ABSTRACT

This literary review studied the effects and results of drug and natural treatments in order

to find a more effective treatment to help insomnia and sleep deprivation. Some of the natural

treatments included various forms of relaxation such as sleep restriction, cognitive behavioral

therapy (CBT), muscle relaxation, and lavender aroma therapy. Drug treatments observed were

Z-drugs (​zaleplon, zolpidem, zopiclone), tryptophan, and s​ecobarbital. 20 different studies on

either drug treatments, natural treatments, or of both for Insomnia on either chronic or short term

patients. Results showed that all 16 studies for natural treatments were effective in helping with

insomnia. Out of the 11 drug treatments, 1 treatment was not effective while the other 10 were.

There is not much of a significant difference but in other aspects such as long-term effects and

improvement on quality of life, natural treatments seemed to be more helpful. This could infer

that in general, natural treatments are more reliable yet a Z-score test was conducted to see if

there was any difference in effectiveness of Natural and Drug Treatments. She found that the P

value for the effectiveness of natural versus drug was not substantial and therefore there is not

much of a difference in effectiveness of drug and natural treatments for Insomnia. Also, another

Z-score test proved that there was again no difference in the effectiveness of long term natural

treatments versus short term treatments. The hypothesis was not supported but this review but it

was realize that one treatment is not better than the other and it may be better to use natural

treatments to cure sleep deprivation than unnecessary using harmful drugs. Also, the study

proves that further research must be done for finding an effective treatment for Insomnia.
 INTRODUCTION

Does medication or natural remedies better help to cure insomnia and it’s effects?

Originally, the idea to help treat insomnia originated because of the prevalence of sleep deprived,

and the suffering emotional symptoms like depressive thoughts and a lack of energy in the lives

of adolescence. A cure had to be found to not only sleep better but that will, in the process, get

rid these mental symptoms. There are both medical and natural ways to overcome sleep

deprivation.​ ​Sleep deprivation is a condition that can occur when one does not get enough sleep.

When someone has difficulty focusing, on-going headaches, not sleeping in sync with their

body’s natural clock, not able to fall asleep, or even if they have a sleeping disorder that does not

allow them to sleep, then sleep deprivation is probably present, (American Academy of Sleep

Medicine, 2016). Some disorders include insomnia and Restless Leg Syndrome (RLS) which

makes it extremely unpleasant and impossible to fall asleep (National Library of Medicine,

2011). A lot of sleep deprivation is caused by having irregular sleep schedules due to work and

for adolescents, school and school work get in the way of sleep patterns. A loud environment

makes it harder to fall asleep, and drinking caffeinated drinks before going to bed make it

difficult. Insomnia can relate to emotional issues, which make sleep hard. Anxiety, and stress

play large factors and could be a result of chemical imbalances of melatonin and seratonin which

are very important for mental health. (Robertson, 2015). Not getting enough sleep can damage

one’s nervous system, dilute the efficiency of the immune system when fighting off illnesses,

obesity, stress, and depression. Depression occurs because when one is sleep-deprived negative

memories of the day are amplified, resulting in depressive thoughts. In 1997, a study was

conducted where healthy patients where sleep-deprived for 35 hours. By then, their negative
moods and emotions were amplified (Harvey, 2008). Obesity can occur because sleep

deprivation makes bodies less sensitive to hormone insulin (Stickgold, 2015). Natural ways to

sleep better include eating Carbohydrate-rich foods which increases serotonin levels-- helping

one to fall asleep. This includes milk, simple carbohydrates like candy, and more complex foods

like pasta, muffins, bagels, rice, etc. Carbohydrates also help increase sensitivity to insulin

(Columbia University Trustees) which could potentially be a better choice for obesity caused by

sleep deprivation. Weak immune systems can be naturally helped though drinking enough water,

and healthy exercise. (Harvard Medical School, 2014). Also, not taking too many naps during the

day, and avoiding late night snacks can help sleep better (Robinson, 2016). In order to find a

natural cure many studies use Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which uses a variety of

scheduled-sleeping methods and mental therapy to get over Insomnia. A study by Charles M.

