Insomnia Sufferers Use CAM

More than 1.5 million adults in the United States use complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) to self-treat insomnia, according to national survey results released in September. That number represents about 5 percent of all adults who report having difficulty sleeping.

According to the latest National Health Interview Survey conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 17 percent of the population experiences insomnia. The majority (61 percent) of insomniacs are women between the ages of 45 and 64, and the most common contributors to the condition are obesity, hypertension, congestive heart failure, anxiety and depression.

Of those who use CAM to help them sleep, 69 percent use herbal medicine, diet intervention or vitamin therapy, and 39 percent use relaxation therapies, such as meditation.