This article and its great reminder of the health effects of too little sleep (get help!!) also refers to another article which outlines how so many suffer from anxiety over the pressure to get to sleep, watching the clock and so forth. It seems to refer those sufferers to good sleep hygiene habits and notes that "We should stop looking at insomnia as a medical problem".
If only insomnia could be solved by having good sleep hygiene alone. There is no doubt that sleep hygiene should be a big part of any sleep strategy, but for so many it is not as simple as that. Drugs should always be a last resort and only used as long as needed vs as a long term habit, but to suggest that insomnia is "not a medical problem" seems to be a very simplistic view of the issue.
If nothing else it is a great reminder, as I have mentioned before, of "caveat emptor" (buyer beware) whereas anyone with sleep problems should do their own research and consult with their doctor and be very skeptical of quick or miracle cures. Another good piece of advice is that if something looks too good be true, it probable is not true at all.
I did, however, get a good chuckle about how sleep needs change as we get older and naps at work would be a good idea (though likely not accepted). Imagine.... :-)
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