Can I take a placebo for sleep?
To know what a placebo treatment is capable of, we should first know what it really is. Placebo treatment is a medical treatment with no active drug involved. Placebo treatments rely on a psychological phenomenon that has been known of hundreds of years and practiced by physicians all over the world just as long.
It’s obviously an inactive drug but it affects the patient psychologically to trigger a healing response in the brain, thus improving his/her condition. Many medical conditions can be treated with placebos For example, people who face difficulties falling to sleep can be treated, as sleep is not only important for your physical growth but also your mental growth. getting enough sleep is vital for good health just like nutrition and exercise. So the question, can I take placebos for sleep, is answered further in the article.
What the experts say
Experts have been treating insomnia patients by the placebo method for years now. On the other hand, the benefits we get out of the sleeping pills also come from the placebo effect. Even if the pill you are taking has no active ingredients it will still make the patient feel better.
Many researchers report that people who have insomnia (sleeping disorder) are successfully treated by placebos. “Previous clinical trials testing sleep drugs like Temazepam (Restoril) against placebo pills have found insomnia symptoms can improve even when patients don’t get the real treatment”, said senior study author Dr. Ben of the University of Sydney.
The remarkable effects of the sleeping pills and the placebo treatment are explained to us by the two experts, Christiana Draganich and Kristi Ertal who are currently working at the University of Colorado. Their work has been published in A Journal of Experimental Psychology.
Many other studies from all over the world tells us that placebos are used by doctors on a very large scale. Antidepressant drugs and antipsychotics drugs are being replaced by placebo.
Jeffery Mogil who directs the pain genetics lab at McGill University in Montreal led an analysis, he said “We were absolutely floored when we found out that receiving sham treatment now seems to relieve pain almost as effectively as many new promising drugs”. Though placebos are a psychological phenomenon, renowned docs from all over the world use them to treat different problems and insomnia is one of them.
Insomnia no more a problem
Approximately 10% to 35% of the world’s population suffers from insomnia. To treat this doctors have been using different methods one of which was neurofeedback. However, this treatment was less efficacious than placebo treatment. The results also proved that patients will improve when they believed a therapy can help, regardless of which therapy they receive.
Other than taking placebo pills, what else can one do to increase their sleeping hours? Well, practicing self-help methods is one way, and living a healthy life is another; Exercising, yoga, healthy eating, and surrounding yourself with positive people are habits you should always hold on to.
Researchers assure us that a placebo really works. It’s obvious that the placebo won’t work if the patient doesn’t want it to work. After suffering from a terrible accident, Christopher Reeve, a popular American actor said he survived because he didn’t lose hope. Later in his life, he quoted “Once you choose hope, anything is possible”.
Placebos actually show that one’s capacity to heal starts in their own brain. Once you’re passionate enough anything is possible. Healing is a gift that doesn’t come so easily but with continuous struggle and never-ending positivity, this gift can be yours.
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