Morin has proven CBT to be very effective, and especially long-term (Morin, 2004). Also, there

are many medications out there, prescribed to cure insomnia, and in the process, cures effects

such as anxiety and depression in the process (Jaret, 2016). Examples of these medications

include Ambien, Lunesta, Rozerem, and Sonata. These medications however are meant to be

used no more than once every 2 weeks. ​Trazodone and Amitriptyline are antidepressants that are

also used in curing sleep deprivation (Jaret, 2016). ​Zolpidem ​is common in many insomnia

medications, yet studies such as in a study conducted in the ​Henri Ford Hospital in Detroit, MI​.

Results here showed that the drug zolpidem in affective yet does not give long term benefits

(Roth, 2006). Also, ​these medications have many side effects that could become dangers and

habits, and after a while, one’s body can get immune to these medications (Jaret, 2016). A study

where 1284 people were tested to curing sleep deprivation using two different kinds of
medications, it was found that neither were drastically different in affectivity. The majority of

people felt the medication only helped for a short period of time, six weeks. (Holbrook, 2004).

Many of these medications are just a placebo for patients, and finding an effective medication is

still an issue.

Sleep deprivation and Insomnia is very dangerous and not only does it lead to side effects

of depression, obesity, and weak immunity but it also lead to dangerous microsleeps and even

death. Microsleep is when one suddenly falls into a few-second naps without even realizing it.

This can even happen behind the wheel which is very dangerous. With ongoing insomnia, it is

possible to die. A man was once reported dying after not sleeping for 11 days straight. (life

science) This is why the topic of helping sleep deprivation is very interesting for the scientist to

study. It is an issue very prominent in the lives of busy adolescence and adults, and sometimes

people do not realize how important sleeping is. With consequences of work or even one’s living

environment, getting to sleep can be tough, and to prevent having these haunting side effects and

sleeping well, taking medications or remedies would help. Yet knowing which way is more

effective is what the scientist will be studying.

In order to calculate which treatment is better to cure insomnia, several studies using

medical and natural treatments for insomnia will be found. The results will be recorded once

collecting 20 different studies, originally as raw data. How many drug treatments and how many

natural treatments showed to be effective, as well as how many are long term and how many

effects each one was able to cure along with insomnia will be recorded. Depending on this, either

medication or natural remedies will show as more effective. Chi squared tests and Z score tests

will be done in order to see if there is a significant difference between the effectiveness of
natural remedies and drug treatments. The independent variables are the various ways to

naturally sleep or the various medications for insomnia. The dependent variable is the results of

using the various methods to sleep. It will vary from different studies.

Bar graphs and pi charts will be created based on results. A significant difference in

effectiveness of natural versus medicated remedies for insomnia will be determined through

using CHi squared and Z score tests. By effective, it is meant how much sleep a person was able

to attain with the treatment, whether or not the treatment’s effects lasted long-term, what other

side effects the treatment was also able to cure (depression, obesity, microsleep, etc) and by how

much was it able to cure those effects.

If both taking medication and using natural remedies to cure insomnia and it’s side

effects is compared through various studies, it will be found that using natural remedies is more

effective. This is the hypothesis because more natural remedies are proven to be longer lasting

than medications. Also, medications are extremely prone to have life-threatening side effects and

could potentially worsen the side effects of insomnia (such as depression, anxiety, obesity, etc),

instead of improving them.

 DATA AND RESULTS

After having collected and reviewed 20 studies on treating insomnia with either

medication or natural remedies, the results were categorized in a table that determined

whether or not the treatment was effective overall in treating Insomnia. Table 1 shows

that out of 16 natural treatments, all 16 treatments were effective. It also shows that out of

11 drug treatments, 10 were effective and 1 was not. These statistics are represented in

Figure 1 through bar graphs. Long-term effects of treatments were also recorded and put

in a table. Based on treatments that specified the long-lasting effects, 8 out of 14 natural

treatments had long-lasting effects. Only 2 out of 7 drug treatments proved to be long

lasting. Data table 2 recorded this information for drug and natural treatments. Figure 2 is

a bar graph which represents these statistics. Data table 3 provides the number of how

many studies uses a certain treatment, either drug or natural. These numbers were

represented in two pi charts; one for drug treatments, one for natural treatments. The drug

pi charts show that 40% of drug treatments were Z-Drugs, 20% were benzodiazepines,

20% was tryptophan, 10% was secobarbital, and 10% was melatonin. The natural

treatment pi chart shows that 35.3% of treatments were Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

(CBT), 17.6% was sleep restriction, 17.6% was lavender, 11.8% was bright light, 5.9%

was stimulus control, 5.9% was chronotherapy, and another 5.9% was muscle relaxation.

