What is Rebound Insomnia? And Can We Avoid it?

Rebound insomnia

More than one million people globally depend on prescription sleep medications to fall asleep. Just imagine! That's not counting the thousand who take over the counter (OTC) sleep medications such as Nytol or Sominex. The tragedy is most of these people could sleep better without them. However these drugs are so habit forming, they're afraid to stop taking them. They can’t get off the insomnia medication treadmill.

This is a classic phycological trap. We tell ourselves we're not going to take a sleeping pill tonight, so we lay there with one thing going around in our head - "I won't be able to sleep because I haven't taken my pill!". We think it's the lack of medication that's keeping us awake, but that's only partly true. What's keeping us awake is the anxiety about not being able to go to sleep (anxiety insomnia). Anxiety and sleep disorders go hand in hand!

The thing that keeps us chained to these insomnia medications is fear. Fear of withdrawal, fear of never having a good night’s sleep again.

In fact there will be some withdrawal effects when you stop taking prescribed sleep medication. Rebound Insomnia also known as drug withdrawal insomnia, is a valid condition. but it's not as hard to overcome as you may expect.

If you are an occasional user of sleeping pills, you will be able to achieve this quite quickly. For those who take insomnia medication every night, expect a certain amount of discomfort, especially at the start.

If you're a heavily addicted user, I'd recommend you consult your doctor while weaning yourself off the drug. It’s important to do this gradually as stopping any prescription medication suddenly may cause physical or emotional side effects.

How to reduce rebound insomnia

Understand that most sleep disorders are a mixture of the physical and phycological. If that's the case, any treatment has to take into account both these factors. The best approach to giving up sleeping pills is a change of attitude. Accept you are going to have a few restless nights and don't resist it. Fighting insomnia will only make you more anxious. If you feel yourself starting to panic, remind yourself that it's part of the healing process and you are doing the best thing you can for your long term health.

What to expect from rebound insomnia

You may have trouble falling asleep for about 1 to 3 weeks, in unusual cases it may last a little longer. You may be pleasantly surprised if you don't experience rebound insomnia, however be prepared for it and know how to deal with it.

Just be patient and accept that it's temporary. Your sleep will improve soon. Don’t concentrate how tired you are going to feel the next day. Think about the relief from the “hung over” feeling that sleeping pills used to give you.

You may find you are having more vivid dreams and more of them. This is because your REM sleep has been suppressed and is now making up for lost time. Don't be alarmed by this. Some of the typical symptoms of drug withdrawal such as anxiety, shaky hands and dizziness may also come up, although this shouldn't happen if you withdraw gradually.

It's a good idea to keep a sleep diary. Start this before cutting down on your medication. You should notice an improvement in your sleep as the weeks progress. This will help to you to build confidence in your ability to fall asleep with drugs.

If you feel you need a helping hand, a natural sleep remedy such as  Great Night Sleep has helped others get through rebound insomnia safely.

The best part is your sleep will be better than it was when you were taking the sleep medications. So persevere and look forward to healthy, refreshing and drug free sleep!

From rebound insomnia to home