The Opinionator Blog over at NYTimes.com recently published a great article about insomnia titled, ‘A Thousand and One Sleepless Nights‘ – and it gave us a lot to think about.
First and foremost, we came away wondering whether 19th Century society had a better understanding of just how serious insomnia can be compared to the age we currently live in. Back then, insomnia was depicted as, ‘… a horrible torture,’ and something that could lead to insanity.
We don’t want to take things that far, but it does seem that back then insomnia was taken far more seriously compared to today – a time when almost everyone claims to suffer from insomnia after a single night of sleeplessness, and when insomnia sufferers are wary of mentioning their condition to others due to the lack of understanding most people have.
Are we walking backwards, or are we learning more about insomnia, and offering more hope to insomnia sufferers? Sure, these days we have sleeping tablets – but did you know that they only provide an extra 11 minutes of sleep compared to placebo pills?
Food for thought, indeed.
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We just finished reading a rather shocking article over at CBS News about the US health care system. That in itself isn’t the focus of this blog, however we couldn’t believe it when we read the following part of the article where the author describes getting declined for health insurance:
A week later I was finally able to talk to an underwriter who said the sleeping pills I had for my semi-regular trans-Atlantic flights brought the hint of mental instability (because the diagnosis was “insomnia”) but I could apply for “reconsideration” with a doctor’s note.
So there you have it – if you do the right thing and seek medical advice for your insomnia, any consequent diagnosis could leave you uninsurable in the future. Furthermore, we take serious issue with the suggestion that insomnia sufferers are mentally unstable.
We need to raise the awareness and understanding of insomnia now. Please help us.
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Insomnia affects people differently. For some, it’s just a minor distraction. For others, it’s a major obstacle to living a ‘normal life’. There is no single cure for insomnia – it affects people differently, so it’s only natural that a cure that might work for one person does nothing for another.
Having said that, we’d highly recommend you read this blog post by Zachary Burt – it’s a fantastic read. Zachary shares the symptoms of his insomnia and then he tells us how he conquered his insomnia.
Now, just because Zachary’s tips worked for him, it doesn’t mean they’ll work for you – but it’s always worth trying new things. You’ll never find out what works for you unless you try.
In any case, when it comes to suffering from insomnia, it’s always good to be reminded that you aren’t alone.
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