Sleeplessness affects roughly 3 out of 10 Americans. A little over 10% of them say they experience the symptoms of this health problem directly during the day. Put differently, millions of Americans live with the daily consequences of this problem—nearly 35% of Americans don't get enough sleep. The belief that one does not get enough sleep is held by roughly half of adult Americans.
Many Americans use prescription medications to treat insomnia, and it is undeniable that the pharmaceutical industry profits handsomely from the sale of these "sleeping pills." Positive effects are possible with these pills, but they are transient. Long-term use may result in serious side effects, and they don't deal with the underlying cause of the issue.
The good news is that there is an efficient, completely natural way to fight insomnia and sleeplessness and you don’t have to experience any of the side effects usually associated with sleeping pills. Before we share this natural solution, it is the best idea to learn more about sleep deprivation.
Sleep Deprivation and Insomnia
Unfortunately, thousands of people are diagnosed with insomnia each year. Insomnia is described as inability to sleep caused by different things like waking up in the middle of the night, problems falling asleep, waking up much earlier than needed or having low quality sleep.The direct causes of insomnia are a mixture of social, biological and psychological factors or only one of these factors. Hypertension, depression, anxiety, stress and medical issues are some of the main factors that contribute to the occurrence of insomnia.
This medical condition is not the same as sleep deprivation. Insomnia is characterized by having all the adequate resources and proper environment where an individual can sleep, but certain internal markers don’t allow that person to sleep. On the other hand, sleep deprivation can be triggered by insomnia, but it can also be triggered by specific external factors including physical discomfort, loud noises, bright lights etc.
Even though the main causes of sleep deprivation and insomnia are not the same, they lead to the same result – lack of sleep. If you don’t get sufficient amount of sleep, this practice can lead to many different uncomfortable symptoms that have a direct impact on your everyday life. This is a short list of some of these symptoms:
- Mood swings
- Chronic fatigue
- Anxiety
- Anger and bad temper
- Lack of concentration
- Bad memory
- Fatigue throughout the day
- Reduced cognitive functions
- Migraines and/or headaches
- Lack of energy
- Poor coordination
- Nausea and digestive problems.
All these symptoms should not be viewed as some kind of minor problems, the fact is that they have the potential to lead to many serious problems and this is especially true in cases where the individual dealing with these symptoms is involved in activities like driving, operating machinery etc.
People between the age of 40 and 60 as well as the elderly are the category of people with higher risk of developing insomnia. In addition, it seems that women have greater chances of developing insomnia compared to men. In case you are part of the risky group or you have noticed any of the aforementioned symptoms of insomnia (especially lack of sleep), then you must perform insomnia tests.
Side Effects Associated with Sleeping Pills
Even though sleeping pills help most people fall asleep, at the same time, most of them bring many serious side effects that are much more serious than the symptoms and signs of insomnia. In order to understand how dangerous these side effects can be, we have prepared a list of the most common side effects associated with sleeping pills:
- Eating significantly more food or less food
- Tingling or burning sensation in the legs or arms
- Chronic constipation
- Difficulty managing balance
- Diarrhea
- Daytime sleepiness
- Lightheadedness
- Bloating
- Gases
- Dry throat and mouth
- Headache
- Impairment
- Heartburn
- Mental issues associated with memory and attention
- Shaking that cannot be controlled
- Stomach tenderness and aches
- Night terrors
- General weakness.
As you can see, the side effects that come from sleeping pills outnumber the side effects of lack of sleep. This is another reason why you should think twice before using sleeping pills.
The reason why this list of side effects is long can be linked to the way sleeping pills work. They are actually depressing our central nervous system and this triggers different reactions in our body. Another thing that makes most of these pills potentially dangerous is that they are highly addictive. Many people have ruined or even lost their lives as a result of sleeping pills addiction.
How Can Nutmeg Help You Fight Sleep Deprivation and Insomnia?
It turns out that nutmeg is an excellent natural remedy for treating sleep deprivation and insomnia. Nutmeg is packed with myristicin, a very useful organic substance that blocks the production of enzymes that lead to stress. As you probably know, stress is one of the main factors that lead to insomnia which means that nutmeg can help us get the much needed good night’s sleep.A few scientific studies have confirmed that nutmeg is a strong natural sedative. Both sleep deprivation and insomnia sufferers can benefit from this. Individuals who are dealing with insomnia that simply can’t fall asleep can accelerate this process and those with sleep deprivation caused by external factors can overcome the problems and sleep better.
Our advice is to mix ¼ teaspoon of nutmeg powder and one cup of tap water and consuming this beverage about one hour before bedtime. Even though there are many people who say that high amounts of nutmeg can lead to hallucinations and other psychological issues, the fact is that there is no solid evidence to confirm these claims. Of course, in case you are worried about this, you can always consume smaller amounts of nutmeg.
Please try this natural remedy and share your experience with us. You can also recommend it to people close to you dealing with sleep deprivation and insomnia.