The amount of sleep a person needs in a day varies depending on the age and other lifestyle and health factors. The quality of sleep also matters to a large extent. Lying in bed and tossing and turning will still leave you groggy and listless whereas, at times a catnap can refresh you totally.

Insomnia is a condition where an individual is unable to sleep peacefully for more than a couple of minutes at a time.

The general perception is that insomnia can be cured by sedatives, a substance that induces sleep. It is also believed that sedatives cause an individual to relax and therefore, sleep peacefully.

But this is far from the actual truth. Sleep induced by sedatives is neither a cure nor a permanent remedy. You may actually feel relaxed and sleep for some time but sedatives are addictive. Taking sedatives regularly can become such a habit that the dependency increases to such an extent that sleeping with one becomes impossible.

There are categories of sedatives like benzodiazepines and non-benzodiazepines that cause physical dependence. In addition they cause withdrawal symptoms if the medication is withdrawn without a proper withdrawal process.

Another recent introduction to list of insomnia medication has been Melatonin. It is the hormone that is found in all living organisms, including humans. This hormone was released as a health supplement in 1993 and has proved very effective in regulating the circadian cycle in insomniacs. Given that the lack of sleep causes a fair amount of mayhem with the daily routine, these hormones prove to be extremely effective and useful for those suffering from insomnia.

Even though the sedatives, hormonal supplements and other drugs are addictive and have side effects, there are times when an insomniac can force himself into believing that he is dependent on medication for inducing sleep. The belief is so strong that they almost force themselves to be awake till the time they have had the medicine.

It needs to be realized that insomnia is not a disease but a symptom of a disease. It almost never occurs without any evident reason. In most cases there is always an underlying cause of the disorder. And because sedatives and other medications for inducing sleep do not address the underlying cause for the disorder, they can never really cure the condition completely.

Basic alternations in behaviors and psychological techniques can cure insomnia much more effectively. Alternative therapies can play a very important role in achieving this goal. If chronic insomnia is caused by fear, stress, depression or bipolar disorders, treating depression naturally or taking recourse to natural remedies for depression can be of immense help. Meditation and workouts in conjunction with lifestyle modifications and dietary changes can provide excellent support to any therapy for treating depression.

In rare cases it may be required to treat insomnia on a standalone basis. Generally five types of treatments are used to treat insomnia directly –

* Medication
* Psychotherapy
* Sleep education
* Lifestyle changes
* Surgery

References:

http://www.helpguide.org/life/sleep_aids_medication_insomnia_treatment.htm

http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/insomnia/INS_meds.html