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When a person experiences sleep problems it is quite discomforting to say the least. Not getting enough sleep can over-exhaust you and become the cause of more serious psychological problems such as anxiety or depression.

However, for most people sleep disorders doesn’t seem to be a big problem at all, as the majority of those troubled with them think that popping over-the-counter pills is just enough to make the problem go away. Fact is that sleep problems are not something usual and won’t be treated with occasional medications without a professional doctor’s help.

If you have problems with falling asleep and spend a lot of time tossing and turning before actually drifting off to seep, rest assured that you aren’t the only one. It is estimated that about 60 million of US citizens have different sleep disorders. A third part of them have recurring and occasional sleep problems, while two thirds suffer from chronic and even constant insomnia and irregular sleep patterns.

Determining the type of sleep disorder

When speaking about sleep disorders, specialists divide them into three main groups:

• complete inability to sleep
• irregular sleep
• excessive sleep

Each group is outside the range of normal healthy sleep and affects the individual in different ways. It is known that an average adult needs about 6-9 hours of good consistent sleep to feel refreshed and energized throughout the day. The actual duration of healthy sleep depends on the individual, types of activities he or she performs and the conditions of sleep itself. The main criteria of good healthy sleep are the feeling of energy and renewal the next day, not the actual time spent in bed.

The first group of disorders is also known as insomnia. This problem is quite common in occasional forms, as stress and fatigue from daily activities can result in lack of sleep the night after, and many people go through that on a regular basis. However, if the problem persists and lasts to be permanent, it is a cause of serious concern. Not getting enough sleep affects the overall condition of the body and mind, and will surely affect your everyday activities. So you feel that insomnia is here to stay with you, don’t hesitate and consult with your doctor. There are drugs like Ambien that can help you with the condition, so discuss the matter thoroughly.

Irregular or inconsistent sleep can be a problem as serious as lack of sleep. Experiencing disruptions in sleep can result n stress, fatigue, anxiety and irritability that will affect your daily activities. The most widespread kind of irregular sleep is called obstructive sleep apnea, a condition characterized by snoring and blockage of the airways. In some cases it is known to cause heart strokes. It is likely that drugs like Ambien won’t be of a much effect here and you will require special treatment.

Excessive sleep also known as narcolepsy is characterized by recurring sleep that can take place any time of the day and last from a couple of minutes to half an hour. The person suffering from narcolepsy cannot control their state of being awake or asleep and that of course poses a serious danger when operating machinery or performing hazardous tasks. Narcolepsy can be treated, however sleep aids like Ambien are definitely not the type of drugs you should discuss with your doctor.

Written by Chicagohealers.com practitioner Ian Wahl, DAc, LAc, CH -

Did you know that over 90% of people who report heartburn or indigestion claim it is related to some food or drink they have consumed? In fact, over 40 million Americans experience heartburn or indigestion or acid reflux at least once a week. Over 60 million report it at least twice a month. And those are the people who report their symptoms to a doctor. That doesn’t include the millions of Americans who suffer in silence chewing tens of millions of antacids daily. So the chances are, you know exactly what I am talking about.

Heartburn is known by many names—indigestion, GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease), Acid Reflux, Pyrosis. It is characterized by a burning sensation felt in the chest that can extend up to the neck and throat and is usually made worse by bending or laying down. While it is normally caused by sensitivities to foods, it can be symptomatic of a hiatal hernia, gastritis (an uncommon inflammation of the stomach lining), scleroderma (a rare autoimmune disease of the connective tissue), or a symptom of smoking. But most of the time it starts as a reaction to something you eat or the side-effect of a medication. And if not taken care of, the body sets up a reaction cascade that can create a chronic sensitivity to any food, even to your own body’s biosubstances. So, is heartburn a symptom of a problem or is it a disease?

In the year 2000 alone, the pharmaceutical industry sold over $96 billion dollars in drugs to treat digestive-related conditions; many of those drugs produce adverse side effects. Most Americans believe the commercials and advertisements that tout the effectiveness of antacids and other over-the-counter medications to reduce the symptoms of heartburn or acid reflux. However, according to Tom Cramer of Health Publications, prolonged use of antacids creates kidney stones and causes constipation. And anyone who listens to TV ads knows the potentially devastating side-effects of prescription drugs.

I am often asked how to prevent heartburn or indigestion. The easy answer is to only eat foods you can tolerate without feeling full or without giving you gastrointestinal problems. However, that is a limited solution to an already existing problem. Let’s look at the etiology of a food sensitivity that can ultimately lead to heartburn or chronic GERD.

