Comprehensive Drug Abuse Treatment

Housing / Transportation Services Family Services Behavioral Therapy and Counseling Child Care Services Intake Processing/ Assessment Treatment Plan Vocational Services Substance Use Monitoring Mental Health Services Financial Services Clinical and Case Management Pharmacotherapy Self Help or Peer Support Groups Medical Services Legal Services Continuing Care HIV and AIDS Services Educational Services The best treatment programs provide a combination of therapies and other services to meet the needs of the individual patient.

What Disrupts Sleep?

Many factors can prevent a good sleep. These factors range from well-known stimulants, such as coffee, to certain pain relievers, decongestants and other culprits. Many people depend on the caffeine in coffee, soft drinks (for example, colas) or tea to wake up in the morning or to stay awake. Caffeine is blocks the cell receptors that adenosine uses to trigger its sleep-inducing signals. In this way, caffeine fools the body into thinking it is not tired. It can take up to eight hours for the effects of caffeine to wear off completely. Drinking a cup of coffee in the late after­noon consequently may prevent a person from falling asleep at night.
Nicotine is another stimulant that can keep a person awake. Nicotine also leads to lighter than normal sleep. Heavy smokers also tend to wake up too early because of nicotine withdrawal. Although alco­hol is a sedative that makes it easier to fall asleep, it prevents deep sleep and REM sleep, allowing only the lighter stages of sleep. People who drink alcohol also tend to wake up in the middle of the night when the effects of an alcoholic "nightcap" wear off.
Certain common prescription and over-the-counter medicines contain ingredients that can keep people awake. Many pain relievers contain caffeine. Heart and blood pressure med­ications known as "beta blockers" can cause difficulty falling asleep and increase the number of awakenings during the night. People who have chronic asthma or bronchitis also have more problems falling asleep and staying asleep than healthy people, either because of breathing difficulties or because of medicines. Other chronic painful or uncomfortable conditions, such as arthritis, congestive heart failure and sickle cell anemia, can disrupt sleep, too.
A number of psychological disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and anxiety disorders, disrupt­ sleep. Depression often leads to insomnia and insomnia can cause depression. Some of these psychological disorders are more likely to disrupt REM sleep. Psychological stress also takes its toll on sleep, making it more difficult to fall asleep or stay asleep. People who feel stressed also tend to spend less time in deep sleep and REM sleep. Many people report having difficulties sleeping after having recently lost a loved one, are undergoing a divorce or are under stress at work.
Menstrual cycle hormones can affect how well women sleep. Progesterone is known to induce sleep and circulates in greater concentrations in the second half of the menstrual cycle. For this reason, women may sleep better during this phase of their menstrual cycle, but many women report trouble sleeping the night before their menstrual bleeding starts. This sleep disruption probably relates to the abrupt drop in progesterone levels in the bodies just before the period begins.
Certain lifestyle factors may also deprive a person of needed sleep. Large meals or exercise just before bedtime can make it harder to fall asleep. Studies show that exercise in the evening delays the extra release of melatonin at night that helps the body fall asleep. Exercise in the daytime, on the other hand, is linked to improved nighttime sleep.
Most people report that it is easier to fall asleep after having time to wind down into a less active state before sleeping. Relaxing in a hot bath before bedtime may help a person fall asleep. Body temperature also drops after a hot bath in a way that mimics, in part, what happens as the falls asleep. Probably for both these reasons, many people report that falling asleep more easily after a hot bath.
Sleeping environment also can affect sleep. Clear the bedroom of any potential sleep distractions, such as noises, bright lights, a television or computer. Having a comfortable mattress and pillow can help promote a good sleep. People also sleep better if the temperature in the bedroom is on the cool side.

Other Complementary Medicine Practices

Complementary medicine also encompasses movement therapies, which include Eastern and Western movement approaches used to promote physical, mental, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. Examples of movement therapies include Feldenkrais method, Alexander technique, Pilates, Rolfing Structural Integration and Trager psychophysical integration. According to the 2007 NHIS, 1.5 percent of adults and 0.4 percent of children used movement therapies.
Practices of traditional healers are a form of complementary medicine. Traditional healers use methods based on indigenous theories, beliefs and experiences handed down from generation to generation. A familiar example in the United States is the Native American healer or medicine man. The 2007 NHIS found that 0.4 percent of adults and 1.1 percent of children had used a traditional healer usage varied for the seven specific types of healers identified in the survey.
Some complementary medicine practices involve manipulation of various energy fields to affect health. Experts sometimes categorize such fields as veritable (measurable) or putative (yet to be measured). Practices based on veritable forms of energy include those involving electromagnetic fields like magnet therapy and light therapy. Practices based on putative energy fields, which experts also call bio-fields, generally reflect the concept that human beings are infused with subtle forms of energy; qi gong, Reiki and healing touch are examples of such practices. The 2007 NHIS found relatively low use of putative energy therapies. Only 0.5 percent of adults and 0.2 percent of children had used energy healing/Reiki the survey defined energy healing as the channeling of healing energy through the hands of a practitioner into the body of the client.
Finally, experts also consider entire medical systems, which are complete systems of theory and practice that have evolved over time in different cultures and exist apart from conventional or Western medicine, complementary medicine. Examples of ancient entire medical systems include Ayurvedic medicine and traditional Chinese medicine. Other modern systems that have developed in the past few centuries include homeopathy and naturopathy. In 2007, the NHIS asked about the use of Ayurveda, homeopathy and naturopathy. Although relatively few respondents said they had used Ayurveda or naturopathy, homeopathy ranked tenth in usage among adults 1.8 percent and fifth among children 1.3 percent.