Tips to help sleep: so many of us have that awful withdrawal insomnia

[oskcajga]

I cant get to sleep to worry about waking!  Melatonin has not helped me at all.  Neither has any other sleep aid, otc or otherwise.  Last night I took a ambien and didn't sleep at all so of course I'm feeling  horrible today. No matter what anyone says, sleep is necessary to function.  I cant even drive, clean house or anything today.  I'm so afraid I'll end up back in the phyc ward and back on meds. 

 

 

There's other ways to get sleep besides going to a psychiatric hospital and  being placed on a large dose of antipsycotics, potentially making things worse. 

[redangel]

What other ways?

[redangel]

Made it through onther night and not in hospital!  Every day is a little victory I guess!

[oskcajga]

Made it through onther night and not in hospital!  Every day is a little victory I guess!

 

I had terrible insomnia for about 3 months at one point in my recovery, and then slowly over time I began to get more and more sleep until around 6-9 months I was getting 12 hours of terrible quality sleep per day (but it WAS sleep!).  So if you hang in there long enough, insomnia will go away on its own. 

 

I also felt that perhaps checking into a psych ward might help save me.  However, I quickly reasoned that they would not appreciate my situation, and possibly cause a great deal of brain damage by putting me on anti-psycotics and benzos.  So I always pulled away from that course of action knowing that there was no quick fix to this challenge.

 

Have you spoken to a doctor about your challenges?

[bluebalu86]

I have terrible quality sleep, but my mother says I smile and laugh while I sleep and this happens very often. Weird. I just thought I'd mention it here. Does it happen to anyone else and do you know why it happens? I don't remember having and funny of pleasant dreams, but she says she has seen me smiling and laughing multiple times.

[redangel]

Yes I have spoken with my doctor.  He has tried every sleeping pill there is and they will work one night and then no more.  Cant even doze.  I've had insomnia all my life but since antidepressants it has been so much worse.  Especially now that I'm off ad.   I cant go around without sleep, I start having severe anxiety,  I never used to have anxiety till I got off paxil.  This is a nightmare!  Is why I'm fighting myself about going back in and getting back on meds.  I'm still raising two teen grand kids, even though I had to have my mom put in a assistant living home I'm the only one in the state that can visit her and take care of any problems arising.  After I went off Paxil I couldn't take care of her in my home any more so had to place her some where they could take care of her. And now I cant sleep. Sorry about dumping this all on here 

[oskcajga]

Yes I have spoken with my doctor.  He has tried every sleeping pill there is and they will work one night and then no more.  Cant even doze.  I've had insomnia all my life but since antidepressants it has been so much worse.  Especially now that I'm off ad.   I cant go around without sleep, I start having severe anxiety,  I never used to have anxiety till I got off paxil.  This is a nightmare!  Is why I'm fighting myself about going back in and getting back on meds.  I'm still raising two teen grand kids, even though I had to have my mom put in a assistant living home I'm the only one in the state that can visit her and take care of any problems arising.  After I went off Paxil I couldn't take care of her in my home any more so had to place her some where they could take care of her. And now I cant sleep. Sorry about dumping this all on here 

 

Before you consider hospitalization, I strongly recommend reading this thread on the subject: http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/8855-hospitalization/

 

What does your doctor think about your sleep challenges?  Does he have a good explanation?

[oskcajga]

I have terrible quality sleep, but my mother says I smile and laugh while I sleep and this happens very often. Weird. I just thought I'd mention it here. Does it happen to anyone else and do you know why it happens? I don't remember having and funny of pleasant dreams, but she says she has seen me smiling and laughing multiple times.

 

Blue, although my sleep is not high quality, I find that my dreams are often pleasant and delightful.  When I wake up, my brain seems to stop working - but for some reason when I sleep it doesn't have a terribly difficult time making up complex stories and situations for me to experience.  I have read this exact same pattern in others going through SSRI withdrawals.  I don't understand it entirely, because I would guess that the same brain regions responsible for conscious thought, memory, emotions, etc during wakefullness are also used during sleep.  WTF brain?

[redangel]

My doctor is at a loss on treating my insomnia.  I've had it since I was a baby.  They call it idiopathic insomnia.  Most of my life otc sleep meds worked.  After being on anti depressants and coming off them 6 mths ago, nothing has helped.  So my doctor is frustrated, I am also but think somehow I'll just tough it out because I read the post on the link you sent and don't want back on physc meds..  It was to hard to get off and the wd are still bad. I have been trying the relaxing self guiding meditations on the quiet mind cafe.  They do help me relax.   

