Category — Other Sleep Medications

Well, it would appear that federal regulators want Lunesta’s parent company Sepracor Inc. to chill with the Lunesta commercials, which they feel inaccurately portray the powers of Lunesta.

So, out of curiosity, let’s take a look at a Lunesta commercial.

I’d have to agree that the commercial is promising some pretty marvelous things from Lunesta. There are a list of warnings at the end, but maybe the pretty blond lady jumping around in the classroom distracts a bit from that.

by Katie Rollason
June 2010

Hi everyone. First let me say that this is not a paid review. The Zeo Company is not paying me any money to write this review. I am just a long time, chronic insomniac who has tried a lot of different ways to get my much-needed sleep, and Zeo is one of many things I’ve tried. The Zeo itself is a sleek, electronic device that is perhaps the size of a kid’s shoebox.

The ultimate purpose of the Zeo is that it analyzes your sleep (in a variety of ways) and you can use that information to better understand the nature of your insomnia. It will tell you how long it took you to fall asleep and how many times you woke up during the night. It will indicate how much time you spent in REM (rapid eye movement sleep), which is the deep, most beneficial sleeping period. It indicates how much time you spent in light sleep and deep sleep also.

The ZEO utilizes a small, SD card, which I easily slip into my computer. This connects me to the Zeo website where the information is analyzed. The website interprets this information and acts as a coach: sending emails to me that give me specific recommendations of how I can sleep better. This is helpful even if you’re using a Rozerem prescription. In fact, the Zeo and Rozerem compliment each other really, really well.

You simply put on the headband, and the Zeo reads what state of sleep you’re in…what’s nice is it doubles as an alarm clock, and you can program it to not wake you up if you’re in a deep period of sleep. I find this feature to be extremely useful, and it’s been helping me maximize the benefits of my sleep.

How much does the Zeo Cost? Let’s face it…this is the question that a lot of people want answered. Well, the Zeo comes in two varieties… one is $199 and the other is $299. The main differences between the two packages are the length of the warranty and the more expensive one comes with a replacement headband.

All things considered…it seems smart and sensible that we should introduce the advantages of science in trying to beat our insomnia. The Zeo is a good tool for this purpose.

Half-life is a term frequently associated with drugs like Rozerem, Ambien, Lunestra, etc. It means that amount of time it takes for half of the drug to be eliminated from the patient’s body.

“Too Many People Accept Sleeping Poorly.” The title of this post is a direct quote written by two doctors: Dr. Kathy Sexton-Radek and Dr. Gina Graci. They maintain that sleep medicine is a relatively young discipline. In other words, sleeping pills like Rozerem and Ambien etc. haven’t been available for a long time. Notwithstanding, the pharmaceutical, sleep science is rapidly advancing, and, according to my personal experiences, now that there is Rozerem to provide the melatonin assistance, nothing more is really needed. So, if you are having trouble with insomnia, don’t be like the many who simply accept their sleep problems as a way of life. Don’t be depressed about it. Get yourself some help in a pill that will change your life for the better.

A barbiturate is a type of sleeping pill that was popular decades ago; however, rarely are they prescribed today. (Mainly in cases where benzodiazepines aren’t working.) Barbituates are more dangerous than medications like benzodiazepines and hypnotics like Rozerem. Barbiturates have a lot more side effects and are also extremely addictive.

Examples of barbituates include Seconal, Amytal, Nembutal, and Tuinal.

Imidazopyridines are a new drug class formulated because benzodiazepines tend to be habit forming. Ambien falls into this category. Ambien has the distinction of being the very first American sleeping pill that is not in the benzodiaipene category. What’s cool about Ambien is that it really seems to focus in on sleep without hitting the rest of the body. The extremely short half life of Ambien is also great because there’s often not much of a morning hang over.