Chi Squared tests and Z score tests were conducted in order to see whether or not natural

and drug treatments were effective individually compared to not receiving any treatment,

or effective compared to one another. In a Chi squared test natural treatments compared

to no treatment showed the P value was less than .001. For drug treatments, the p value
was also less than .001(As seen in table 4). A Z-Score test was conducted to determine

whether or not there was a difference between the proportions of effectiveness of natural

treatments versus that of drug treatments. Results showed the P value was 0.22. Another

Z score test was conducted to see whether or not there was a difference between the

effectiveness of long term natural remedies and drugs versus short term natural and drug

treatments. Results from this Z-score showed that the P value was for long-term versus

short term natural treatments is a P value of .21 (As shown in Table 6). Long term drug

treatments versus short term drug treatments has a P value of .11 (Also seen in Table 6).

A final Z-score test had the P value of .48 for comparing just the long term drugs versus

long term natural treatments. (Also seen in Table 6)

 ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION

The hypothesis that ​if taking both medication and natural remedies to cure insomnia,

through various studies it was found that the hypothesis that using natural remedies would be

more effective was not supported. Because the P value for both natural and drug treatments’

effectiveness compared to no treatment at all is less than .001, the null hypothesis are rejected

(See Table 4). This means that both natural and drug treatments are significant remedies to

curing insomnia. Yet, based on the Z-score test that compared the effectiveness of drugs versus

natural remedies, the P value was .22 which is greater than .05 (See Table 5). Therefore the

hypothesis that natural treatments are more effective than drug treatments is not supported and

there is not a significant difference in their effectiveness. Even though all 16 natural treatments

were effective to patients while only 10 out of the 11 drug treatments were effective (See Table 1

and Chart 1), the proportions of effectiveness between the two show the difference is not very

significant. This makes sense because while many people find natural treatments helpful, many

drugs such as antidepressants are believed to be very helpful for insomnia and it’s side effects

(Jaret, 2016). Both natural and drug treatments have positive qualities and it makes sense there is

not a significant difference between the two (Table 5). ​ ​Even though these results do not support

the hypothesis or help insomniacs to chose one type of treatment over the other, it does make

people realize that there is not much of a difference choosing one type of treatment over the

other. The results of this experiment show people suffering from insomnia that because both

natural and drug treatments have roughly the same outcomes, it may be a good idea to stick to

using natural remedies so that one is not possibly harming or risking themselves with taking

drugs when they can get the same outcome to improve sleep through using natural methods.
Also, this study shows that more research should be done in order to find a more effective drug

or natural remedy. Since the P value for the effectiveness of short term versus long term drug

treatments is .11, there is not a significant difference between those treatments. The same results

are for long-term natural versus short-term natural treatments where the P value is .48, greater

than .001(See Table 6). Long term natural treatments and long term drug treatments also do not

show a difference in effectiveness because the P value is greater than .001 (See Table 6). The

fact that there is no difference between long lasting and short term treatments and long term

natural versus drug treatments shows that if one is looking for a long-lasting natural or drug

treatment it does not matter what kind of natural or drug treatment is used because they have

roughly the same outcomes. A person does not need to stick to one type of medication or natural

treatment because all these treatments have about the same effectiveness. Yet again, choosing

what one feels is best for themselves such as choosing natural over medications is possible based

on these results. Chart 3 exhibits that CBT was the most effective natural treatment while

Z-drugs were the most effective drug treatment. In the raw data it showed that a lot of people

found CBT very effect in improving mental health and Z-drugs were effect for their insomnia,

but only for a few days. Yet, certain studies such as one using sleep restriction, there were

hypo-mainiac side effects to the treatment. Most studies stated that natural and drug treatments

work best when they are used together on a subject.

Experimental issues in this project include that the project did not focus on finding

studies experimenting one group of people (for examples there were studies with children, or

people with depression, etc). This could have made varying outcomes on the effects of the

treatments. Also, important information could have been missed while reading certain studies
such as whether or not treatments had other outcomes to it besides whether or not it was effective

or if it was long lasting. Also, not enough studies were collected for each type of medication

which would probably create more accurate data.