[Meimeiquest]

My doctor is at a loss on treating my insomnia.  I've had it since I was a baby.  They call it idiopathic insomnia.  Most of my life otc sleep meds worked.  After being on anti depressants and coming off them 6 mths ago, nothing has helped.  So my doctor is frustrated, I am also but think somehow I'll just tough it out because I read the post on the link you sent and don't want back on physc meds..  It was to hard to get off and the wd are still bad. I have been trying the relaxing self guiding meditations on the quiet mind cafe.  They do help me relax.

 

What sleep hygiene practices do you use? By that, I mean the lifestyle habits to promote sleep?

[redangel]

I only use my bedroom for sleep.  I keep it dark and cool.  I turn off my computer a couple hours before bedtime.  I walk every day.  I try to get bright light outside early in the am then again between 2&3, which is supposed to reset my sleep rhythm.   Iv'e also been trying the magnesium baths before bed.  I try reading a book before bed to help relax.  I just have serious racing thoughts since I've been off Paxil and its so hard to get my brain to turn off.  Been listening the guided meditations I find at the quiet mind cafe that someone recommended.  I think getting off Paxil turned my depression into a manic phase which causes the racing thoughts.  Is why its so tempting to get back on meds.  Just I've came this far and made it 6 mths Im trying to stick it out. I have a good therapists who is supportive with me being off meds.  She is trying to teach me to turn negative thoughts to true thoughts.  Its just super hard doing that with your brain racing 1000 miles a minute.  

[Meimeiquest]

Yes, I so get that. Is there any light at all in your bedroom, can you see your hand in front of your face? We had just the green light from a smoke alarm, had sealed windows and everything, but I still have found a sleep mask helpful. I have an expensive one from Tempurpedic, but there are many on Amazon. You want one that leaves space for your eyes to move around in REM sleep, if you decide to try it. I also use amber glasses for 1 to 2 hours before bed when I am struggling. I also use inositol, GABA, and taurine at times. And I use both oral magnesium and epsom salts baths. And sometimes I still only sleep well for 3 hours, even with all that, but it calms me enough that I am comfortable just lying in the dark. My issues used to be much worse...if you can just keep calm I think you will get there. It's tough...sending you a virtual hug!

[redangel]

Right now I cannot afford to buy anything.  Im on disability and have two teen grand kids in my house Im raising. I do have my windows blacked out and cannot notice any light.  But I can still  my hands so must not be dark enough.  I to use oral magnesium.  Also am trying gaba calm.  Havnt noticed it helping to much yet.  Only used it for two nights now.  

[freespirit]

Sounds like you're doing a lot of good things to help with insomnia. Is it mostly trouble falling asleep, staying asleep or both? Some of us have been helped by this qi gong:

 

or

 

I had bad insomnia for nearly 25 years before I started doing qi gong. After a couple of nights, I started sleeping through and felt more rested than I had for a very long time. WD has made sleep challenging at times...but I never have trouble falling asleep any more and even on a few hours feel better than I used to on 10-12 hours when taking meds.

 

Also, I've found it helps me a lot with racing mind..even if my mind is still on alert while doing it...I'm always calmer by the time I finish the 7 minutes.

[oskcajga]

So I've been doing epsome salts again for the last week, and I've been having successful results again.  A 30-40 minute bath produces reliable relaxation, and sedation (although it doesn't help me sleep much).  I think it helps me deal with the symptoms of withdrawal as well.  Tends to last for a long while, hours and hours.

 

I use about 3-5 cups and some baking soda.

 

Here's the brand I use:

 

http://www.saltworks.us/shop/product.asp?idProduct=970#.VjVRgSuGO70

 

This is the best Deal I could find online - much cheaper than the amazon.com products.

[redangel]

Thank you free spririt.  I will try that tonight.

