People that have issues sleeping, like insomnia, sometimes choose a natural cure for treating it. Natural cures may include herbal remedies like chamomile tea and lemon balm considered harmless for most people. One should note that just because a remedy is considered natural it does not mean it is safe. Herbal remedies may contain prescription drugs and they are not typically regulated.
Examples of herbal remedies include kava kava, chamomile, valerian root, passion flower and St. John’s wort and have been used for insomnia cures from generation to generation. The effectiveness and safety of these natural compounds has not been formally documented. Existing studies and research are not based on standard methodologies and they are often hard to interpret. Standardized studies include those produced by regulatory agencies such as the FDA.
Some insomnia sufferers take melatonin to help them sleep. Melatonin is a hormone produced in the brain by the pineal gland, from the amino acid tryptophan. Synthetic melatonin supplements have been used for a variety of medical conditions, most notably as an insomnia cure. Melatonin is the best studied natural remedy for insomnia, although in the U.S. it remains unregulated. Evidence on its effects as an insomnia cure remains unclear. Studies have found that although many people fall asleep faster with melatonin, it has no effect on prolonging total sleep time or lessening daytime sleepiness.
It must be duly noted that melatonin is a dietary supplement, not a drug, and therefore its quality and effectiveness is not regulated in the U.S. (The regulation of melatonin is not enforced in the U.S. of all the developing nations.) Being a strong hormone, melatonin can produce strong side effects, many are unknown, on many parts of the human body. People taking melatonin as an insomnia cure are, in a way, experimenting on themselves.
Since the FDA does not regulate natural remedies, their quality is not controlled. Any compound affecting body chemistry has the ability to produce potentially harmful side effects. Although some studies purport positive benefits from the use of natural remedies, the substances tested in the lab are often not the same ones available to the public. Cases involving the reporting of harmful and serious side effects from taking natural remedies have been documented. In some cases, prescription drugs were found to be added to herbal remedies.
Whether natural or chemical, one should not be compelled to use drugs as insomnia cures. Natural therapies can be used to help provide an insomnia sufferer a good night’s sleep without the use of drugs.
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I agree whole heartedly when it comes to herbal based remedies. They are not regulated or controlled and can even have drug additives.