The American College of Physicians is now suggesting going to therapy instead of ingesting sleeping pills for insomnia. The new guidelines come after they found that specialized counseling is better than drugs, which often have side effects on insomniacs.
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Therapy For Insomnia
The American College of Physicians released new guidelines about insomnia on Monday. It said that there's strong evidence that counseling is effective on people, even though they don't like it and even when doctors are unsure of how it is done.
"The evidence is quite strong that cognitive behavioral therapy is effective. It works," Dr. Wayne Riley, president of the American College of Physicians, told NBC News. "It's long-lasting and it has the potential to decrease the cost to the healthcare system."
The researchers looked at 10 years of strong research studies. It compared the effects of behavioral therapy and interventions in improving conditions of patients with chronic insomnia.
Cognitive Behavior Therapy
While cognitive behavior therapy may be long and hard, the effects are life-long. Getting through the initial phase and investing time for therapy are all worth it, the doctors said.
According to Stat News, cognitive behavioral therapy is a form of psychotherapy, which combines talk therapy and sleep tutorials. More so, this form of treatment for chronic insomnia doesn't come with the range of side effects that drugs often have. Drugs are also not recommended for long-term use, whereas some patients tend to develop a dependency.
Sleeping Pills For Insomnia
"Prescribing a sleeping pill is not the desirable first step," said Dr. Thomas Tape, chief of general internal medicine at the University of Nebraska Medical Center to Fox News. However, most primary care a physician feels that behavioral approach "wasn't really on our radar screens," in treating chronic insomnia.
According to one study, drugs used to treat insomnia like Ambien and Restoril may increase the risk for accidents like a car crash. More so, the Food and Drug Administration said that drugs remain in the bloodstream, strong enough to disrupt morning driving thus, increasing the risk of car accidents.
Side Effects Understimated, Unfounded Effectivity
"Americans do tend to be over medicated for sleep," Riley said. "That's why there's a significant cost to the healthcare system. But also, the potential side-effects of sleep medications are underestimated."
In addition, other popular sleeping pills used for insomnia -- such as Xanax and Valium -- don't have enough evidence to establish its effectiveness. Other therapies like herbal teas have little evidence too.
However, the new guidelines said that if cognitive behavioral therapy alone is not working, then doctors may explore adding medications to the therapy. A combination of the two methods could bring even better results.
Do you believe that therapy is better than sleeping pills? Let us know in your comments below. Also, for better sleep, check out this video:
