The Positives And Negatives Of Sleeping Pills

Have you been given sleeping pills to help with your sleep, pills that leave you spaced out, like you're moving in slow motion and not fully rested? Not being able to sleep is critical, resulting in loss of memory, ineffective work habits, and increasing irritability. Starting in their early 40's, women will be in commonly plagued with sleeping problems. The answer is actually very easy. About several years before menopause, ladies progesterone levels begin to plummet. This sets them up for sleepless nights. Progesterone, natural progesterone that is soy-based, not the peanut oil pharmaceutical progesterone Prometrium, provides improvement in sleep, dramatic decrease in irritability (who would not be irritable if you can't sleep and remain exhausted), decrease in headaches as well as the decrease in the signs of estrogen dominance. Besides natural progesterone, NOT synthetic progestins like Prempro or Provera, has now been shown to reduce breast and uterine cancer, reduce cholesterol and reduce heart disease. And additionally, it makes you feel better!

Sleep medicines don't handle the real underlying causes of why women are having trouble sleeping as they get older. The main reason is really because progesterone levels are so low. Progesterone is like nature's Valium, it is the Feng-Shui of hormones providing calmness and relaxation, factors critical in falling asleep.

With women who are either perimenopausal (which can be up to ten years before menopause), menopausal, or experiencing surgically induced menopause (hysterectomy), the progesterone levels can drop to such low, immeasurable level that ladies simply cannot sleep. It often takes women per hour or more to get to sleep or they find themselves waking up throughout the night.

So how does bio-identical hormone replacement therapy help?

When natural progesterone is taken as a pill, versus within the cream, it travels to the brain and interacts with the GABA receptors. These receptors when activated naturally promote sleep and help patients reach the restorative sleep (REM sleep) more quickly.

How does hormone replacement with progesterone differ from taking sleeping pills in regards to the quality of sleep a woman might expect?

strong sleeping pills pills are synthetic, not natural. Nothing is natural about them, and due to that the natural restorative REM sleep is never achieved. Oh yes, sleeping pills can help you're able to sleep, but they don't get the quality of sleep achieved naturally. When I treat women affected by sleep issues within their 40's and 50's, sleep undoubtedly impacted by progesterone levels, among the most common response I hear after starting progesterone is 'This is the greatest sleep I have ever had'.

I have seen patients experience results quickly. Sometimes in the first one or two doses. They often can't believe how rested they're once they wake up and would like to get rid of their sleeping pills as soon as possible.