Are you riding the sleeping pill death-train?

Wednesday, July 11, 2012 by: Craig Stellpflug
Tags: sleeping pills, side effects, death

(NaturalNews) Would you board a train that had a 36 percent higher chance of a fatal crash than another train? How about climbing onto an airplane where a random 1 out of 16 wouldn't even make the destination alive? Yet people ride these deadly odds when they take even one sleep medication per month.

Something to sleep on

Sleeping pills can put you to sleep all right... permanently! Researchers found that people taking even occasional sleep and/or anxiety drugs died at a 36 percent higher rate than those who didn't take drugs. Another study found that people taking sleeping pills were 4.6 times more likely to die within 2.5 years than the non-drug people - irrespective of underlying health conditions or smoking and alcohol use.

Yet another study found that sleep drugs increased overall death risk by as much as a whopping 530 percent - along with producing a 35 percent elevated risk of developing cancer. Another study shows that taking benzodiazepines, non-benzodiazepines, barbiturates and sedative antihistamines for insomnia killed 1 in 16 pill-poppers within two years.

Insomnia in our youth

Insomnia is a significant issue among one out of every three school-aged patients seen by a psychiatrist. 96 percent of these Big Pharma pushers prescribed at least one medication to these impressionable youngsters ranging from antihistamines to ADHD meds, antidepressants, antipsychotics and anticonvulsants.

Why can't we sleep?

Melatonin is produced in the pineal gland in the brain, but its production is shut down by light striking the retina of the eye. Staying inside all day long or staying up late at night totally confuses the body's production of melatonin.

Cortisol and melatonin have an antagonistic relationship with each other. People with sleep problems usually have the highest amount of cortisol in their bloodstream in the evening. This is where regular exercise and stress-reducing activities like yoga or meditation helps.

Diet, exercise and allergies/sensitivities, caffeine, alcohol and drugs all play rolls in affecting sleep cycles. If you are not willing to give up your sugary, flavored drinks, change your diet and lifestyle, or change your work-shift then you will eventually have to rely on toxic drugs to sedate you.

Some natural sleep products

Valerian is one of the most common natural sleep remedies for insomnia, improving deep sleep, speed of falling asleep, and quality of sleep. Take 200 to 800 milligrams before bed. One caveat: About 10 percent of the people who use it actually feel energized rather than sleepy.

Supplemental melatonin helps sleep cycles and lowers cortisol. Take one mg two hours before bed and another one or two mg at bedtime.

Ornithine is a great amino acid that helps you use natural melatonin while cleaning out the brain sleep centers. Try 2,000 mg at bedtime for an adult.

Tryptophan helps with serotonin related sleep disorders. Start with 500 mg and work up to 500 mg per 50-pounds of body weight. It takes two months to maximize tryptophan's full benefit.

Magnesium and calcium are both sleep boosters that become even more effective when taken together. Take 200 milligrams of magnesium and 600 milligrams of calcium each night.

Niacinamide helps increase the amount of rapid eye movement sleep. Niacinamide directly affects the "benzodiazepine" receptors in your brain.

Lavender is a cheap, nontoxic way to slip into a peaceful slumber. Find a spray with real lavender and spritz it on your pillow before bedtime.

GABA (Gamma-aminobutyric acid) is your body's most abundant "inhibitory" neurotransmitter. GABA puts on the brakes for adrenaline while it relaxes, sedates, and reduces over-stimulation.

Avoid the train wreck

Visit your naturopath and explore your other natural options of peppermint, chamomile, and passionflower teas, diet changes, kava, inositol, acupuncture and aromatherapy before risking any deadly Big Pharma drugs.

Sources for this article

http://www.cbsnews.com
http://cebp.aacrjournals.org/content/19/3/729.abstract
http://www.health.com/health/gallery/0,,20306715,00.html

About the author:
Craig Stellpflug is a Cancer Nutrition Specialist, Lifestyle Coach and Neuro Development Consultant at Healing Pathways Medical Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ. http://www.healingpathwayscancerclinic.com/ With 17 years of clinical experience working with both brain disorders and cancer, Craig has seen first-hand the devastating effects of vaccines and pharmaceuticals on the human body and has come to the conclusion that a natural lifestyle and natural remedies are the true answers to health and vibrant living. You can find his daily health blog at www.blog.realhealthtalk.com and his articles and radio show archives at www.realhealthtalk.com