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| Issue #39, December 22, 2006 |
The Y Factor
Whatever Gets You Through The Night
by Christian Mclean
While some stick out a rough night, tossing and turning in hopes they will eventually drift to sleep, others turn to the bottle. No, not booze, the medicine bottle. The rise in abuse of Tylenol PM as a sleep aid is alarming. Many convince themselves that it is just an over-the-counter pill and not a “real” drug and users consume it on a regular basis as a means of getting a good night’s sleep.
Tylenol PM claims it is non-habit forming. While there may not be a chemical dependency that comes along with it, as there is with an opiate, a psychological dependency can occur in those who use it on a regular basis. Tylenol PM is not a sleep aid. It is a mild pain killer with a light sedative and should not be taken just so you can fall asleep, but instead to relieve pain which causes you to lose sleep. That said, Tylenol also makes Simply Sleep, which contains the same sleep inducing drug, Diphenhydramine HCl, just without the Acetaminophen (the pain-reliever in Tylenol). The effects are the same with regard to sleep, but the lack of Acetaminophen means there is less stress on the liver (where Tylenol is processed) and therefore not as unhealthy to take, but just as easy to abuse.
It is currently 5 o’clock in the morning and I am wide-awake for no good reason. Maybe the deadline for this article is creeping up and weighing heavily on my subconscious, but truth be told th---at has never kept me awake before. So while much of the world is sound asleep, I tap away on my laptop trying to figure out how I can join them in slumber without the aid of some kind of drug.
Firstly, taking Diphenhdramine HCl now would destroy my day. While taking such a drug you should allow for 8 hours of sleep – that would get me out of bed at 1 p.m. and surely leave me out of sorts for the rest of the day.
Since I’m up, we might as well look at some other ways to get a better night’s rest: Never sleep on an empty stomach. That said, never gorge yourself 10 minutes before climbing into the sack either. A light snack an hour or so before bedtime will help you sleep soundly. Don’t hit the sauce. Many people assume that a drink or two will help you fall asleep, and while this is true, it actually disrupts your sleeping patterns for the rest of the evening, which could have you tossing and turning all night. Drinking too much alcohol may make you dead to the world, but will leave you with a hangover the next day, so that doesn’t solve any problems either. Instead, try taking a hot bath before bed. Not all of us have this luxury, but if you do, the warm water will relax you and help you slip into sleep (just don’t pass out in the tub).
Two things to avoid if you’re looking for sound sleep are nicotine and caffeine. I know most of us cannot survive without that first cup of coffee in the morning, but both caffeine and nicotine are stimulants and can keep you awake. Try a healthy regiment of exercise as another way to get some Zzzz. Working out earlier in the day can invigorate the body, but a hard day at the gym will eventually take its toll and you’ll be ready for a good night’s rest by the time your head hits the pillow. Make sure you exercise at least 4 hours before bedtime otherwise the blood will still be pumping and the mind may be racing, which will actually keep you awake.
Most studies say that a warm glass of milk may help you fall asleep, but not because of its chemical composition. Milk has minute amounts of melatonin and tryptophan which can trigger sleepiness, but you’d have to drink a LOT of milk for the trace amounts to actually have an effect. Like the bath technique, a warm glass of milk can raise the body temperature, helping yo to relax. Generally the reason why people fall asleep from drinking warm milk is because they believe it will help them fall asleep. It’s psychological. Before you go reaching for a little blue pill to drift off into dreamland, assess your life and find out if something else can be done to get you a sound and peaceful slumber, because even something as mild as Tylenol PM, if abused, can take its toll on your body.
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