By: Terry Graedon July 25, 2024 3 Comments
    Show 1393: How to Get the Sleep You Need

    This week, Joe and Terry talk with sleep expert and medical communicator par excellence, Dr. Roger Seheult. With his certification in sleep medicine, he will tell you why you need to get enough sleep …

    By: Joe Graedon March 18, 2024 61 Comments
    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…

    By: Joe Graedon May 9, 2022 10 Comments
    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…

    By: Terry Graedon February 11, 2021 4 Comments
    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…

    By: Terry Graedon January 13, 2020 5 Comments
    Will Snoring Improve If You Take Fish Oil?

    Do you snore? You probably don't know whether you do or not, unless you have a bed partner who complains. (Dogs or cats don't count.) Snoring happens when you breathe out, but the tissues of the throa…

    By: Terry Graedon September 23, 2019 6 Comments
    Can Ashwagandha Help You Sleep Better?

    Have you had trouble sleeping? If you have, you've probably looked for something that could ease you to sleep more quickly or ensure that you stay asleep all night. Could an Indian Ayurvedic herb call…

    By: Joe Graedon July 15, 2019 6 Comments
    Beware Zolpidem Zombies on Airplanes

    One of the most popular prescription sleeping pills in the pharmacy is zolpidem (Ambien). At last count, over 19 million prescriptions were dispensed annually. Despite its popularity, zolpidem remains…

    By: Joe Graedon June 24, 2019 5 Comments
    Amitriptyline for Sleep problems Is a Bad Idea

    Amitriptyline (Elavil) is a very old antidepressant. It was first marketed in the U.S. in 1961. Amitriptyline has one FDA-approved indication: “For the relief of symptoms of depression.” For reaso…

    By: Joe Graedon May 13, 2019 6 Comments
    What Took the FDA So Long to Warn About Z-Drug D…

    The Food and Drug Administration seems to take great pride in approving new drugs. Last year was “An All-Time Record, And A Watershed,” according to Forbes (Jan. 14, 2019).  The FDA shattered…

    By: Joe Graedon May 9, 2019 3 Comments
    Popular Sleeping Pills Get FDA’s Black Box War…

    The Food and Drug Administration has issued a black box warning for the most popular sleeping pills on the market. This is the heaviest tool in the FDA’s toolkit, short of banning a medicine outrigh…

    By: Joe Graedon April 22, 2019 6 Comments
    Falling Asleep with Zolpidem | Waking up with He…

    What do you do when you are caught on the horns of a dilemma? We describe such situations a couple of ways: “Between the devil and the deep blue sea” is one. A similar saying goes: “between a ro…

    By: Terry Graedon December 17, 2018 7 Comments
    Will Lavender Oil Ease Your Anxiety and Insomnia…

    Aromatherapy, the use of plant materials with notable fragrance, has long been popular in Europe. It is now becoming more widely adopted in the US as well. In this approach, people utilize the "essent…

    By: Joe Graedon December 3, 2018 12 Comments
    Can Clonazepam Increase the Risk for Dementia?

    Millions of people take benzodiazepines every day. Such drugs are variously described as anti-anxiety agents, sedatives, hypnotics (to aid sleep) or benzos for short. At last count about five million …

    By: Joe Graedon November 19, 2018 14 Comments
    A DUI Driving Citation After Taking Ambien (Zolp…

    Americans love sleeping pills, especially Ambien (zolpidem). At last count nearly 20 million prescriptions are dispensed annually in the U.S. Once people start taking Ambien (zolpidem), many keep on t…

    By: Joe Graedon July 19, 2018 28 Comments
    Can You Get A Good Night’s Sleep in the Hospit…

    Seems like an oxymoron, doesn’t it? Get a good night’s sleep in the hospital? Who are we kidding? New research from the Netherlands confirms that patients lose a lot of sleep when they are hospita…

    By: Joe Graedon July 2, 2018 9 Comments
    Are You Taking A Sleeping Pill That Messes with …

    Sleeping pills are big business. That is especially true for over-the-counter drugs. Millions of people take “PM” pain relievers regularly because they fear they may not fall asleep easily. Diphen…

    By: Joe Graedon April 16, 2018 13 Comments
    Is NyQuil A Good Way To Stay Asleep?

    We often wonder whether people read the label of their over-the-counter medicines. If they did, would most know what they were taking? Nyquil Cold & Flu formula is advertised to “relieve your s…

    By: Joe Graedon February 19, 2018 26 Comments
    Should You Worry About Serious Melatonin Side Ef…

    More than three million Americans take melatonin to get to sleep. That's twice the number that used this supplement in 2007 (National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health). This makes melat…

    By: Joe Graedon July 10, 2017 40 Comments
    How To Get Back to Sleep In the Middle of the Ni…

    According to the CDC, 33% of Americans don't get adequate sleep. Chronic insomnia is linked to all sorts of serious health problems including diabetes, hypertension, obesity, heart disease and depress…

    By: Joe Graedon June 19, 2017 9 Comments
    Do Zolpidem (Ambien) Side Effects Include Horrib…

    Zolpidem remains a very popular prescription sleeping aid. When it was only available as the brand name drug Ambien, millions took it to get a "good night's sleep." These days zolpidem (Ambien) side e…

    By: Terry Graedon June 8, 2017 0 Comments
    Could Sleeping Longer Make You Quicker?

    Sleep deprivation has been associated with a range of problems, from metabolic disturbances to lack of concentration and judgment (Khan & Aouad, Sleep Medicine Clinics, June 2017). Sleeping longer…

    By: Terry Graedon May 8, 2017 13 Comments
    Will Raisins Help You Sleep Through the Night?

    How often do you have to get out of bed at night to hike to the bathroom? This scenario is very familiar to men past a certain age, but many women also find they need to urinate at least once during t…

    By: Terry Graedon February 2, 2017 3 Comments
    Scientists Study Mice to Learn about Sleep

    Sleep is crucial for healthy brain function. Scientists reached that conclusion from a four-year study of mice. Their research delved deep into the physiology of neuronal connections. What Did the Stu…

    By: Terry Graedon December 12, 2016 4 Comments
    Will Hops Offer Better Sleep and Prevent Dream E…

    Most of us are familiar with insomnia as a problem falling asleep. Some have had the unfortunate experience of waking far too early and not being able to drift back off to sleep. But there are other s…

    By: Terry Graedon October 24, 2016 18 Comments
    Husband with Sleep Disorder Is a Danger to Wife

    Many couples love sleeping in the same bed. Sometimes if one of them develops a sleep disorder such as snoring, the other may choose to sleep separately. One reader has a more serious problem, but she…