A Good Night’s Sleep

I participated in an Ambassador program on behalf of Influence Central for Pernix Therapeutics. I received a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

Over the past few months I have been sharing about the huge problem of insomnia in this country.About 4 million Americans suffer from insomnia, and it is a problem that can have far ranging effects. When I don’t get enough sleep I am grumpy, and more likely to be short with the kids.  I want to be awake and alert, so I can enjoy my days and not just stumble through them!

And in addition to obvious side effects like grumpiness, insomnia can actually effect your health, and cause issues like a suppressed immune system. So it is important to come up with ways to help address this problem.

Last month I shared some Shut-Eye Strategies to Beat Insomnia – and now I want to follow up on how these strategies have worked to help me get a good nights sleep.

As I expected the most difficult strategy for me to implement was signing off from social media at least an hour before bedtime. As a blogger I am on social media a lot – probably too much! After all who knows what important updates I could miss on Facebook? But I took the risk, and didn’t really miss anything important, because all the updates I needed to see were still available in the morning. I found that this made it easier for me to fall asleep, because I was more relaxed and had already wound down for the night.

As part of my shut-eye strategies I also increased my morning exercise.  This has helped my energy level throughout the day and seems to make a more natural pattern to the day.

Of course for some people the problem isn’t fall asleep, it is staying asleep. It doesn’t do any good to fall asleep when your head hits the pillow if you wake up at 3:30am and then lay awake for hours. This kind of sleeplessness is still considered insomnia, and can be difficult to overcome.

Unfortunately for people who suffer from this kind of insomnia, practicing shut-eye strategies like the ones I tried might not be enough. But the good news is that there are effective treatment options available for this, including SILENOR^®,a prescription sleep aid that treats people with insomnia who have trouble staying asleep.

While most sleep medications work by helping patients fall asleep, SILENOR^®  helps patients stay asleep through the night, because it works with the wake-promoting mechanism of the body’s natural sleep-wake cycle. It is not associated with a risk of abuse or physical dependence, so it can be used regularly.

So if you have trouble sleeping through the night have a conversation with your doctor about your routine, lifestyle and symptoms to determine the best option for you. Visit Wanttosleepmore.com for more information about how to achieve a full, uninterrupted night’s sleep.

SILENOR^® is a prescription sleep medicine that is used to treat people with insomnia who have trouble staying asleep. Call your doctor if your insomniaworsens or is not better within 7 to 10 days. This may mean that there is another condition causing your sleep problem. Be sure that you are able to devote 7 to 8 hours to sleep before being active again. SILENOR^® should be taken within 30 minutes of bedtime. Do not take with alcohol or with other medicines that can make you sleepy. If you are on a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI) or have taken a MAOI within the past two weeks, you should not take SILENOR^®. You should not take SILENOR^® if you have an eye problem called narrow angle glaucoma that is not being treated, if you have severe urinary retention, or if you are allergic to any of the ingredients in SILENOR^®. You should not drive or operate machinery at night after taking SILENOR^®. Until you know how you will react to SILENOR^®, you should be careful in performing such activities during the day following taking SILENOR^®. Before you take SILENOR^®, tell your doctor if you have a history of depression, mental illness or suicidal thoughts. You should call your doctor right away if after taking SILENOR^® you walk, drive, eat or engage in other activities while asleep. Drowsiness is the most common adverse event observed in clinical trials. For more information, please see the complete Prescribing Information, including the Medication Guide, athttps://www.silenor.com/Content/pdf/prescribing-information.pdf. You are encouraged to report negative side effects of prescription drugs to the FDA. Visit www.fda.gov/medwatch or call 1-800-FDA-1088.