Losing sleep? Take a Pass on the Pills

Who needs Ambien when you have dogs?

I must confess that I have never had much trouble sleeping. In fact, my ability to conk out ten seconds after my head hits the pillow has been a not infrequent source of frustration for my better half, who often tosses and turns for a good hour before drifting off. It probably doesn't help that, apparently, I have a tendency to snore like a drunk grizzly bear.

But she's not alone in her nightly frustration. According to the Mayo Clinic, more than one third of adults have insomnia at some point, and 10 to 14 percent are chronic sufferers. Last year, the sleepless filled over 50 million prescriptions for medications to knock them out. Many of these drugs, like Ambien and Lunesta, carry a risk for serious side effects (depression, hallucinations, dependency, antisocial moods, and so on). On the other hand, insomnia can depress the immune system and contribute to weight gain in addition to the obvious feelings of fatigue.

The good news is that a number of natural alternatives are proving to be just as effective as pharmaceuticals.