More Than 1,6 Million Adults in the US Use Alternative Therapies to Treat Insomnia

Given the fact that modern medicine methods are not completely efficient against insomnia and related sleep disorders, a growing number of US adults, who cannot enjoy a good night's sleep, resort to alternative and complementary therapies to treat the annoying symptoms.

According to a recent national survey published yesterday in the Archives of Internal Medicine, more than 5% of American adults try alternative and complementary medicine techniques to ease their overnight symptoms and have a restful, continual sleep.

Most people in the survey admitted suffering from insomnia or encountering sleep troubles. They also stated that traditional medicine methods sometimes do not work and this is why they resort to complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies, such as herbal medicines, various relaxation methods etc., to see if they still have a chance to sleep tight at nights.

The current survey was based on data from a previous 2002-national survey. Researchers at the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md. led by Nancy J. Pearson, Ph.D. investigated data of 31,044 US adults from the previous study.

The team found that 17.4 % of the adults interviewed admitted to having had insomnia or sleep disorders in the past 12 months. Of these individuals who reported that they encountered problems when it came to a good night's sleep, 4.5% said they have resorted to CAM therapies to see if they can benefit from herbal therapy or relaxation techniques. Surprisingly, most of the 4.5% (16.2 million Americans) people who admitted trying complementary medicine methods were younger subjects with a higher level of education.

However, the general conclusion of the study was that insomnia and sleep problems are more prevalent in people with ages ranging between 45 and 64. The findings of the survey also showed that women are more prone to sleep disorders than men.

Of the 4.5% adult Americans who resorted to CAM therapies, 49% of those using herbal therapy and 48% of those in relaxation therapies reported that their symptoms were eased and, in some case, completely reversed.

"Although the question asking whether the CAM therapy helped provides useful information on the public's perception of effectiveness of CAM therapies for insomnia or trouble sleeping, it does not directly address the efficacy of the CAM therapy. A positive answer to this question could be due to a placebo effect, the natural history of the condition or other unidentified influences rather than efficacy of the CAM treatment," concluded the authors of the national survey.