Theres more evidence about the fallacy of relying on a sleeping pill every night. Even though we Americans take enough of them every year to put more than 250 million of us to sleep for two hundred hours, the people who actually turn to a pill for help are not only sleeping less and taking more, theyre may be endangering their lives. Many of these drugs are so-called hypnotics and can interfere with a persons natural arousal defense in the dark, the ability to wake up if something goes wrong. And sleeping pills have been implicated in a third of all drug-related deaths, whether intentional (suicide) or accidental. Theyre especially lethal in combination with liquor or for older adults, whose bodies ordinarily need more time to break down drugs.
For those who suffer deep-seated fatigue, edginess, headaches, muscle spasms, and nausea, theres a simple method of relaxation that takes less than fifteen minutes a day. Its called Progressive Relaxation and involves the tensing and relaxing of muscle groups all over the body. To do it:
First make sure the bedroom is quiet, free from distraction and as dark as possible.
Make sure youre wearing loose-fitting sleepwear, preferably made of natural fabrics.
Get as comfortable a possible.
With your eyes closed, breathe deeply, slowly exhaling, for a minute or so.