The raw data table which accounted for the effectiveness of a treatment, also accounted

for whether or not it improved other aspects of life. It did prove that more natural remedies

focused on and improved other aspects of live such as anxiety, depression, etc. This is indicating

that more natural remedies focus on the overall health of a person rather than one aspect.

Hopefully this is something that could be further studied. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy seemed

to be very prominent throughout studies (see Chart 3), which relates back to the fact that it is said

to be very helpful, and useful in modifying negative thoughts which prevents one from sleeping

(Robinson, 2016). The fact that it modifies negative thoughts could lead to the idea that it is very

helpful for helping prevent mental issues such as depression. Z-Drugs such as Zolpidem were

also very prominent throughout the studies (see Chart 3). It would be interesting as a future idea

for research to just compare these two treatments in studies regarding insomnia and focusing on

treating other aspects of life (such as depression, anxiety, etc) and seeing which is more

effective. Also, researching treatments and drugs specifically for anxiety and depression and

studies of those treatments’ effects on helping Insomnia would be another interesting topic for

the future. When doing such literature reviews in the future, more studies should be collected for

each specific treatment so that there is a better chance for difference between treatments’

effectiveness. Lastly, the idea of comparing natural remedies to drugs is a great idea that could

be expanded to other forms of human health. For example seeing whether or not natural remedies

or drugs are better to curing depression would be an interesting research topic.

 Sleep deprivation is a major issue in society today. It has proven to be fatal and lead to

dangerous health and mental conditions. Recent studies have proven that teens with high sleep

deprivation have a good chance at engaging in criminal activity (Pignatoro, 2017). This is why it

is so important to find an effective treatment for this issue that is also healthy for other aspects of

one’s health. As shown through this study, finding a truly effective treatment is still an issue.

Overall, the question whether drug treatments or natural remedies are more effective in

treating Insomnia was approached through a literary review. It was hypothesized that ​ ​if taking

both medication and natural remedies to cure insomnia, through various studies it was found that

the hypothesis that using natural remedies would be more effective. Because this in a literary

review, 20 studies of using either natural or drug treatments for insomnia were collected and

research. Synopsis were written for each study and each study’s results and observations were

categorized in a raw table. Chi squared and Z-score tests would later be used to calculate the

effectiveness of natural versus drug treatments. Results showed that while all natural treatments

reviewed were effective, and not all drug treatments were, there is was not a significant

difference between the two. The hypothesis was not supported but the study showed that more

research should be done in finding an effective treatment to insomnia and other health issues

related. Results also show that people have the choice of whatever medication they want to take

because they all have about the same effectiveness. If one doesn’t want to be harming themselves

with drugs, natural treatments may be a better approach.

 DATA TABLES AND CHARTS

Table 1: Number of Effective and ineffective Natural and Drug

Natural Drug

# of Effective 16 10

# of ineffective 0 1

Table 2: Number of Long Term and Short Term Natural and Drug

Natural Drug

# of Long term 8 2

# of Short Term 6 7

Table 3​:​ Amount of Each Drug and Natural Treatment

Type of Treatment Amount

Lavender 3

CBT 6

Sleep Restriction 3

Stimulus Control 1

Bright Light 2

Chronotherapy 1

Muscle Relaxation 1

Z-Drugs 4
Benzodiazepines 2

Tryptophan 2

Secobarbital 1

Melatonin 1
Table 4: Chi² Number and P Value of Individual Treatments
Comparing Effective vs Not Effective
Type of ​Χ2​ P value
Treatme
nt
Natural 16 P<.001

Drug 7.36 P<.001

Table 5: P Value for Comparing the Two Treatments

P Value: ​Natural vs Drug .22

Table 6: P values for Long Term Treatments

P value​: Long Term Natural .21

vs Long Term Drug
P value:​ Natural Long vs .48
Short

P Value​: Drug Long vs Short .11

Drug Natural
10 16
Effective Natural Ineffective Natural
1 0
Natural Drug
8 2

Drug
6 5
Chart 3:Treatments used in Drug and Natural Studies

Lavender Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Sleep restriction Stimulus Control Bright Light Chronotherapy Muscle Relaxation
3 6 3 1 2 1 1

Z-Drugs Benzodiazepines tryptophan secobarbital melatonin

4 2 2 1 1