[fefesmom]

Have to admit I have just skimmed this topic and I am wondering if people who have no trouble falling asleep but wake up  after 3 or so hours and cannot get back to sleep for a couple of hours have any suggestions. I have this kind of insomnia and practice all the sleep hygiene habits with no success and haven't slept more than 4 hours in many months. I will try the qi gong (sp?) above and see if that helps. Thanks for any experiences that you have found helpful. FM (now Sophie's mom)

[cyopher72]

Have to admit I have just skimmed this topic and I am wondering if people who have no trouble falling asleep but wake up  after 3 or so hours and cannot get back to sleep for a couple of hours have any suggestions. I have this kind of insomnia and practice all the sleep hygiene habits with no success and haven't slept more than 4 hours in many months. I will try the qi gong (sp?) above and see if that helps. Thanks for any experiences that you have found helpful. FM (now Sophie's mom)

 

I find it best to get up out of bed for 15-20 minutes. Usually I can fall back asleep after that.

 

I found that for me it is almost always a sound that wakes me (dog coughing, refrigerator compressor switching on) are you sure you have eliminated those types of things. I bought some plug phones and listen to meditation music which helps me to wake less often.

[Gibby]

I find insomnia intolerable. I wasn't always like that, though. 

 

Before I hit my crisis in 2010, I'd always had trouble with sleep, with bouts of really bad insomnia cropping up once a year or so, with periods of good to decent sleep. 

 

Since the 2010 crisis, any sort of insomnia makes me feel just awful and scared. 

 

I'm better about it now, I don't panic if I've had a few days of not sleeping well when I'm on my normal retune of meds.

 

But it seems that, whenever I try to reduce the dose of anything too fast, insomnia is the first thing to crop up, and it's the only symptom I can't handle. The crying, the flu-like symptoms, the bad poops, I can handle all that, but the lack of sleep is what pulverizes me in the end. 

 

I think a lot of that has to do with the psychic residue from my crisis, where not sleeping and not knowing why put me in the hospital. I know why I wasn't sleeping now, and I wish I could go back in time, but here we are.

 

I take heart from the many accounts on here that I've read that said that normal sleep returns eventually. 

[fefesmom]

I have taken one tablet of Benadryl  (25 mg)for the past three nights and last night I slept for 7 hours - a minor miracle- and even though I woke up a few times I could get right back to sleep. I feel much better during the day too.

Does anyone have any idea how long I can keep taking Benadryl without rebound bad effects? I

am down to two 25mg Zoloft from three and am tapering  very slowly. I went CT from Effexor four years ago and don't recommend CT to anyone for anything.

FM

[ChessieCat]

Hi FM,

 

I just did a Google search "Benadryl survivingantidepressants.org and found this already here:

 

benadryl-diphenhydramine-for-withdrawal-insomnia/

 

Especially Post # 12

 

Might find some info in that topic

 

CC

[oskcajga]

I have taken one tablet of Benadryl  (25 mg)for the past three nights and last night I slept for 7 hours - a minor miracle- and even though I woke up a few times I could get right back to sleep. I feel much better during the day too.

Does anyone have any idea how long I can keep taking Benadryl without rebound bad effects? I

am down to two 25mg Zoloft from three and am tapering  very slowly. I went CT from Effexor four years ago and don't recommend CT to anyone for anything.

FM

 

It would surprise me if you didn't build tolerance to benadryl after 3 consecutive nights of use.  I find myself needing more and more benadryl to knock me out even after just 1 night of usage.  That being said, I find it to be effective at knocking me out - it also has a slight euphoric flavor to the effect, which I particularly enjoy.  I found that nyquil would have an even more euphoric flavor to the effect, but I haven't tried that stuff for a long time because it has a lot of ingredients I'd prefer to avoid right now in my life.

 

I take between 1 and 1.5 tabs and it knocks me out for a long time - and then when I wake up, I don't have any trouble falling back asleep again.

[Skyler]

Benadryl lost effectiveness for me after 3 nights as well...

[redangel]

I have a scrip for 50 mg of benadryl.  Doesn't do anything for me at all.  Sometimes  unison helps, it has a different sleep ingredient then the others.  Every other night I soak in the Epson salts with lavender oil and baking soda.  That does relax me enough that I can get some sleep with the guided imagery and breathing app on my phone.  I'm not understanding why since I've weaned off Paxil my anxiety has ramped up to such high levels I cant sleep and have panic attacks over everything .  I never used to have anxiety problems.  Ever!  I never used to have a racing mind during the day either, always at night but not during the day like now.  Any ideas?  I am working with a very good cognitive behavior therapy therapist.  She doesn't believe in giving everyone meds either. But sometimes now I have such a high level anxiety from lack of sleep that Its impossible to think straight to use the help she gives me.   She says in school most of her thesis papers were on how physc meds should only be used for very short term while you are getting therapy.  So I feel blessed to have her. It was a therapist that started me on them in the 90's, then said since I had the meds I didn't need the therapy. Ive raised 6 kids by myself and feel i've been cheated out of large parts of their lives from these meds that I believed the doctors and stayed on them for so many years being a zombie.  I know I'm kinda raving right now but sure wish I could sue some docs!!  My therapist also told me to be very careful with lack of sleep, she says by the 3rd night of no sleep you can have a physic break and be a danger to yourself or others. 