Sensitivities to foods are a physiological error where the body reacts negatively to a harmless substance. In other words, your immune system perceives something harmless as being dangerous and reacts by sending signals in the form of symptoms, such as heartburn or acid reflux. How does the body make these inappropriate associations? It happens when your immune system is under stress, such as during physical stress, emotional stress, illness, pregnancy, or over-exposure. Current research suggests that many medications and hormones, such as progesterone and the hormones in birth control pills, also contribute to the increasing incidence of acid reflux and heartburn. Your body is always looking for the culprit causing its “discomfort”. I liken the body’s response to fuzzy logic—your immune system is under stress and starts making inappropriate associations. Once this process begins, it builds upon itself and, over time, can create a painful, and even dangerous, chronic condition. Thus, I consider heartburn, GERD, and acid reflux to be symptomatic of an underlying immune system error message—not a pathological disease state. The immune system has become over-sensitive and over-performs.

Regardless of whether it is a symptom or a disease, what do I do once I have it? Conventional medicine offers three solutions:

• Avoid contact with the offending foods

• Take medications, over-the-counter antacids, or proton-pump inhibitors, such as Prilosec or Nexium

• Surgical procedures, when recommended by a gastroenterologist

All of these are palliative, temporarily symptom reducing, and do not get to the root cause of heartburn or GERD. Avoiding foods is limiting and doesn’t always work for chronic GERD. Medications have side-effects and are not effective for everyone. Once on medication for acid reflux, heartburn or GERD, it must be continued indefinitely. And surgery should always be a last resort.

What about herbal remedies and natural cures?

For centuries, if not millennia, chamomile, peppermint, and ginger have been successfully used to sooth the symptoms of heartburn and indigestion. Other common-sense natural remedies include sustaining a normal, comfortable weight; avoiding strenuous exercise right after a meal; eliminating alcohol, nicotine, and caffeine; eating healthy by avoiding fried foods, fatty foods, and acidic foods. Also, eat smaller and more frequent meals; do not lie down or go to sleep for three hours after eating. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate—and drink water, not juice or sports drinks. If your heartburn is worse at night, try sleeping on your left side as this will elevate your stomach and reduce your symptoms.

What if I can tolerate spicy, fatty, or acidic foods without symptoms, but other foods or medications cause heartburn?

Some people are not adversely affected by the foods that commonly cause reactions. If you are one of those, keep a food diary for a week. Jot down what you ate and note when you begin to experience your heartburn symptoms. Within one week you should have a good idea of the foods or medications that affect you.

If you’ve tried every suggestion above and taken over-the-counter and prescription medications all to no avail, it is time to seek out a specialist in natural allergy treatments.

When you have tried something over and over again without the results you are seeking, it is time to make a change. If you are sick of being sick, there is one other natural therapy that gets to the root of the problem. Consider retraining your immune system to accept as harmless those foods, or food components, that are making you sick. It is time to get to the root of the problem—and to get well and stay well.

Advanced Allergy Therapeutics, or AAT, eliminates the symptoms of allergies and sensitivities (including heartburn and other gastrointestinal problems) without side-effects. It is painless, safe for all ages, effective and economical. It retrains your immune system to properly distinguish between harmful and harmless substances and stimuli. And it eliminates the symptoms of heartburn, GERD, indigestion, and acid reflux without avoiding foods and without taking supplements or pharmaceuticals.

Unfortunately, there are no magic bullets to eliminate everyone’s heartburn or acid reflux symptoms. There are numerous websites touting remedies or dubious “equipment” you can purchase for quick-fix solutions. They rarely, if ever, work as touted. The age-old natural remedies described in this article do work. But even they are not 100% effective for everyone. However, if you are willing to consider a more modern approach and take a leap of faith, you will undoubtedly experience remarkable, and for many, permanent, relief through AAT, Advanced Allergy Therapeutics. When you are ready to change your life, find the AAT practitioner closest to you. Stop suffering and start enjoying life. For more information on Advanced Allergy Therapeutics, see www.MidwestAllergyRelief.com .

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Heartburn is a common complaint suffered by an estimated 60 million Americans. While it can occur at anytime, nighttime heartburn is particularly problematic and potentially more harmful. So, why is this and what can be done to prevent it?

