Have you ever wondered what went wrong? And how you can go through your life sleeping like a baby, and then almost suddenly find yourself lying awake night after night, not sleeping a wink, before clambering out of bed, zombie-like, with a whole day of feeling like a train-wreck before you?

Co-workers are amazed how realistic you can play the half-dead, drawn and homeless look. It’s no surprise you feel shattered to the point of keeling over in the gutter wishing to knock yourself unconscious, just so you can get even a little sleep. Not sleeping one night can make a person groggy, but nights not sleeping can drive a person around the bend.

Persistent insomnia can cause psychosomatic illnesses. Depression, stress and anxiety are common among insomniacs. The real damage is to one’s quality of life. Feeling like a wreck day after day is no picnic. Having no energy to handle life’s stresses only saps you even more of confidence and motivation. Forget having a social life or any chance of spending quality time with friends or family.

Not sleeping the night before the weekend only means one thing – a long lie-in, ensuring that the best part of the day is already spent and that the rest of your day consists of zombie and unproductive activities, such as watching TV and being sprawled out on the couch with beer and newspaper in hand.

Those that do make an effort to go out, only regret it later. They walk the shopping centers like wondering sheep looking for a home - a tiring and half-hearted attempt at venturing out.

Is there a happy ending to this story? For millions, not sleeping at night has become the norm. These long-term sufferers often unwittingly sabotage their own attempts to regain normal ‘healthy’ sleep. They buy into the dream of sleeping like babies and waking up full of life, courtesy of the big pharmaceutical corporations.

That’s not to say that sleeping pills don’t have some benefit, but for long-term sleepless sufferers, this is not the way to go. Many find themselves growing more and more reliant and addicted to sleep aids, with little offerings from their doctor of a better way out.

What is surprising for many sufferers who have had enough and seek alternative ways to tackle their sleep problem, is that there are ‘other’ ways. These alternative avenues that have proven to work have been sitting under the noses of these hapless victims. Why? Because doctors are trained in so called ‘conventional’ medicine – “Try this can come back in a few months”

Not sleeping properly could be down to various factors which can’t all be dealt with by a mere sleeping pill. Why we think that we can fix our bodies and minds by popping a few pills every time something is wrong, amazes me.

Fact is, we live in an age where information litters the internet - you simply have to look. So next time you’re not sleeping find out the real cause, before you take a sleeping pill.