Insomnia
Paradoxical Excitation from DPH Sleeping Pills
When you think about sleeping pills, you probably imagine medications that make you drowsy. After all, the whole point of sleeping pills is to help you fall asleep easier. In recent years "PM" pain re…
Sleeping Pills for Seniors: A Scary Solution for…
Do you have trouble sleeping? That’s just a natural outcome of accumulating lots of birthdays, right? Actually, insomnia is not a normal consequence of aging. According to the National Poll on Healt…
Show 1378: Rediscovering the Power of Medicinal …
This week, two guests describe their work with the healing power of medicinal herbs. They draw upon family histories of herbalism along with their own studies of how to use botanical medicines. You ma…
Will Taking Ashwagandha Help You Fall Asleep?
giveLots of people have trouble sleeping. They may take medications to overcome insomnia but worry about the potential side effects. For the last few years, anxiety about infection or job insecurity h…
Do Doctors Know How to Help Patients Stop Medica…
Imagine for a moment that you are the CEO of a major drug company. What is the ideal product? Sadly, it’s all about money. In other words, what would be a highly profitable medication that doctors w…
Should You Raise the Foot of Your Bed to Sleep B…
Have you been having trouble sleeping? Lots of people find it difficult to get the sleep they need from time to time. Tossing and turning night after night can lead to a range of health problems, so i…
Sweet Dreams with Tart Cherry Juice at Bedtime
If you, like so many people, suffer from insomnia, you may be feeling frustrated. The disadvantages of relying on sleeping pills, either prescription or over-the-counter, are becoming clearer. At the …
How to Sleep During Anxious Times
This is a terrible time to be an insomniac. Headlines are designed to provoke anxiety or fear. Contentious political clashes and war make the nighttime news distressing. When the days get shorter and …
The Love-Hate Relationship with Anti-Anxiety Ben…
Throughout recorded history, there have been huge challenges: famines, floods, fires, earthquakes, pandemics and wars. People have been complaining about anxiety and stress for hundreds, if not thousa…
Benzodiazepine Dependence | A Hard Habit to Kick
When most people hear the words “drug abuse” they think of opioids like oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl or heroin. Other contenders include stimulants like cocaine and methamphetamine (“meth”…
Can Raising the Head of the Bed Beat Insomnia?
Most of us have had at least a few nights with insomnia. Too many people have trouble with chronic sleeping problems. Often they rely on pills such as benzodiazepines to put them to sleep. Could they …
Show 1354: How Hypnosis Can Help Your Health
Would you be surprised to learn that hypnosis is a powerful tool for healing? If your primary exposure to this practice has been in books and movies, you may have a few misconceptions about how it wor…
Is There a Downside to Ashwagandha?
Have you been looking for natural ways to get some sleep? That is certainly understandable. When you are worrying about family members and friends, you may not be able to sleep well. Some herbs could …
Can Acupressure Arm Bands Help with Sleep Proble…
Many individuals who have sleep problems from time to time would rather solve them without resorting to sleeping pills. After all, prescription sleeping pills can be habit-forming. Even OTC sleep aids…
Prednisone Can Cause Anxiety, Depression and Ins…
Corticosteroids are both a blessing and a curse. They can calm a serious allergic reaction and reduce inflammation. People with asthma may profit from a drug like prednisone during a flareup. Patients…
Is It Unhealthy to Drink Unfiltered Coffee?
The health consequences of drinking coffee have stirred quite a bit of controversy over the years. According to legend, a goatherd noticed that his goats were extra frisky after eating coffee berries,…
How Can You Stop PM Sleeping Pills?
People with insomnia are caught between two hard rocks. On the one hand, they are told that lack of sleep can lead to all sorts of health problems including high blood pressure, forgetfulness, diabete…
Will Vitamin D Supplements Really Protect You fr…
Avoiding colds and flu is challenging. Physicians will tell you that vaccination is the only protection against influenza. Frequent hand washing is the other standard recommendation. Unfortunately, im…
Can Acupressure Wrist Bands Help You Get to Slee…
Far too many Americans sleep less than the recommended seven hours a night, according to the CDC. Are you among them? Sleep difficulties can come from having trouble falling asleep or from waking in t…
Show 1333: Overcoming Insomnia Without Medicatio…
In this week’s episode, sleep expert Dr. Jade Wu will join us in the studio to answer your questions about overcoming insomnia without medication. Email us [radio@PeoplesPharmacy.com] or call 888-47…
Does Insomnia Raise Your Risk for Heart Trouble?
