Recent surveys suggest that many people are becoming ‘problem sleepers’ and are reaching for medications when they go to bed.

This can cause issues such as dependency to drugs and nasty side-effects, but alternative medicine and complementary therapy can provide a natural and safe option to conventional pharmaceuticals.

The most up-to-date findings come from the United States where half of the respondents admitted having trouble falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking up too early the night before. 44% said they had one of these issues over eight nights in a month which put them in the category of ‘problem sleepers’. And the survey revealed that many people choose to take sleeping pills instead of trying alternative options.

“What people don’t realise is these medications can pose a host of side effects, including daytime drowsiness, even bizarre behaviour like sleep-walking, sleep-eating, and sleep-driving,” writes Senior Editor Tod Marks in a news release by Consumer Reports.

“There are alternative treatments that may be quite effective, yet pose no risks at all.”

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