Trazodone - A Cure For Insomnia?

People who suffer from insomnia and the doctors that treat them are always looking for new solutions to reduce the effects of insomnia and help the person obtain a good night’s sleep. There are many methods currently in use for the treatment of insomnia and one of the most promising seems to be the medication Trazodone. The number of people that have been helped by the medication is increasing each year as more doctors decide that Trazodone is the best option for their patients.

Trazodone, also known by the brand name Desyrel, was originally intended for use as an anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medication. As depression and anxiety are two of the main causes of insomnia, doctors saw that treating their patients with this medication also helped their cases of insomnia and helped them get to sleep each night. Some doctors began to prescribe the medication off label to their other patients with insomnia in the hope that the medication would be able to help those people as well.

Trazodone works by affecting the amount of serotonin in the brain, regulating the mood and amount of stress that the person is feeling. The medication reduces the amount of anxiety felt and helps the person cope with the day to day stresses in their lives. The serotonin levels in the brain are also known to affect the body’s sleep cycles and an imbalance in the amount of serotonin in the brain is believed to be one of the main reasons for experiencing chronic insomnia.

Trazodone is only effective in treating insomnia when the underlying cause of the insomnia is the stress or anxiety the person is feeling on a day to day basis. If the person’s insomnia is caused by something else, such as a medical condition or a medication that the person is taking, taking trazodone to reduce the symptoms of the condition may be ineffective. It is important to understand what causes the insomnia before beginning any treatment to help the condition because the effectiveness of the treatment will depend on treating the cause of the condition.

There are a number of side effects associated with the use of Trazodone for treating insomnia, just like there are side effects associated with taking most types of medications. One of the most common side effects reported is grogginess when awakening in the morning as the person shakes off the lingering effects of the medication. Other common side effects include head congestion, a headache, and unsteadiness when standing or walking soon after waking. In some cases, the side effects become less severe as the person continues to use the medication.