[oskcajga]

I have a scrip for 50 mg of benadryl.  Doesn't do anything for me at all.  Sometimes  unison helps, it has a different sleep ingredient then the others.  Every other night I soak in the Epson salts with lavender oil and baking soda.  That does relax me enough that I can get some sleep with the guided imagery and breathing app on my phone.  I'm not understanding why since I've weaned off Paxil my anxiety has ramped up to such high levels I cant sleep and have panic attacks over everything .  I never used to have anxiety problems.  Ever!  I never used to have a racing mind during the day either, always at night but not during the day like now.  Any ideas?  I am working with a very good cognitive behavior therapy therapist.  She doesn't believe in giving everyone meds either. But sometimes now I have such a high level anxiety from lack of sleep that Its impossible to think straight to use the help she gives me.   She says in school most of her thesis papers were on how physc meds should only be used for very short term while you are getting therapy.  So I feel blessed to have her. It was a therapist that started me on them in the 90's, then said since I had the meds I didn't need the therapy. Ive raised 6 kids by myself and feel i've been cheated out of large parts of their lives from these meds that I believed the doctors and stayed on them for so many years being a zombie.  I know I'm kinda raving right now but sure wish I could sue some docs!!  My therapist also told me to be very careful with lack of sleep, she says by the 3rd night of no sleep you can have a physic break and be a danger to yourself or others. 

 

Benadryl is kind of a hit or miss for most people, from what I understand.  Some people find it extremely helpful (like myself) if taken every once in a while, others get absolutely no sedative effect whatsoever. 

 

From what I've read unisom IS benadryl plus doxylamine, another antihistamine. 

[redangel]

Yea, I think the doxylamine is the difference that helps me a little. Do you know why post anti depressants people get such sleep issues and anxiety?  I just wish it would go away, dont enjoy it at all.  I got to a stage in my life that I want to learn to be content, at least and thought ditching the meds would help but now I have these other issues to deal with instead

[redangel]

I also cant figure out how to put a med signature on, if anyone can explain how to for me.  Im sure I cant remember all of the meds and even what years I was on what but I could give it a try. 

[DLB]

I'm gonna be honest, my sleep has been brutal but getting better during the past 14 months. It was 2 hours max. for about 4 months then 4 hours for a few and then 4-5 for a few and now 7 months off after my taper I am actually getting tired and am sleeping 6-7 hours. I went through 2 boxes of doxylamine and found that was the only thing that would work for me when I couldn't take the sleeplessness any longer. I could actually split them in half and it would work. Doxy was a Godsend.

[oskcajga]

Yea, I think the doxylamine is the difference that helps me a little. Do you know why post anti depressants people get such sleep issues and anxiety?  I just wish it would go away, dont enjoy it at all.  I got to a stage in my life that I want to learn to be content, at least and thought ditching the meds would help but now I have these other issues to deal with instead

 

Here's a success story I found from another website, this person had terrible anxiety for a long time but it got better with time.  I hope this doesn't scare you but I thought this person's description of the anxiety was just so palpable and comprehensible that I felt it was appropriate to post here in response to your question:

 

 

6 YEAR UPDATE/RECOVERY

 

rangerNY

 

When The Impossible Becomes Possible - Some Encouragement From The Other Side

 

This is for those of you that are struggling and are not sure if you'll ever have a normal life again. I'm gonna ramble here. Just stick with me and I'll get you back home.

 

After almost 9 full years, my last dose of Paxil was in September 2005. Things at first were not too bad, but by December 2005 I was sliding down a sleep slope and by January 2006 the wheels had completely come off. I was a total disaster. Wracked with almost constant anxiety and panic, overcome with rushes of uncontrollable emotion, dogged 24x7 by irrational intrusive thoughts, and flattened by waves of crushing depression. Sleep was light and never lasted past 4 AM. Everything from the phone ringing to the sound of my daughters playing to the smell of dinner cooking was almost too much to bear.

