The Healthy You Is the Better You

Posted on: 23 July 2020

If after discussing your insomnia and the effect it has on your health with your physician, they have recommended that you take some sleep medicine, you should take note of these two tips.

Do not forgo your sleep hygiene routine whilst you're taking sleep medicine

One of the first things that sleep experts recommend people do when they have insomnia is to create a sleep hygiene routine, which makes it as easy as possible for these individuals to fall asleep. A routine like this might include not watching television in the hour before their bedtime, taking a hot bath, not eating a big meal late in the evening and aiming to be in bed at the same time every night. If you have established a sleep hygiene routine which, but it has not cured your insomnia, but has improved it a little bit, you must not stop doing it just because you now have prescription sleep medication that will help you to fall asleep very quickly, with no effort. The reason for this is as follows. Your physician might only want you to take this sleep medicine for a specific period. Even if they initially say it is OK for you to take the medication long-term, they may have to take you off it in the future if, for example, you're a woman and you get pregnant, or if you develop tolerance.

As such, it's important to stick to your sleep hygiene routine so that if you do need to stop taking your sleep medicine, you will have some method to fall back on that will enable you to manage your insomnia. While you might think you can just start following this routine again when you need to, the reality is that starting up a routine after not doing it for many months is much harder than simply sticking to it in the first place.

Be aware of how soundly you will sleep

If you take any type of prescription sleep medicine, you will probably find that you sleep very soundly for several hours. This can be a wonderful occurrence if you have dealt with insomnia and all of its health repercussions for many years. However, because of how deeply you'll sleep whilst on this medication, you should ensure that you prepare before taking it.

For example, if your child is currently a bit ill and is likely to wake up in the night and ask for help, make sure your spouse knows that they will need to take care of them and that, for example, they cannot take their own prescribed sleep medicine on the same night that you do. Similarly, if you know that a relative will need to call you very late at night, make sure to put the ringtone volume at its highest level and keep your phone right beside your bed so that it will be loud enough to wake you from your deep slumber.