For thousands of years, humans have been using natural herbs to cure insomnia, sleep deprivation and other sleep disorders. It wasn’t until the nineteenth century we started trying to manufacture chemical sleeping pills. Let’s have a look at some of history’s best developments in sleep remedies.
Opium
Both the ancient Egyptians and Greeks used this powerful drug as a sleeping drought. Hypnos – the ancient Greek god of sleep – is often depicted carrying an opium poppy. In 1805 chemist Fredrick Setumer synthesized opium for the first time, sparking an interest in synthesizing sleep remedies.
Valerian Root
One of the most potent ingredients in herbal sleep remedies, valerian has been in use as a sleep aid since ancient times. The Greeks prescribed valerian as a sedative, but it was also used to treat urinary tract infections, epilepsy, liver conditions and digestive problems. Valerian is excellent for soothing anxiety.
Mandrake
Ancient Greeks and Romans used mandrake mixed with wine as an anaesthesia and sleep aid.
Henbane
John Gerard, an Elizabethan herbalist said of henbane: “the leaves, the seeds and the juice, when taken internally, cause an unquiet sleep, like unto the sleep of drunkenness.” Henbane produces a coma-like sleep, and can be dangerous.
Chamomile
Probably the oldest and most widely known of all herbal sleep remedies, chamomile is most commonly drank as a tea. It acts as a muscles reliever, reducing stress and helping a person to drift off to sleep.
Chloral Hydrate
German chemist Justus von Liebig created the first of many chemical sleep remedies. Choral hydrate was a fast-acting depressant of the central nervous system, inducing sleep very quickly. The problem was, it was particularly effective when mixed with alcohol; so much so that even the slightest overdose meant the subject didn’t ever wake up.
Barbiturates
Popular in the early 20th century, when combined with other chemicals, barbiturates created powerful sedatives commonly used as sleep remedies. These sleep remedies proved extremely dangerous if mixed with alcohol, had several severe side effects – like dizziness, respiratory depression and paralysis – and were strongly addictive. By the 1970s, benzodiazepines replaced barbiturates as the dominant component in chemical sleep remedies, as they were less harmful.
Modern Sleeping Pills
Nowadays, you can get prescription sleeping pills (usually benzodiazepines – which are still addictive and carry strong side effects), over-the-counter pills (antihistamines – which can cause daytime drowsiness) and herbal sleep remedies, which have no side effects and contain many ingredients like chamomile and valerian that were used for centuries to cure sleep problems.
source : www.insomniaandsleep.com
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