 

The business I own is a technical one. It involves working with complex networks and computing systems. I'd been a pretty cool cucumber my whole life, but when I added the numbing effects of Paxil, I was virtually bulletproof. I felt no stress and no pressure. When everyone around me was freaking out and the phones were ringing off the hook because packets were not flowing beween New York and San Francisco, I was the calm guy that just fixed it. Nothing phased me. I reconfigured production routers, switches and servers on the fly with no backups and no plan B. I rarely backed anything up. Some of it was because I'm good at what I do. Most of it was because I was acting like an *** - not uncommon for SSRI users. 90% of the time (maybe more) it all worked out - at least from a technical point of view.

 

When I hit the worst of withdrawal, that dude was lost. Gone. Nowhere to be found. It was so disheartening for me. I wanted bulletproof Drew back in the worst way. Instead, I had to read things 2-3 times to understand them. I would forgot my passwords, and actually resorted to writing them down. I couldn't recall simple commands that I used hundreds of times every day. I could barely talk on the phone without bursting into tears, so performing advanced operations on complex computing systems seemed completely out of the question. I couldn't enjoy a movie, or music, or a hockey game. Everything I had once been - even before Paxil - was gone.

 

I recall one day very clearly. Late February 2006. A Sunday morning. I was absolutely beside myself because I had to reconfigure part of my wireless backbone linking three locations here on Long Island. A task that I would have breezed through with no advance planning or forethought seemed insurmountable. I had to actually sit down and write out the exact steps - every keystroke - needed to get the job done. I went over the plan several times before sitting at my desk to get started. I was shaking. Literally. I was cold and hot at the same time. Sweating and freezing. My heart was pounding out of my chest. The task itself was terrifying, but even more so was the notion that if I made a mistake, I might have to actually leave the safety of my house and drive 20 miles to fix it. You might as well have told me that I had to drive to the moon wearing a fishbowl on my head. Same general reaction of complete terror.

 

I got through it, albeit at a snails pace. It took me probably 10 times longer to finish than it would have a year before. I remember getting out of my chair, basically collapsing on the sofa, and taking 10-15 minutes before I stopped breathing like I'd just climbed the Matterhorn. I was happy it was over, but I was also crushed because it took such an effort to accomplish what was really not that difficult a task. At that moment I figured I'd never be the person I once was.

 

But, minutes, hours and days do pass, one at a time.

 

Fast forward 6 years to November 2011.

 

Today I spent maybe 4-5 hours moving Paxil Progress to its new home on an upgraded server. I had two monitors running, and most of the time I had no less than 8 terminal and browser windows open. I was working on three or four servers at the same time. The move plan was entirely in my head. Nothing written down. I had maybe a six different username/password combinations to work with. There was software to compile, packages to install, configurations to decipher and duplicate, data to backup and move, and a whole mess of geeky stuff going on. Spotify was running in the background, streaming music from the 80s (sorry, I'm stuck there it appears!), and I was bouncing from server to server, from task to task and back again without so much as a missed keystroke.

 

Everything went just fine, and at no point during the process was I stressed, anxious or nervous about a damn thing. Now I know 6 years is a long time so obviously I should have changed in that many days, but working on Paxil Progress today actually made me realize for the first time that the old Drew is back. He's been back for a while now, and I just didn't realize it. In fact, he's better than the old Drew. I actually keep passwords double encrypted in two places now. Everything I have is backed up. I leave nothing to chance. As I worked today, I always had a plan B in my head in case something went wrong. I wasn't concerned with getting done as quickly as possible. I was actually enjoying the work (and the 80s music). I even took a few breaks to go outside and see what my kids were up to. The old Drew might have gotten the job done, but he would have never gotten it done in as "graceful" a way. With time comes wisdom I guess, and without Paxil comes a clearer more efficient mind.

 

Laurie has been very gracious about thanking me for the help, but in reality I owe her - and this site - a HUGE debt of gratitude. It helped get me through the darkest of times. Working on it today made me realize that I've been so pre-occupied with life that I've completely missed the fact that what I thought to be impossible in those dark days has actually come to pass. For this - appropriately enough with that particular holiday approaching - I am extremely thankful.

