Sleep Disorders: Waking Up to Reality( TUSTIN Calif. Oct. 4 /- With an e...),Health

TUSTIN, Calif., Oct. 4 /PRNewswire/ -- With an estimated 50-70 million sufferers, sleep disorders are one of the most pervasive health related problems in America according to the National Center on Sleep Disorder Research. It should come as no surprise that as the number of people suffering from sleep disorders grows, so too does the market for prescription sleep aides like Ambien, Lunesta and Rozerem. In fact, according to CNNMoney.com, the market for insomnia medications now tops $2 billion and is expected to double by 2009.

"As a society we are playing a dangerous game by consuming more and more of these drugs each year," says Art Francis, DC, an Orange County Chiropractor and Co-Founder of StayBetter.com, a natural wellness information website. "They usually don't provide the kind of restorative sleep we need to function well, almost always have a hangover affect and are very habit forming."

While nearly all sleeping pills are addictive and marketed with the warning, "Almost everyone has some risk of becoming dependent on sleep medication", the effects of long term or high dose usage can lead to additional health problems that range from high blood pressure, dizziness, nausea and depression to more dangerous behavioral disorders like sleepwalking, sleep binge eating or uninhibited behavior.

Although most experts agree sleeping pills are beneficial in some cases, like those of extreme emotional distress, here are a few things everyone should be aware of before deciding to use them to get their sleep:

1. Sleeping pills treat only the symptoms of insomnia and do nothing to

fight the source of sleeplessness, which is usually based in a

lifestyle pattern

2. Sleeping pills create a hypnotic effect similar to alcohol that often

carries over to the next day

3. Sleeping pills reduce brain cell activity, adversely effect short-term

memory and lower the immune system's ability to fight disease<
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