The Prescription Drug Trazodone Used For Insomnia

The prescription drug Trazodone is widely used for insomnia, despite the fact that drugs are very rarely the answer to insomnia and that Trazodone was never intended to be used as a cure for insomnia. So, just why is it used so widely in the treatment of insomnia?

Trazodone, which is marketed under the brand name Desyrel®, is one of a range of drugs designed to be used in the treatment of anxiety and, in particular, for the treatment of people suffering from depressive disorders.

It is designed to reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression and works, in part, by preventing, or inhibiting, the reuptake of serotonin, which is a chemical often referred to as the body's 'natural sleeping pill'.

Serotonin plays an important part in regulating the body's sleep cycle and by artificially enhancing the body's level of serotonin, Trazodone can act to produce sleepiness.

This is no bad thing of course where the drug is being used to treat a depressive illness which carries with it the problem of insomnia. However, when Trazodone is used simply to treat insomnia in isolation, as is often the case, then its use becomes questionable.

There are two problems with Trazodone used for insomnia.

The first is that there are considerable side effects to this drug and, while the drug can indeed help you to get to sleep and often enjoy a greater degree of deep sleep, the following morning it is not at all uncommon to wake up feeling less than refreshed and with a congested nose, possibly a headache and probably feeling groggy and a little unsteady.

Indeed, many users describe the effects of Trazodone as rather like getting up in the morning with a hangover.

The second problem is not restricted solely to Trazodone but is the problem of using any form of prescription drug (or over-the-counter drug for that matter) to treat insomnia.

The causes of insomnia are many and varied but in virtually all cases the solution lies in looking at your lifestyle, environment and eating and drinking habits and making simple changes to these to affect a cure for insomnia.

Many millions of people cure their insomnia naturally every year while many millions more find that their insomnia is growing and other problems are developing while they continue to turn to a bottle of pills looking for an insomnia remedy.