemon balm by crushing several lemon balm leaves to release its natural oil and apply it topically in your forehead or use it as a scent in your bedroom.

Natural sleeping aids are not habit-forming, which means that you can use them long-term and not worry about any side effects. Most natural sleeping aids are also safe to use for pregnant and breastfeeding women.

Talk To Your Doctor First

If you’re planning to use sleeping aids to improve the quality of your rest at night, make sure to talk to your doctor about it. Sleeping aids can be very useful for individuals who struggle to get some shuteye every night. However, using these without the approval of a medical professional can also result in side effects and health risks.

Talk to your doctor about your plans for using sleeping aids and ask about the appropriate dosage suitable for your needs. With their approval, you’ll have peace of mind knowing that the sleeping aids you’ll use won’t put your health and safety at risk.

All four of the Alaska Sleep Clinic locations are accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM).  AASM is a professional society of physicians, researchers and other health care professionals who specialize in the study, diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. The organization accredits sleep medicine centers in the United States.

About Accredited Sleep Centers

Each sleep center accredited with the AASM has demonstrated a commitment to the highest quality of care in the diagnosis and treatment of sleep disorders. Accredited facilities have a board-certified sleep medicine physician, who leads a sleep team of trained health care professionals. To become accredited by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, sleep centers must comply with the AASM Standards for Accreditation, the gold standard for patient care in the sleep field. These requirements incorporate the latest diagnostic and treatment advances, and the standards ensure that sleep centers provide high quality, patient-centered care.

Call Alaska Sleep Clinic today to speak with a board-certified sleep specialist.  ASC has been using Telemedicine for years and has the most experience using Telemedicine than any other lab in Alaska.

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