People with insomnia experience a terrible double bind. On the one hand, they have trouble falling or staying asleep. That is, after all, the definition of insomnia. As a result, they may have trouble…
Show 1331: Staying Healthy During and After COVI…
In this week’s episode, we explore a range of practical approaches to staying healthy even in the midst of an epidemic or pandemic like COVID. Our guest offers evidence-based advice on what lifestyl…
Can Taking a Probiotic Product Help You Sleep Be…
If you have heard about taking a probiotic product, a pill or beverage containing millions or billions of beneficial bacteria, chances are you were thinking about digestive health. Some people take su…
Does Acetaminophen During Pregnancy Lead to Cran…
Acetaminophen, the ingredient in Tylenol, is considered one of the safest drugs in the pharmacy. As a result, neither doctors nor patients worry about people taking acetaminophen during pregnancy. Tha…
Overcoming Insomnia with Tart Cherry Juice
Do you often toss and turn for hours? Wouldn't it be great to have a remedy that could help you overcome insomnia, preferably without next-day drowsiness or other undesirable side effects? Some scient…
Is Napping Good for Your Health or Bad for Your …
Do you get drowsy after lunch? Now that so many people are working from home, the temptation to take an afternoon nap may sometimes be overwhelming. Some prior studies showed that napping was not heal…
Is There a Problem Taking Melatonin to Sleep?
Chronic insomnia wears you down. It also contributes to a range of health problems, from high blood pressure to diabetes. But many of the medications people take to get to sleep are not intended for l…
A Lawyer Loves Halcion for Sleep! What Are the D…
Triazolam (Halcion) was first approved in the Netherlands in 1977. Reports of bizarre side effects (anxiety, paranoia, hallucinations and aggression) led Dutch regulators to restrict higher doses of t…
Can Your Medicines Cause Insomnia?
Tens of millions of people have trouble sleeping every night. Many just can’t fall asleep. Others fall asleep just fine but wake up after a few hours and have a hard time getting back to sleep. What…
How Well Do You Sleep When You Hear Unfamiliar V…
Do you ever fall asleep with the radio or television on? What about dropping off while you listen to a podcast with your earbuds in place? Some people deliberately turn on a broadcast if they wake in …
What Is the Best Time to Go to Sleep?
When do you go to sleep? Are you a night owl or an early bird? The answer to that question has implications for your risk of cardiovascular disease. Finding a Good Time to Go to Sleep: A new study in …
Does Popular OTC Antihistamine Increase Risk of …
The Food and Drug Administration has been surprisingly silent about the possible risk of dementia associated with anticholinergic drugs. It has been our observation that once this federal agency appro…
Show 1268: Learning How to Sleep
Are we in the midst of a Great Sleep Recession? Sleep deprivation is common and serious but not always appreciated. One of the tipoffs that people may not be getting adequate shut-eye is that they wak…
Do Lonely Older People Take More and Riskier Dru…
Doctors write a lot of prescriptions for anti-anxiety agents, pain medicine, sleeping pills and antidepressants. The last time we checked, 22 million Americans were filling more than 100 million presc…
When PM Pain Meds Might Make Sense
We are not big fans of "PM" Pain meds. We’re talking about products such as Advil PM, Aleve PM, Excedrin PM, Motrin PM, Tylenol PM or Unisom PM. We suspect that a lot of people see a familiar brand …
Will Saffron Extract Help You Sleep Better?
People with insomnia face a difficult dilemma. Could saffron extract help overcome it? The Insomniac's Dilemma: On the one hand, insomniacs hear that if they don't sleep, they may develop diabetes, hy…
Zolpidem Has Different Dose for Women
The popular sleeping pill zolpidem was first approved by FDA in 1992 under the brand name Ambien. In 2012, nearly 40 million prescriptions for this medication were dispensed. The FDA changed the dose …
Show 1246: Getting the Sleep You Need Even in An…
Adequate sleep is essential to good health. That is not a news flash; your grandmother and great-grandmother knew it. It’s simply become more difficult to get the sleep you need in these anxious tim…
Can Melatonin Help Overcome COVID-19?
People may take popular supplements for a wide range of problems even if researchers have not established their efficacy. What can melatonin help with? A lot of folks probably noticed, as this reader …
Zolpidem for Insomnia | COVID-Related Anxiety
Under the best of conditions, tens of millions of people have trouble getting a decent night’s sleep. These days, though, it’s harder than ever. News about the coronavirus is nonstop. People have …