 

The point is, even if you think that you're lost forever, that you're broken beyond repair and that you're doomed, you're not. I thought that too once upon a time, and I'm here to tell you that its not going to be that way forever. Just keep breathing, keep taking baby steps forward, and keep your eyes focused down the road, not in the two feet of bumpy pavement in front of you. If I can get there, so you can you.

 

Note:  This is a success story written by a user from a now defunct website, Paxilprogress

[redangel]

You mean It still could be 6 yrs?  I'm almost 60 already!  But guess Ill have to take it like everything else, One step at a time.  Im so happy the man in that story is so much better!  It gives me hope, even though it might take a lot longer then id like.  Thanks for posting that for me, and others going through the same thing. 

[ChessieCat]

Wow!!!  What else can I say?  And having been involved with computers, I know a bit about what he is talking about.

 

I think what amazed me most about this is the final outcome of him actually being better at his job than he was to start with and that it didn't stress him, he chilled during the tasks he was doing.

 

Let's hope that many more of us can have the same outcome, preferably in a shorter time though (I'm about to turn 58 edit:  same thought as redangel    )

 

I hope others can find some inspiration is this update.

 

CC

[oskcajga]

Wow!!!  What else can I say?  And having been involved with computers, I know a bit about what he is talking about.

 

I think what amazed me most about this is the final outcome of him actually being better at his job than he was to start with and that it didn't stress him, he chilled during the tasks he was doing.

 

Let's hope that many more of us can have the same outcome, preferably in a shorter time though (I'm about to turn 58 edit:  same thought as redangel    )

 

I hope others can find some inspiration is this update.

 

CC

 

There's like 30+ more inspiring stories like that on this thread here.  I strongly encourage everyone to read through these stories, because recovery definitely happens - and there's a tremendous amount of information contained within those individual stories that can be helpful.

 

http://survivingantidepressants.org/index.php?/topic/1226-recovery-success-stories-from-around-the-web/page-4

[geckodebc6]

I've had sleep problems for many years, and now in my 6th month of med free  (after 33 years on them)it's pretty awful.  I just don't get tired.  I've tried melatonin, l-theanine,  valerian, warm milk, chamomile tea, to no avail.  I go to bed at 12, hoping I'll drift off.  I'm not sleepy at all.  I'm not sleepy if I stay up until 3 or 4.  I don't drift into sleep. I don't slowly awaken.  I'm awake and then I must sleep because I'll awaken and a few hours have passed.  I've been awake until 4 0r 5 every night for the past week and then sleep  until 9 or 10.

 

I have a paradoxical reaction to most drugs so I wonder if I should take something that is more stimulating (a supplement, not a med).  I'm in the bottom of a wave, profound depression, so sleep is really important to me.  I don't know how many more nights I can stand lying awake for 4-6 hours for my blessed sleep to come, maybe another day closer to a window!

 

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

[Meimeiquest]

I haven't tried this as the link on the introductory email didn't work, but the Paleo Mom is launching an ebook and program on sleep. I'm sure it won't touch on withdrawal insomnia, but it should have a lot of info on cortisol-related sleep problems as she is going through that herself. If you sign up for her newsletter I'm sure you'll get the ads...thepaleomom.com

[GardeniaBlossom]

I've tried a couple of things that have worked for me. One is binaural beats. I found a free app called "Binaural Beats Music." It has a track called "sleep induction" that worked very well for me. I didn't use earphones, just played it normally in my bedroom. That worked well to help me fall back to sleep during the first few months of withdrawal when I would wake up every hour or couldn't fall asleep at night at all.

 

More recently, I've used a mixture of 5 teaspoons of raw honey and 1 teaspoon of Pink Himalayan and put a little under my tongue just before bed. That's helped me feel less tired when I wake up in the morning.

[Meimeiquest]

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/01/07/women-sleep-problems.aspx?e_cid=20160107Z1_DNL_art_2&utm_source=dnl&utm_medium=email&utm_content=art2&utm_campaign=20160107Z1&et_cid=DM94355&et_rid=1302447920

 

This link is from mercola.com. I thought the most interesting part was on the sleep of more "primitive" people groups. They're not sleeping as well as you might think and it seems the most critical part of sleep is resting in bed in the dark, not actually being asleep. Withdrawal insomnia isn't going to kill us