As three million new cases of insomnia get diagnosed a year, it seems long-time sufferers are seeking pharmaceutical consultation in greater numbers.

A new study conducted by Sleep Cycle revealed that 63% of Americans occasionally rely on a sleep aid to achieve consistent sleep, and 25% report doing so every single night, with the most common “aides” being supplements, drugs, and alcohol; 42% take melatonin on a nightly basis, 37% confessed the same but about sleeping pills, 21% self medicate with alcohol and 20% utilize marijuana.

Forty-two percent of the respondents queried in the new study said that they simply can’t fall asleep without the substances previously mentioned. It should be noted however that the very same pool of participants rarely felt good and or rested after employing their respective vices the following day.

According to the report, just about 51% of respondents said that they attempted to quit sleep aids because of poor results and negative stigmas attached to the substances occasioned. Forty-seven percent have slept through an alarm as a consequence of taking sleeping pills and 42% confessed that alcohol is a “bad” sleep aid, even though just as many use it as such more often they’d like to.

“People lie awake in bed at night and worry about how poorly they are sleeping and how bad they are going to feel the next day,” medical director at the 8 Hour Sleep Clinic in El Paso, Dr. Joseph Dombrowsky told KFOX14, in response to the new study.”The first step is to identify the underlying condition and the second is to treat that underlying condition,” “You use cognitive behavioral therapy to really re-associate the bed with falling asleep and staying asleep,”

Many of the healthy ways to obtain consistent, quality sleep, are only observable in the long term and are most resolutely accomplished through vigorous practice. Things like a balanced diet and mental wellness contribute monumentally to our circadian clocks in small subtle deposits over time.

Consider limiting caffeine intake in the mornings and reducing naps in the afternoon. Try to engage in physical activity as often as your schedule permits. Survey your surroundings. You’ll be surprised hoew aesthetics can influence our REM cycles.

Poor sleep is affected by several physical predictors and it also impacts them. Wellness author, Rudy Mawer, MSc, CISSN adds, “One large review linked insufficient sleep to an increased obesity risk of 89% in children and 55% in adults. Research shows that poor sleep has immediate negative effects on your hormones, exercise performance, and brain function. Caffeine can significantly worsen sleep quality, especially if you drink large amounts in the late afternoon or evening. Long daytime naps may impair sleep quality. If you have trouble sleeping at night, stop napping or shorten your naps.Avoid alcohol before bed, as it can reduce nighttime melatonin production and lead to disrupted sleep patterns.”

To this point, it should also be said that there isn’t anything wrong with applying clinical solutions on principle. Supplements and herbs like L-theanine, valerian root, melatonin and have long since been studied to provide benefits to with very little documented setbacks.