Firstly, lets briefly consider what causes heartburn. When the acidic stomach contents flow back into the esophagus (gullet), they irritate the sensitive lining causing the characteristic burning sensation which we term heartburn. Regular or prolonged attack of the esophagus lining, which is known as chronic acid reflux, can be harmful, potentially dangerous and even life threatening in extreme cases.

The condition causes distress at any time but why should it be more of a problem at night?

The most obvious reason why this so is because, at night you are lying down and consequently gravity is working against you. During the day, when acid reflux occurs, gravity can act quickly to pull the stomach contents back into the stomach. When asleep however, it is much easier for the stomach acids to flow back into the esophagus, particularly if the muscular valve that is meant to prevent this backflow has become weakened.

Secondly, because you are lying horizontally, the stomach acid can remain in the esophagus much longer, increasing the contact with the esophagus lining, causing greater aggravation and damage.

A third reason is, that when you are awake and acid reflux occurs, you automatically swallow so the acid is pushed back down into the stomach. When you are asleep the impulse to swallow is suppressed. Furthermore, the saliva which is carried downwards when you swallow has a neutralising effect on the acid, helping to counteract its effect. This does not occur at night.

You also need to consider that nighttime heartburn can seriously disrupt your sleep and this can have important implications for your overall health.

So, having established why nighttime heartburn can be such a problem what can you do to reduce the problem?

Fortunately there are a number of effective measures you can take to combat the problem and as they are related to diet and lifestyle, they do not require taking any drug based medication.

Avoid those foods and drinks that are well known to trigger acid reflux Change you eating habits so you do not make your last meal of the day a particularly large one Do not eat within three hours of going to bed Do not relax by lying down after eating your meal. Raise the head of your bed 4 – 6 inches (using blocks under the bed head) to help gravity do its work

While these measure are certainly effective, if you do suffer an attack, have a supply of antacids available which will give you quick relief so that your sleep is not overly disturbed.

These are some examples of ways that you can control your problem without having to resort to drug based medication. If you have found these to be of interest, then there is the whole field of alternative remedies and treatments for heartburn that you should investigate further.

Heartburn is a common problem for more than 60 million Americans. This is why it is such a tremendous money spinner for the pharmaceutical industry, which produces huge quantities of medication for a demanding market.

However, as the saying goes “prevention is better than cure” and there is a lot you can do to help prevent heartburn that does not require any medication.  So, here we shall briefly consider some simple tips to prevent heartburn that have been well proven to produce effective relief for millions of heartburn sufferers.

Firstly, what causes the condition? Well very simply, heartburn is caused when the acidic stomach contents flow back into the esophagus (the tube which transports food from the mouth to the stomach). These acids cause inflammation of the delicate lining of the esophagus and this produces the characteristic “burning”. The main reasons for this occurring are either too much pressure on the stomach, a weakening of the muscular valve whose function is to prevent the stomach contents from flowing back, or a combination of the two.

So, how can you prevent this happening?

•    Avoid those specific foods and drink that trigger your heartburn

•    Eat smaller meals more frequently during the day. This helps to prevent the stomach becoming overloaded.   Chewing your food well also helps by aiding its transport through the digestive system

•    Don’t eat within three hours of your bedtime.

•    After eating, don’t lie down to watch TV.

•    Don’t wear tight fitting clothing or belts that can put pressure on your stomach.

•    Elevate the head of your bed by placing blocks or using a wedge pillow. This helps gravity do its work.

•    Lose weight – if you are significantly overweight then you are putting extra pressure on your stomach which can result in the acidic stomach contents being forced back into the esophagus.

•    Avoid or reduce alcohol intake as alcohol causes a relaxation of the muscular valve that prevents the acidic stomach contents from flowing back into the esophagus.

•    STOP SMOKING – apart from all the many reasons to stop smoking, nicotine, like alcohol, causes the muscular valve to relax.

So, there you have it, some very simple yet highly effective ways in which you can significantly prevent heartburn and gain some welcome relief without the need to take any medication.

Of course this will not cure your heartburn but if you do require medication why not consider taking some form of natural medication which can be equally as effective but will not produce any of the adverse side effects which conventional medications are known to do.

Finally, while the pharmaceutical industry has been unable to produce a cure, then if you are open minded enough, you might want to investigate the astonishing results that a revolutionary new, completely natural program of treatment has achieved. Thousands of former sufferers are now enjoying a totally heartburn-free life. Wouldn’t you like to be one of them?